July 11 Hinton, AB to Radium Springs, BC

Though it was cold and the skies were mostly cloudy when we awoke, it cleared up today to be a photographer’s dream all day as we rode through Jasper, Banff and Kootenay national parks. All are connected and, though similar with astounding mountain views, each had a slightly different look. Jasper knocked us out with the massiveness of the mountains, most with some snow, mostly in streaks along the breaks in the surfaces. The bright sun and deep blue sky really set them off. The town of Jasper appeared to be a pretty nice, upscale tourist spot. Too bad the gift shops bought into the imported from China “genuine” Canadian mountain fare. Banff seemed a bit more raw and rugged. The angular rock striations were especially impressive. Both Jasper and Banff parks contained many glaciers of various shapes and sizes. Columbia glacier right at the edge of both parks was large, though shrinking like many glaciers are these days. It seemed that here, as in so many places, the dollar rules as there are huge busses that will drive right onto the glaciers for tours while we always hear about how delicate the glaciers are and how even walking on them can harm them. The visitor’s center there is where you can take the bus or walking tours onto the glacier. We chose to snack and rest a bit and, of course, take some pictures with the alternate camera from the raised deck across from the glacier. After what seemed like an endless line of fantastic mountains and breathtaking views we arrived at Lake Louise which is in Banff national park. We have heard so many great things about it that we just had to stop in to take a look. It was beautiful but, like so many things that get a big build up, it seemed a little less than expected. The guy playing “Amazing Grace” on a big long horn (don’t know what it is called – someone help us out here) was a unique touch. The water was a beautiful aqua color but then so is most of the water all throughout both parks. The beginning part of Kootenay showed us the devastating effect of wildfires with mile after mile and mountain after mountain of burned pine trees. It was eerie seeing all those tall brown, grey and black sticks covering the landscape. Before we left the park, though, the green returned and the wildlife began to appear. Today it was mostly deer, which we hadn’t seen too much of previously, though a large moose attracted much attention just grazing right at the edge of the road. He seemed oblivious to all the cars that stopped right next to him to get a better look. Laura’s vertigo kicked in pretty good as we ascended and descended the slopes and we were lucky to be able to find a cute, though aging, little motel in Radium Springs, BC, where we are tonight. Somehow, we keep coming back into British Columbia. There is a hot spring pool about a kilometer from here that we plan to visit in the morning before leaving the area. It has been another of those long days on the bike with many photo stops along the way. As usual we will include only a fraction of the good shots on the blog (tomorrow). Tomorrow is going to be a shorter riding day so we can recoup and get to the pics for thinning and selecting for the slideshow. Stay tuned!