Banff and Beyond (August 4 and 5)

Tuesday morning came around and there were a few unspoken understandings in the air.

First off, very few of us were interested in returning to our tents as the predictions for our upcoming stay at Glacier National Park showed nights in the 30s again. Also, there was still a wildfire at Glacier, and it was affecting the area just west of St Mary Campground, where we had reservations. The road going across the park was closed from St Mary to the top of the mountain pass, so our movement would be quite restricted. I ended up scouring VRBO, Homeaway and Airbnb for a place to rent somewhere near Glacier. There was one house available in our price range in Whitefish, Montana, about 30 minutes from the West Glacier entrance. We decided to rent it. I called the phone number, the woman who answered was very gracious, and our Wednesday-Saturday itinerary were the only open dates she had.

Second, no one wanted to pack sandwiches today. Plus Katy had a bunch of canned goods and mac & cheese boxes that she was not interested in packing into the car one more time. Instead, we just took it easy for the morning. Then we all cooked our own lunch.

Third, the weather report said it would be raining by 11 am, so no one was in a big rush to get out the door.

All of this made for a late start to our day, but eventually we got on the road for the afternoon. It was, of course, still sunny and dry at 1:00. We headed back to the Lake Louise area, because we wanted to see Moraine Lake. As we drove toward Lake Louise, all we could see was a massive storm cloud hanging directly in front of us.

The rain held off as we drove, and we got into the line of traffic making its way to Moraine Lake. With all the holiday visitors, it’s a little like the lines for roller coasters at Cedar Point. You want the big experience at the end of the line, so you find yourself willing to spend massive amounts of time waiting for it. Today’s line moved a little faster, because lots of cars were leaving the parking area. That’s because lots of people are smarter than we are, and they got going early so they could see something before the afternoon rain set in.

As we neared the parking area the dark clouds hunkered down lower over us. We found parking easily enough, and as we got out of the car a light rain began to fall. It was much colder than we had anticipated, but the raincoats were enough to get us through.

Moraine Lake is yet another stunning corner of Banff, and I was enraptured by the unreal blue of the water. At least until my more romantic better half walked up and said “It looks like the water in airplane toilets” and my good friend agreed “I always wondered where that ended up.”

The short, easy walk around one side of the lake is not to be missed, and we were sort of glad it was raining because this could easily have been an overcrowded bottleneck. Instead, we could wander through the pine trees, partially sheltered from the rain, and take in the beauty. The smell of wet pine just added to the walk. A couple of times thunder rattled the air, and that didn’t go over so well with my youngest, the safety monitor, but we convinced her to keep going anyway. At the end of the walk there is a rockpile you can climb to see a great view, but no one was climbing the slippery rockpile today.

As we were getting back to the parking lot, the clouds really opened up and started pouring rain. We shivered in our dry cars and drove back to town to find a coffee shop for some warm drinks and sweet treats. Laggan’s Bakery and Deli fit the bill on all counts. We were not the only ones with that idea, so another line for us.

We went back to the condo for dinner and packed up for travel again the next day.

Wednesday morning we had a good early start, and we went back through Banff National Park one more time. Banff and the surrounding parks make up one of the most beautiful areas I have ever been to, with each mountain peak giving way to another for miles and miles.

After about half an hour we took the exit to Kootenay National Park, which is south of Banff NP. It’s a smaller park, but it offers a few great options. One is the guided hike to Stanley Glacier. As much as some of us wanted to hike to a glacier, the hike was just too long for the crew we have assembled. But further down the road there is an easy hike to Marble Canyon, which is a rock canyon that’s been carved by the river coming from the glacier. First you are walking along a river, and it gets a little deeper into the rock as you go upstream. You cross the river a number of times on little bridges, and each time you can see the canyon getting deeper. It’s an amazing display of the force of water on rock.

Just before we needed to turn onto a different highway out of the park, there is Radium, site of another hot springs. We decided to try again. Radium was much more what we were looking for. There are two big pools—the hot pool and the cool pool. The hot pool was just slightly cooler than the one at Banff, so you didn’t feel quite so suffocated by the water, but it was definitely still a hot springs. There may have been the same number of people as at Banff, but the pool was two or three times as big, so it didn’t feel crowded at all.

The cool pool had a high diving board and a slide, and it was also very large. It was only cool relative to the hot pool—I think it was 86 degrees. So comfortable! Most people were just lounging in the water, watching the kids and few adults who lined up for the diving board. You could tell everyone was watching, because whenever someone hit the water wrong the whole crowd went “oooooh!” I like a diving board, but not with an audience!

After about an hour or so we got hungry enough for lunch to get some forward motion going again. Tim Horton’s was right on the way, and we hadn’t done the traditional Canadian fast food thing yet, so we stopped there for lunch. We were not the only ones with this idea, and the place was packed and understaffed. Still, we ended up getting the correct food in a somewhat timely manner. And then it was on to Whitefish.

Somewhere along the way in Montana I saw a lake that I want to go back to. Of course I have no idea what it was called—from google I think it might be Dickey Lake—but as I drove by on a lovely summer day, this little lake was the color of the Caribbean, surrounded by trees, and a fortunate few people were boating and skiing on it. I’m a loyal fan of Lake Michigan, and this little lake did not appear to have any sandy beach, but I still want to go there someday.

Ironically, as I admire the beauty of Montana, I am also doing my best to decimate the wildlife. So far, as I’ve driven down the road, I’ve taken out a chipmunk, a bird, and about 527 butterflies. I felt really bad about both the chipmunk and the bird, but those stupid butterflies! They hover in groups above the road, just waiting to hurl themselves against an unsuspecting windshield. This trip wins for the grossest windshield kill ever.

We found our way to Whitefish and to the last-minute rental that will serve our needs just fine. There are four bedrooms, so only the two boys are stuck sleeping out in the open, and that is at least in the basement so they don’t have to be in the living room. As the night closed in and temperatures quickly dropped, we happily made ourselves at home in comfortable beds with warm blankets.