Hi, everyone!
Seven years ago, Papa Dick-san and Grandma Sue took me to the Canadian Rockies with LaVache and her grandparents. Grandma and Grandpa heard all about my adventures, so they’re taking me back to see for themselves! We flew to Calgary via Toronto. We had to get up so early that we could watch sunrise over Lake Ontario from the plane! It was very pretty!
We flew in a small propeller plane from Rochester to Toronto, but from Toronto to Calgary we flew in a new 737-8. Guess what? We had seats in business class! We had a very nice breakfast, then I watched “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” about Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. I think Daniel Striped Tiger and I would be friends if we met! We even had roasted nuts as a movie snack!
From Calgary, we got to Banff by bus — not by rail like on my first trip. I made a Mountie Moose friend right outside the place we were staying! It was a little bit hazy, because there was forest fire smoke blowing in from British Columbia. There was still some daylight, so Grandma and Grandpa took me for a walk on the Bow Falls Trail. We all walked to the rapids, then Grandma and I went a little further so we could see the falls from downstream. There were a lot of stairs up and down to get back to where Grandpa was waiting!
Saturday morning started chilly and cloudy, but I wanted Grandma and Grandpa to take me back up the Tunnel Mountain Trail. Just as we were starting up, we had a rain shower! Grandma said we should keep going, and I’m glad we did! The rain stopped and we saw a rainbow!
Grandma and Grandpa both gave me rides up the steepest parts of the path! When we got near the summit, the path switches to the other side of Tunnel Mountain. We could see the Bow Valley below the falls. There were rock climbers on that face of Tunnel Mountain. I’m glad we took the trail, instead!
When we got near the summit, I started recognizing places I’d been before. There were two red Adirondack chairs just below the summit that weren’t there on my last visit! There was sun coming through the clouds when we reached the summit, and the rain washed all the forest fire smoke out of the air!
On our way down, I got a chance to sit in one of the red chairs. Then I turned around and saw my bent tree friend from my last trip. Of course, I asked Grandma to take another picture of me and my friend! There weren’t a lot of hikers on the trail when we were climbing, but on the way down, there was a traffic jam! A group of about fifty teenage girls were all headed up the path together!
After the hike up Tunnel Mountain, I needed a nap before I was ready to go out again! We walked to Cascade Gardens, at the far end of the Banff Avenue bridge. On our way, Grandma did some shopping and I made more friends! We could see the top of Tunnel Mountain, where we’d been in the morning. Can you see the two red chairs in the little saddle to the right of the summit?
Even though it’s getting colder, Cascade Gardens were still very pretty and full of blooming flowers. I liked the flower beds and walkways and pools! The bridges across the little streams were made from large tree branches with burls in them. The views of the mountains from the gardens were very pretty, too!
On our walk back into town, we stopped at the Banff Park Museum. There were lots of displays of local animals there, and the building is also part of Banff history! After that, I made some flower and animal friends walking back along Banff Avenue and Bear Street.
On Sunday morning, early, we joined the other members of the tour group and met our guide, Rosemary-san. The day started chilly and misty, with some rain, so it was good to be driving for the first part of the tour! We stopped to see Crowfoot Glacier above Bow Lake. Rosemary-san showed us a photo of what the glacier used to look like and talked about all the glaciers getting smaller.
It had stopped raining when we visited a lookout on the North Saskatchewan River and read about how the river and Howse Pass helped traders get from this area to the Pacific Coast, mostly by water. We drove a little further and stopped to take a short walk just above Panther Falls. The water cuts its way through the rock in spirals!
The weather was much better by the time we got to the Wilcox Pass Trail, our big hike of the day. Rosemary-san made sure we all had lunches to eat. She also made sure I was dressed warmly enough for the top of the trail! Guess what? There are red chairs on the Wilcox Pass Trail, too! They overlook the Columbus Ice Field. Rosemary-san said we were going to come back and walk on the ice another day!
We ate our lunches in the shelter of some small trees near the red chairs, then we hiked back down the trail. We drove from Banff National Park into Jasper National Park. There was an elk grazing on grass right near the road! Then I made friends with the bear family at Jasper Park Lodge! I think there are going to be lots of adventures on the rest of this tour!
Love,
Lion-san
Moose-san and Moose were thrilled to see the moose not just one but two! The bear family looked nice too. It was nice those two girls left the red chairs so you could sit down on Tunnel MT. Nancy-san said she liked the two girls in the second set of chairs and the little lion between them. You have seen a lot on this trip already.