2014 - August 28th-September 2nd - Barb's & Canada

We started our three week vacation on Monday the 25th with our first visit at sister Barb's in Great Falls, Montana. We enjoyed a couple of days driving up there arriving the evening of the 27th. It was so good to see Barb, Rene and the girls once again since our visit last year. Rene had a great meal for us and we enjoyed being at her home. Lance worked the night shift so was catching zzz's during the day and we were unable to spend any time with him.
Kayla, Brittney, Grandma Barb, Willow, Rene and Risa
Kayla, Grandma Barb, Willow and Risa
               
Dad Lance built a two story playhouse for Willow which she was proud to show us the whole thing!
                             
We enjoyed burgers and hot dogs the first night at Rene's outside and Willow showed off her Mickey and Minnie tee that we brought for her.

                                  
                                           
The girls had fun dancing in the living room too while Willow showed us her chickens!
                             
                             
Thursday we spent the day with Barb, Rene and the girls at the Great Falls Park with Barb buying ice cream for everyone to end the adventures of the day. The park has a fantastic stained glass sculpture that we admired on our visit years a go when we took Risa and Kayla to the park when they were about Willow's age today. It's still gorgeous! We enjoyed the ducks and the swans at the park's lake and watching everyone have fun running around the park and playing on the gymnastic equipment.
On Friday, Barb took us around to some lovely sights including the State Park where there is a fish hatchery and conservation work environment. We walked around the beautiful property where there is one of the shortest rivers, The Roe at 201 feet in length, that joins the longest river in the US, the Missouri at 2540 miles. It is a picturesque park and so enjoyable.
The Roe River feeding into the Missouri ...
Rapids in the ever-so-clear Roe River ...
Mid-morning on Saturday we had to say good-by and head for Canada, our next stop being Calgary, Alberta.
                           
                 
We drove up to the Montana and Alberta Canadian border for our entry into Canada. The last time we were in Canada was about 38 years ago when we crossed over the bridge from Detroit with baby Carrie and my Mom and Dad for a Sunday afternoon lunch! No passports required in those days! There were only two cars in front of us at the border check station so Mary Anne grabbed the plastic bag from the console get out our passports and passport cards. The thrill began as she could only find our cards and my passport, not hers. The border agents do not have to accept only the cards but can also ask for the actual passports. Frantic set in! We had no choice than to just try the cards and pray he wouldn't ask for our actual passports. Just as we approached the booth, Mary Anne discovered that her passport had accidently dropped on the floor when she was getting them out ... we were saved. But I just gave the agent our cards, he asked his questions and never asked for the passports which now we could supply, and we were passed for entry. This could have been a real problem!

Our drive was on to Calgary. All speed signs in Canada are in kilometers so I pressed the button in the car to show km's instead of miles. It was sort of fun to watch the speedometer cruise at 110 km, the speed limit there if not posted. Most of the time we were to drive at either 110 km or 100 km.  We made it to Calgary with no problems enjoying the Canadian countryside.
We explored the city a little before dinner and saw some of the sites.
Downtown we enjoyed the Calgary Tower, The Canadian Pacific Railroad Building, and the Steam Train to name a few.
                            
                 
                 
On Sunday we stopped at the 1988 Olympic Park which was the home of the XV Olympic Winter Games. It's open to the public and used by many people for various sports activities. Even though it was for winter sports with cold and snow, it is now used year round by skateboarders, mountain bikers, skaters, luge enthusiasts and many other activities. We went in the dining hall and looked at many buildings, strolling the park.

The first thing that pops out is the bobsleigh and luge track. We walked all around it snapping photos. On the first side we saw a platform with stairs that took you to the actual track. We climbed up and went on the concrete track to take some pictures. From a distance before we got there we had seen a gentleman talking to some folks and he had a luge loaded on his trailer. When we got to the stairs everyone was gone.

               
After leaving our photo op, about 15 minutes later we heard and saw this Luge go flying down the track right were we had been. We had no idea that with no snow that the track was used for practice .. like are there wheels on it or what, it's just concreate? Needless to say, minutes made a difference from a newspaper headline which would have said something like "Two Dumb Americans were killed on the Olympic Park Luge Track". Personally, I think the stairs should be gated off and a sign saying "Do Not Enter"! We are here to tell the story and did get some great pictures!

Calgary XV Olympic Mascots ... Polar Bears Hidy & Howdy
There was the Olympic Cauldron, Olympic Flag, and Flags of the Nations just as they were during the games.
               
                 
We had a great few hours exploring. The ski lift and hills are used for mountain biking down the trails and many other multiple uses in the Olympic Park.
               

Time to hit the road and continue our adventure into Banff.

We again loved the fields and scenic countryside of Alberta on our drive, heading for the mountain region. We left the farmlands and entered into the forested mountains. We arrived in the Banff National Park with a glorious Banff town welcome sign.
Our lodging for our two night stay, the Banff International Hotel, was within a block of the start of the downtown area. We checked into our lovely room and walked the eight or nine blocks of the shopping district filled with shops, restaurants, lodging establishments and great sights. The main street, Banff Avenue, runs the entire length connecting with the bridge crossing the Row River that ends at the Cascade Gardens. Memories swarmed back 59 years to when my folks took us there for vacation. The town is now a tourist resort with many more establishments than I remembered, but the street, bridge and gardens were the same to me. My Dad's slides look very much the same as what we see now. On the corner next to our hotel was one of the unique sights of the town, a campfire sculpture art display.
On our stay in 1955 we roomed in the local YWCA which rented out rooms. My Dad's family had always stayed there. It was a wooden structure with a long corridor with rooms on each side. I'm pretty sure that back then we shared a common bathroom somewhere in the hall. There is now a new YWCA and the workers had no knowledge of the old one that I remembered and have the slides. The YWCA does have a hostel that is used by students and traveling young folks. No more family lodging. We walked across the Row River bridge and a little through the Cascade Gardens before returning to our hotel. There was a slight drizzle and at times we had to duck into a porch or under a tree to save from not getting too wet. The bridge is a beautiful old stone structure that is the same as 54 years ago.
With the drizzle, we saw a magnificent rainbow on the mountains surrounding Banff.
We love walking and taking in the local atmosphere.
      
             
Sunday we continued to explore Banff and drove about 45 minutes to Lake Louise. The Banff Cascade Gardens are built in a series of rock terraces connected by small cascades that highlight flowers, plants and scrubs, rustic bridges, pavilions and flagged walks. Dad took many pictures of the flowers for Mom as she loved all the color and beauty. We always made fun of all of those pictures, but being there as adults, we found ourselves taking many in the same manner!
               
                  
                    
To attract the wealthy tourists, the Canadian Pacific Railroad built the luxurious Banff Springs Hotel in 1888. The castle-like stone-and-concrete building today replaced the original wooden hotel after it burned in 1926. This luxury hotel is known as the Fairmont Banff Springs Chateau today. Luxury is defined here and can be seen towering above the surrounding evergreens.
               
We found a walking path on the Row River that takes you under the Chateau for spectacular views looking up at the hotel and also the majestic river.
               
The drive to Lake Louise from Banff is scenic and beautiful.
Lake Louise is fed by meltwater from Victoria Glacier. The runoff carries finely ground rock flour that gives the lake a striking milky turquoise color that is also seen in other glacially fed lakes. The color cannot really be captured in pictures as it is so clear and turquoise.

The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, a grand hotel with more than 500 rooms, sits on the bank of Lake Louise. It is a stunning hotel and one we would choose if we could afford it. What a view to wake up to, looking out your guest room to that blue lake and glacier covered mountain. The flower beds are exquisite too. We found the Lake Louise Village Grill & Bar to have lunch. Our window seat gave glorious views for a tasty lunch!

The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise is not as ornate as the one in Banff, but is truly beautiful and our pick of the two.
               
               
What a wonderful time we had. We took in many views by walking the village and the lake. It is so much the same as in 1955 ... or is it just looking at my Dad's slides and seeing no difference that is jogging my memories? Mary Anne and I now have our memories and tales to tell! We returned to Banff and continued going to places that we still wanted to see. This Banff-Lake Louise trip was a highlight of our travels, but all places really are! Everyplace has it's own highlights, so how can anyone pick one as their favorite? We are so lucky to be able to do a trip like this. The setting sun ended our day and our stay in Canada. There are several additional pictures of these marvelous adventures in the photo album which with just one click here, you'll be able to see them all ... and they are all captioned!

Tomorrow we head for the States and our adventures in the Redwoods, Yosemite, and Sequoia National Forest Parks. Stay tuned!!!