The Rockies

I've always dreamed of getting this shot

coming around the corner on a clear cold morning

and seeing the gigantic Mount Robson cloud free

a great start to our trip...the kayaks will be great

as we plan to explore several lakes and rivers

Arlene is happy to be safe behind a guard rail

you would be toast if you fell in

that's a ton of water rushing by

elk on the way to Jasper

Athabasca River just south of Jasper

A. Switzer Provincial Park in Alberta

this is the entrance point into a wonderful series of channels 

they go on for miles down the valley

information signs guided us along the way

sometimes there were obstacles 

the beavers have been busy building a dam on this stretch

their house wasn't far away

now that's a big beaver lodge

it had snowed when we arrived in Banff 

the Bow River with wonderful fall colours 

at the summit of Vermillion Pass

Vista Lake

Marble Canyon

a 2003 fire in Kootenay Provincial Park



heading through the tunnels to Radium Hot Springs

the pass going into town is pretty narrow

the mountain sheep have learned to use this as a through way

mom and her little one trying to get past us

go around...don't come our way



so its up past the traffic...which is normal

giant hoodoos as we head south
 down the Rocky Mountain Trench

this is Canal Flats at the south end of Columbia Lake



we're headed off the highway here

and up into the mountains




to beautiful WhiteTail Lake

this lake has many wonderful colours

we had the best campsite on the lake

this was our view...too nice

you could see the fish swim right under the kayak
but none were biting

talk about a lake for a man and his dog

on the road again

we headed for White Swan Lake
a wild road with lots of pullouts for the logging trucks



this goofy flag man warned us to wait at this pullout

as a big logging truck was on its way through

and you didn't want to mess with this fella

high above the Lussier River

up close it was very powerful

the sun was in and out of the clouds when we arrived at the lake

this log home is nestled in amongst the birch trees

 on the far left in the picture below

pretty nice place to live...in the summer


now we're headed into a park called
"Top of the World"

another snaky road

with more big logging trucks

we're back into the Rockies again, this peak was called Goat Haven

we followed the Bull River for most of the way


to the beautiful glacial Summer Lake

we had a great campsite all to ourselves

Arlene felt pretty small

the fall colours were magnificent 

this big fella came out of the woods not far from us

suddenly he noticed us...gave a snort and

headed off a little pissed that we were invading his space

yikes...that's a big footprint

we were pretty excited after seeing that moose

our favourite picture of this special place


then we headed for Osoyoos to pick up some "Flame" wine

and then to our last stop

Lightning Lake in Manning Park

the famous Rainbow bridge

We celebrated Arlene's birthday in style

our last night

we headed home the next morning after a wonderful trip