Ko-Ba-Yo-Ja

Radium Hot Springs, BC to BC and AB's NP's (sightseeing in British Columbia and Alberta's National Parks)

Kotenay-Banff-Yoho-Jasper

August 9-14, 2016

Having never been to Calgary we decided to head in that direction but at the last minute we changed our minds and decided to revisit Banff and Jasper National Parks.  The road from Radium to Banff is a beautiful drive through Kootenay NP.  Since it was "high season" we figured we might have a hard time getting a camping spot anywhere near Banff so we dry camped in Kootenay's Marble Canyon Campground, a nice wooded campground as far north as we could get.  It was a good choice and we used it as a base to visit the town of Banff and the attractions in Kootenay NP.  Laura was not at all happy with all the trees in the campground and the multiple bear warnings posted around but we managed to stay several nights and got all our Banff sightseeing done.

This small stream ran between the highway and Marble Canyon Campground.
The water was so clear it looked like liquid ice.  You could see every rock under the water!

The town of Banff.  We were last here in 1983 or 84 and the town has grown tremendously.
Lots of people, lots of traffic but a very cute town.  The tourist issues we have on Whidbey
are nothing compared to what they deal with here!

Typical Banff NP scenery.  It is truly a beautiful place.

More of the mountains in Banff.  These are the younger mountains
in the area with sloped sides and jagged ridges.

These mountains are older with more vertical sides having been worn down by water, wind and ice.

This "little" hotel was built in 1887 by the Canadian Pacific Railroad to lure travelers to the area
to enjoy  the hot springs.  It is one of Canada's grand railway hotels.  The Canadian Pacific
smelled money and wanted to cash in.  It's now called the Fairmont Banff Springs.

The falls on the Bow River in Banff - just below the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.
I wanted someone to cruise through on a kayak but no one obliged.

The hot springs that put Banff on the map.  They are no longer used, except as a tourist site.

The exterior of the hot springs.  Definitely up to standards as a tourist destination.

From our Marble Canyon campground we drove a short distance to Yoho National Park and dry camped in another beautiful campground called Monarch near the town of Field.  While the Marble Canyon campground in Kootenay NP had never filled up, we were lucky to get a spot in one of Yoho's dry campgrounds.  Laura loved this place because it was open and spacious with a beautiful view.  Although we still saw bear warnings I guess she must have thought she would at least see it coming.  You never hear anything about Yoho NP but it is quite worthy of a visit on it's own right. 

The view from our Monarch campsite in Yoho. The main highway along with
 railroad tracks aren't too far away but what a view.

One of the unusual sites in Yoho are the spiral railroad tunnels at Kicking Horse Pass.
The original railroad followed a steep grade of 4.5%, well over the recommended maximum grade
for a railroad.  There were many train accidents as a result of the steep grade.
To fix it they used an idea that had been used in Switzerland.  They dug two long spiral tunnels in the
mountains which flattened the grade to about 2%.  If you follow the black line on the left side you see it
enters a tunnel then curves around coming out of the tunnel at a higher elevation.  It then heads back the way it
came (middle black line) where it enters another tunnel (red curved line), curves around and comes back
out at a higher elevation heading in the original direction.  It was a remarkably effective solution.

The Kicking Horse River near the town of Field, BC.
I just love the name Kicking Horse.  It creates quite a visual doesn't it?
It came about when one of the early explorers in the area was kicked by his horse.

A natural Bridge over the Kicking Horse River in Yoho NP.  The river drops over a waterfall then
flows under the natural bridge which it has created over the centuries. The water flows
fast and furious here.  Falling in would be deadly!

Emerald Lake at Yoho NP.  Isn't it stunning!  It was so peaceful here.

Takakkaw Falls in Yoho NP.  This was in August. 
Can you imagine what the flow must be like when it's early spring?

It was virtually impossible to get a good picture of the confluence of these two rivers
but the coloring in this sign displays it very well.    The Kicking Horse river is a beautiful
blue color when it runs into the Yoho River but literally, in a matter of seconds,
all the blue is completely gone as it mixes with the milky white Yoho River. 

Fairmont Chateau Hotel at Lake Louise. 
All the rooms on this side of the hotel have the view below.

 

Lake Louise

Lake Louise tourists!  Pretty popular place eh?
Trust me - they aren't all staying at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.
Trying to find a parking spot here was almost impossible.



Lake Moraine in Banff NP.  The color of the water was amazing.

From Yoho we drove the icefield highway up to Jasper and kept our fingers crossed that we would find a spot in one of the campgrounds but no such luck!  Happily we were directed to an overflow area where we could dry camp.  As overflow areas go this was pretty nice.  You basically just park wherever you want and it was interesting watching people try to figure out exactly where they wanted to be. 

The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge.

Beauvert Lake at Jasper Park Lodge.  What a setting!  This was our favorite of
the "Fairmont" hotels.  Not so pretentious - more relaxed and casual.  Also a lot fewer people.

Athabaska Falls in Jasper NP.  Very impressive to say the least.

An old water pathway at Athabaska Falls.  The river is constantly
cutting new channels and leaving old ones high and dry.

Angle Wing Glacier in Jasper NP.
I hate to be jaded but it looked more like a moose head with it's antlers stretched out to each side!

Maligne Lake at Jasper NP
It's a long drive out but worth the time.  We had some bad weather that day
but the lake was still beautiful to see.

 



Big Horn Sheep along the roadside having a conference.
There was a group of 15-20 females and young males.

The overflow campground in Jasper NP.  It can accommodate a lot of RV's
belonging to people like us who don't have a reservation but hope
 they'll get a spot in one of the regular campgrounds.  The cost is the same - either way!