Sharp's Travels

We were on our way by 8:15am. 8 units parked in the parking lot last night. It was only 37 degrees this morning.

The scenery is just breathtaking. The snow capped mountain peaks change around every corner

We stopped to view the Mistaya Canyon. It was a 300 meter walk down an old rock filled creek bed to the canyon. We dreaded the climb back out but it was well worth it. In the canyon the river has worn a deep twisting gorge into the limestone bedrock and tumbling boulders have created potholes and a natural arch in the canyon walls. Gay climbed out onto the rocks to get pictures of the water flowing through the deep gorges. I stayed on the observation bridge. The water was flowing very rapidly, it thundered through the holes.

We drove along Waterfowl Lake. It was so pretty and peaceful looking.

At Bow Summit lodge, we took the road west to Peyto Lake View Point. The glacial meltwater lake is a brilliant turquoise from glacial sediments. We hiked up a trail about ½ mile---straight up—I had to stop and rest every so often. The air is thinner and I have problems hiking uphill. At the top, we could see Bow Mountain (elev. (6,849 ft), Bow Glacier and the beautiful Peyto Lake below. It was a spectacular site. The downhill trip was much easier!

On up the road, we caught site of Crowfoot Glacier and Bow Lake, another beautiful turquoise lake. We pulled in beside Bow Lake for lunch. It was a nice view from our kitchen window.

We saw our first black bear in the park. We had expected to see lots of animals. He crossed the highway in front of us. He stopped on the hillside to feast on scrub trees there. There was quite a traffic jam before he disappeared into the trees.

We turned onto Hwy 1A headed towards Banff. We were hoping to see more animals but saw nothing. The road was narrow and tree lined on both sides. There were a number of pull-offs with some great views.

We pulled into Tunnel Mountain Campground about 2:30pm. We got everything set up and headed into town to find an internet hot spot to check e-mails and upload pictures and blogs.

For pictures of the day see album: Columbia Ice Fields to Banff 8-22-08