We had a fun-packed, adventurous week in one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I've never seen the Rockies before and they just took my breath away. I had seriously resented having to drive, because I just wanted to look out the windows. Some of my girls got quite a chuckle out of the gasps and near falling over.
One of the adventures we went on was a hike at Lake Louise... and my goodness, the pictures don't even do it justice.
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| sitting by the Chateau |
We were blessed with a fabulously warm and sunny day - perfect for hiking, but first! A group shot by that turquoise lake.
Up we went, marvelling at the beautiful trees and the colour of the water whenever we caught a glimpse of it. There were many stops for pictures, one here by Mirror Lake with the Big Beehive in the background.
The whole group went up to Lake Agnes together and then had a brief break, and of course everyone went a little snap-happy. But when it's that beautiful, can you blame us? Not that the pictures do it any sort of justice!
Here are all of the fearless leaders hanging out in God's beautiful outdoors
Afterwards, we split into two groups - one went back down to the Chateau and the other continued to hike up to the top of the Big Beehive for a view out over Lake Louise. Here we are hiking around the back of Lake Agnes
Our other big adventure was travelling over to the Colombia Ice Fields to take a tour on the Athabasca Glacier. It was a bit of a drive - a good 2.5 hours, and we weren't sure if it was worth it, seeing as how we'd all done a 16 hour day just driving from Winnipeg out to Banff. But National Geographic has the route out there listed on it's top 10 most beautiful drives in the world. So we thought we'd give it a chance.
It was so worth it.
We stopped at Bow Lake along the way to allow everyone to get out and stretch their legs and take some pictures because it was just breathtaking. See what I mean?
The busses that drive you out onto the ice are crazy... they each cost a million dollars and can drive down an incline of 32 degrees. I totally felt like I was on a really slow rollercoaster. And the wheels are huge...
This glacier is apparently thicker than the Eiffel Tower is tall... wowsers!
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| Site 2! |
Up we went, marvelling at the beautiful trees and the colour of the water whenever we caught a glimpse of it. There were many stops for pictures, one here by Mirror Lake with the Big Beehive in the background.
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| Fearless Site 2 leaders |
The whole group went up to Lake Agnes together and then had a brief break, and of course everyone went a little snap-happy. But when it's that beautiful, can you blame us? Not that the pictures do it any sort of justice!
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| Sandy & Allison |
Here are all of the fearless leaders hanging out in God's beautiful outdoors
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| Natalie, Sandy, Myrielle, J-Fo & Ruth |
Afterwards, we split into two groups - one went back down to the Chateau and the other continued to hike up to the top of the Big Beehive for a view out over Lake Louise. Here we are hiking around the back of Lake Agnes
It was a much more intense hike, but the view from the top was TOTALLY worth it. I have never seen water that colour before. Stunning.
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| up on the Big Beehive |
Our other big adventure was travelling over to the Colombia Ice Fields to take a tour on the Athabasca Glacier. It was a bit of a drive - a good 2.5 hours, and we weren't sure if it was worth it, seeing as how we'd all done a 16 hour day just driving from Winnipeg out to Banff. But National Geographic has the route out there listed on it's top 10 most beautiful drives in the world. So we thought we'd give it a chance.
It was so worth it.
We stopped at Bow Lake along the way to allow everyone to get out and stretch their legs and take some pictures because it was just breathtaking. See what I mean?
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| Christine, Allison, Aly, Sandy, Tessa, Melissa, Caity, Kate, Laura |
We hit a bad patch of weather on the way out (and I was super un-impressed with the guy who was tailgating me) and when we got to CIF we found out that our tour had been cancelled. I couldn't believe it. I have wanted to visit a glacier since I was 13... and it wasn't working out. But, as luck would have it, we waited around for 30 minutes and managed to get on another tour later that day when the snow had cleared up.
Again, SO worth the drive out there.
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| hanging out on the glacier |
The busses that drive you out onto the ice are crazy... they each cost a million dollars and can drive down an incline of 32 degrees. I totally felt like I was on a really slow rollercoaster. And the wheels are huge...
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| Sandy & Allison |
This glacier is apparently thicker than the Eiffel Tower is tall... wowsers!
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| yay! I'm on a glacier! |
I totally almost bailed on the landing though...
Here's the group again!
Now, the drive back was a bit of a gong show to say the least. The brakes on the van overheated on one of the long mountain roads and we had to stop to let them cool down. Which meant that I also got to set out road flares... that was a first, and I was so surprised when they turned out to be triangular! Oh dear...
But everything worked out in the end and we made it safely home. No worries.
All I've got to say, is if your car ever breaks down, there's no better place for it than the Rockies. The view was fantastic!
I also stopped by the Banff Springs Hotel, because how can you leave Banff without taking a picture of it?!
On the last day of the week, we went over to Canmore for an afternoon of hanging out and wandering around the shops. Us leaders went out for a nice, relaxing lunch (I had one fabulous burger!) with the most spectacular view of the 'Three Sisters'.
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| Sandy, Myrielle, Natalie, J-Fo |
But everything worked out in the end and we made it safely home. No worries.
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| the girls heading back to the van after we tested the brakes |
All I've got to say, is if your car ever breaks down, there's no better place for it than the Rockies. The view was fantastic!
I also stopped by the Banff Springs Hotel, because how can you leave Banff without taking a picture of it?!
That night we went to the community centre and went 'Zumba-ing'. It's a great workout/dance, although my hips certainly weren't used to moving like that! (there's a strong flavour of Latin dancing working it's way through it). But we just had a blast, and got all dressed up for the occasion!
On the last day of the week, we went over to Canmore for an afternoon of hanging out and wandering around the shops. Us leaders went out for a nice, relaxing lunch (I had one fabulous burger!) with the most spectacular view of the 'Three Sisters'.
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| Sandy, Natalie, Sharon, Ruth, J-Fo & Myrielle |
It was a great (albeit exhausting) week, but we sure missed the guys. It's great to be back together as full Site and heading off to Vancouver for another Urban Plunge this week.
I'll keep you posted as my internet access allows.
Cheers y'all!
Sandy
xox
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