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CANADIAN ROCKIES - DAY THREE |
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Previous Blogs: Day 1+2 Canadian Rockies | Day 3 British Columbia | Day 4 The Road to Montana | Day 5+6 Glacier National Park | Day 7 Big Mountain | Day 8 Back to Canada | Day 9 Waterton |
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| The morning dawned with even more smoke obliterating views of the mountains yet again, even worse as you can see from the pictures below. This meant it was pointless heading out to the mountain tops for the panoramic views. And even if we wanted to we couldn't - the fires had closed down the only direct main road there. Any detour would add over 150 miles each way to the drive. | |
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| It was time for plan B. We looked around for things to see that did not involve mountains in the distance and were accessible by road without long detours. This part of Canada does not have a lot of roads. To see an attraction that is on a different road an hour away as the crow flies could take 6 hours!! This is what we came up with instead: | |
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 We found a ski resort only 20 minutes away from our cabin that was open for the summer. So we took a gondola ride from the parking lot to the resort and then the chair lift half way up the mountain. I had a beer and Wendy a local cider at the top and rode back down again. We didn't go for the view - as you can see it's pretty smoky, but instead for the fun of the ride only $9 each! However, the views were beautiful indeed! The other major touristy places (Banff and Lake Louise) charge $35-50 per person for the ride up the mountain. Not only did we save money, we had a pleasant morning, chatted with some locals, and were not deluged by a gazillion obnoxious tourists. Win win!! |
 We visited the beaches at Lake Windermere. Note the slides anchored in the lake. This is not a glacier fed lake so it is a balmy 72F and not 45F like the others. |
 We explored the quaint and cute downtown of Invermere and visited the butcher for some great meat to grill. We had a lovely little snack of chicken and spinach sausage roll. Not QUITE the sausage roll that makes me heart sing, but the chicken and spinach was much better for my diet. |
 We took a drive around Lake Windermere, note the sand stone cliffs on the other side of the lake. |
 And finally the highlight of the day was the Hoodoos - sand stone cliffs eroded by time. |
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| And then we finished the day off with a BBQ (BIG SURPRISE!) at the cabin and then watching a bee carve chucks of chicken out of Wendy's left overs. WHAT??!! This guy, over several trips, made chicken balls and flew them home to his queen. Who knew bees ate chicken? I suppose chicken flavoured honey will be the next delicacy in these here parts. | |
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And finally... |
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OK, there is NO WAY I am gonna swim in that lake!!! |
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Range Rover convertible...
THAT IS JUST WRONG!! |
