A Bear, A Chipmunk, A Canyon And A Few Lakes

All this happened just over the last 3 days, and most of it today. We had a trip with some Chinese folks coming from +100F Shanghai and a few from Beijing.  (looks odd the 3 dots there…) Went up to Lake Louise which was still under ice though it has gotten thinner now. Our path was partially covered in thick snow so they all had to balance themselves across.   Moraine Lake was even worse. More snow and more ice and I missed the beautiful deep turquois color of these mountain lakes. Oh well, a few more weeks maybe. Then today I was in Lake Louise again. From Chinese to Japanese… it goes all in a heartbeat. While my passengers were enjoying themselves elsewhere I had an hour to kill and went into the information centre. Last time I had been here was in 2004 with Mother. But nothing much had changed.   Well, I didn’t remember the Grizzly looking up to me. SCARY!  From Lake Louise we had gone up to Emerald Lake and the Natural Bridge at Yoho Nat’l Park.            Today                                              Last week   Remember my last visit there just about a week ago. It was pouring then and people were considering to buy rain gear. Not so today. We were all blessed with the bluest of all blue skies.     Above: Avalanche underway… The colors are almost indescribable. It is just so pure beautiful. Deep blue sky, snow-white mountain tops, spring green trees and yellow flowers. Marvelous! No ice on Emerald Lake any longer! And the Natural bridge looked great in the bright sunshine. Next stop was Marble Canyon at Kootenay Nat’l Park. Boy oh boy, mother earth sure got a big crack in the surface. That canyon is super narrow and super deep. All around on the top are the remnants of the big 2003 forest fire. The area has recovered nicely over the last 10-11 years and new tree growth is standing in between the old burnt ones. It’s something nature has done over and over and over again. The 2003 fire was caused by lightning. Nat’l Park Fire Fighters managed to stop the fire before it was spreading into the busy Bow River Valley.   While walking along the canyon trail I noticed a few chipmunks playing around between the rocks. Aren’t they cute? Yeah I had 3 busy days and with all there is to see one gets tired when it is all done. It is good to come back to the quiet neighbourhood in the Campground and listen to nature. Thanks again for stopping by.