Banff National Park in Summer

First time we visited Banff was with my sister & family during their trip to Canada. It was April & that's when the place opens for tourists. April is considered the ending of winter in Banff, with snow falls still happening here & then. Many here usually visit Banff in summer, so our summer trip was due, only until our parents' visit. Timing was perfect & no better trip could have given them the beautiful impression of this beautiful country. So, we set on to Banff in August.The entire drive of 900kms is beautiful. Can't take our eyes off those rocky mountains & wide spread greenery. All those rocks are fully filled with snow & even the trees; so in winter we really couldn't make out why its called Canadian Rockies. The tip of the mountains are completely rocks while trees cover them all over for the rest 3/4th of their heights. All the time we were comparing the contrasting sights of winter & summer. Both are entirely different & yet as breathtaking.We were amazed with the greenish blue waters in the all lakes that we crossed. It's said that the sulphur content of the rocks mix with the melting snow & hence that color.

Like last time, Lake Louise was our first stop. We were just in time to not miss canoeing. Steering the canoe to right direction was a big challenge. With 3 people in a canoe we did want to go 3 different directions & sync up! When we stopped rowing the canoe, the waves would hit the canoe & turn it to its course of direction; it was a lot of fun!


Next day morning our first visit was to Sulphur Mountain. The sight from the Gondola ride & mountain, was again, so different from how it looked in winter. We could hike up to the tower on the next mountain & enjoy the view.

We then headed to Icefield Parkway in Jasper National Park. There are 12 viewpoints between Lake Louise & Icefield centre, but only a couple of hours in hand! We took stops at Bow Lake & Crowfoot glacier points, rest we just drove by.

From Icefield centre, they take us in an Ice Explorer bus on to the Athabasca Glacier. The bus stops on the glacier & tourist are given 30 minutes to walk around . In winter, the entire area - the surrounding mountains & boundaries were all filled with snow & the site was very cool. Now, the glacier was the only ice & the surrounding mountains were all black. It's said they are the rocks & minerals the Glacier pushes in its 20m move forward in its lower part every year. The upper part moves much faster, 127m per year. This is the only Glacier in World which has the bus accessibility on it. The rest of the glaciers are to be reached by helicopter or hiking.

Before heading back home, we decided to visit Johnston canyon the next morning. The Canyon gets completely filled with snow & the waterfall freezes during the winter. Tourist hike the waterfall in winter. When it all melts, the water flow erodes the rocks & that's how the canyon is formed. They have constructed a walking rail for the entire stretch of few kms in the canyon. The walk in the canyon was very pleasurable & the force of the waterfall very awing.We visited Banff twice in the year & have wonderful, lifetime experience & memories of its two different facets.

Lake Louise - The frozen lake

First destination we hit as we reached Banff was Lake Louise. April, and the lake is still completely frozen. We did sight a few frozen lakes enroute to Banff, however Lake Louise is the renowned one. Least had we known that we could walk on the frozen lake. The sight of the lake being fully frozen was itself mesmeric.

Eventhough we could see so many people moving on the lake, to take the first few steps on it was edgy. At most places the ice was thick and in some it looked like fresh snow settled down.

It's an astounding experience to have been there. When we checked the website for Lake Louise, apparently, there is a totally different facet of it in Summer.

Banff

Its close to 850kms from Vancouver. Well, we could drive. It would take may be more than 10 hours, with a few refreshment stops. With kids it might be tough to have them tied down for that long at a stretch. Breaking it down to a one-stop journey seemed a good option. In that case we could start a day early, drive half the way, rest and continue from there the next morning.

That's how we decided we would stay in Salmon Arm and then continue to Banff the next day. The drive was aesthetically scenic and beautiful. It's called the Avalanche Country 'cos you see avalanches everywhere and driving through those snow filled rocky mountains was amazing.



Almost all the lakes that we passed were frozen. It was very sightly to see each one of them. In few the ice had started to melt, on few we could see layers of ice floating and creeks had thick side layers of ice & streams flowing in between.



They say that we should visit Banff once in winter and once in summer. The winter visit was a great go, I'm eagerly waiting for the summer visit.