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July 29, 2005
Visit the Rockies ... once more
Wildlife, glaciers and turquoise lakes are among the highlights
of a nine-day car trip.
KYLE BERGER
Just about everyone I spoke to before leaving on my nine-day road
trip through the Canadian Rockies and back recalled visiting the
area once before.
"Oh, it must have been 15, 20 years ago," they said.
"Yes," I replied, "I remember doing this trip with
my family when I was 10 years old. But my wife's never been there,
so we're making it our vacation."
My advice to anyone who remembers visiting the Rockies 15, 20 years
ago: Do it again. Soon.
Milking the money-saving concept of not having to spend $1,000 on
flights for this vacation, we decided we would also pack up the
camping gear and make it a combination indoor/outdoor trip.
Our first few days took us through small-town British Columbia,
with stops at Osoyoos, Christina Lake, Nelson, Kootenay Lake, Cranbrook,
Castlegar and Radium Hot Springs.
We camped at beautiful provincial sites right on Christina Lake
and Kootenay Lake the first two nights and at a private site with
a creek running through it in Radium Hot Springs on the third night.
Although Radium boasts the largest public hot springs pool in the
mountains, we particularly liked the pools at the Ainsworth Hot
Springs Resort, just 20 minutes north of Nelson. Between its large
warm pool and cold plunge pool, the Ainsworth resort has an even
hotter pool that leads adventurers into real mountain caves where
minerals can literally be wiped off the cave walls. Mini falls of
hot, fresh spring water feed the pool.
Without a doubt, the highlight of the trip came as we left Radium
for the first of five national parks that line the B.C.-Alberta
border.
Almost immediately upon entering Kootenay National Park, you are
hit with the spectacular views and wildlife that make the Rockies
great. We drove for only 20 minutes before another road-tripper
stopped at the side of the highway and brought our attention to
a dark, furry friend roaming in the bush. This would become the
first of three black bears and one grizzly we saw near the highway
in the three days we spent roaming the Rockies. This first bear
even crossed the road right in front of our car (with us safely
inside, of course).
The many visitor information stations around the area provide great
insight into the many walks, hikes and viewpoints that make the
region such a unique destination.
While in the national parks area, we decided it was time to sleep
on a real bed for a few nights. We made our reservations with the
Decore hotel chain, which features a wide range of accommodations
in the Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper areas. Our first night, in
Banff, was at the Juniper (formerly known as the Timberline Inn),
a gorgeously renovated facility with classy, retro styling overlooking
the town. We got a sampling of paradise when we opened our blinds
to a spectacular view of the ridge-peaked Mount Rundle, the Vermillion
Range and the Vermillion lakes.
A few minutes after arrival, we were greeted with a cold-stone plate
of fresh fruit and cookies – a personal style of service that
we quickly became used to at the Juniper. This was almost culture
shock after the mosquitoes that had greeted us in our tent.
Day five of our journey stood on its own as the most spectacular
adventure. That sunny day, we made the 230-kilometre tour from Banff
to Jasper on the Ice Fields Parkway.
As our guide map had suggested, we set our odometer to zero at the
Lake Louise Junction and spent the next seven hours navigating through
glorious site after glorious site with our informative guidebook
in hand. The rocky peaks, surrounded by turquoise mineral lakes,
canyons and miles and miles of glaciers make this drive more like
a scavenger hunt of the most spectacular kind.
Bears, elk, mountain goats, sheep, chipmunks and deer came out to
greet us throughout the day as we hiked, trekked and strolled through
some of the world's most imaginative landscape. We even stopped
at the Columbia ice fields, which cover more than 200 square kilometres,
where we were able to spend a few minutes walking on the foot of
the Athabasca glacier. By the time we had arrived at Decore's Chateau
Jasper, we were ready to make like bears and hibernate.
We headed back to the Lake Louise area the next day, where we checked
into the Castle Mountain Chalets. Located right between Banff and
Lake Louise, under the watchful eye of the appropriately named Castle
Mountain, the chalets were made up of a village of log cabins and
apartments in a camp-like setting. Two well-kept barbecue stations,
a general store, a fitness room and a steam room make Castle Mountain
a great place to spend a week or two. Its close proximity to Lake
Louise and photographers' favorite spot, Moraine Lake (which is
as nice in person as it has ever looked on film), were an added
bonus.
We left the area by way of Yoho, then Revelstoke national parks
and took in the town of Revelstoke's Canada Day celebrations. We
spent that night, back in our tent, on the beaches of Shuswap Lake,
just outside of Salmon Arm. Our final day included a stop to pick
some berries on our way back home to Vancouver.
This trip was, indeed, an adventure of discovery, with each day
bringing a whole new element to the experience.
Information on the Canadian Rockies can be found online at www.travelalberta.com
and at www.explorealberta.com.
Information on travelling throughout British Columbia can be found
at www.hellobc.com.
The website for the Decore hotel chain is www.decorehotels.com.
Kyle Berger is a freelance journalist and graphic designer
living in Richmond.
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