g - Over the Icefield Parkway

 

Ok, so the Aurora lights have not yet lit up the night sky - not that we saw anyway..... Neither of us slept well at all what with one eye firmly planted on the glittering stars in a really crisp and clear sky.  At around 6am everything changed and the clouds and rain moved in and I think we both fell into a deep and very welcome sleep.  It was really cold and we were glad that we had not unhooked the bakkie the night before - not so funny how cold the tow-bar gets overnight!

And so after a late sleep in we headed directly north, through farmlands, inside - or is it outside? - fences and underneath an endless string of powerlines.  The never ending farmlands kinda lull one into a different frame of mind and the day went by very smoothly and quietly.  We went through the Canadian Customs at the Port of Piegan with no hitches at all.  Well, they asked us for proof that the doglets had had their rabies shots, and we only had Allie's tag.  Sophie is not yet due for hers but Mr Customs Man wavered there for a moment.  Last time we came through here we were searched from soup to nuts while we sat outside on a hillside.  We were glad not to have to go through the same thing this time.  So there we were, 11.30am and in Canada on new roads that we had not travelled before.  I routed us through Cardston, Alberta this time which is on the East side of the Rocky Mountains... wanted to drop some good thoughts there for Cam and Cora.  The other times we have been up this way we went up onto the Rockies from the West side.  This was a nice change and it was lovely to see the little towns along the way.

It rained all day, which apparently threw Blondie off somewhat and we spent much of our time driving through the center of fields (according to her)......... maybe this is how crop circles are made?  Lost tourists with Blondies??

One good thing about the rain is that it keeps the windows free of bug splat - but thats about it.  The doglets hated going out to walk and I think they learned well how to walk on the tips of their nails.  Neither of them performed when we took them out but fortunately they both use the training pads we have for them.  So we did not stop as often as we had on other days........... no point.  And too cold and wet.

And then we noticed that a few cars had ice and snow on them!  Whooo hoooo!  And the rich green trees had this fairytale sprinkling of the white stuff on them that reminded me so much of trying to get that effect in painting class with Bea.......... next time I will be more casual with my brush - there is no rhyme or reason to how that stuff lands, just makes it beautiful in the big picture.  The mountains were also littered with newly sprinkled snow and everything looked, well, ethereal and beautiful.  What a welcome change from the rolling wheat hills...

We stayed in a campground that had towering snow filled mountains all around and trains that ran all night.  There were a hundred million rabbits and all their evidence all around and they stuck us right next to a dumpster.  But - I had internet! :)  We were both keen to get out of there this morning and sat a little straighter in our seats in anticipation of the wonders ahead of us.

Today I have felt much as if I am at a tennis match.  Looking left and right and left and right and left and............... well, you get the picture!  The mountains are absolutely stunning.  We have been across here a good few times, but they never lose their thunder.  Right at the beginning of the Icefield Parkway they had put up solid tall fences and I was just starting to sulk at the idea of having to see all this from behind a fence, when it stopped and the beauty really rolled in with no fences or power lines at all.  

We drove between mountains on both the left and right as well as in front and behind, that spew waterfalls of varying size but always with beauty and their own special zigzag way down. Some of them come from waaaaay high on the mountains and others just seem to come out of solid rock not too high at all.  Some of them are tall and narrow and others more messy and casual on their downward journey.  Dotted between these waterfalls is the river that meanders like a huge lazy snake through the trees.  The color of this water is amazing. It's a soft, creamy type of light blue water - sort of milky yet clear at the same time, and then it is all topped with the white water that is created by it rushing over the stones and rocks.  This is glacier melt water and ice melt and there just is nothing like it anywhere else.  When all this runs together into the many lakes around here, it just takes my breath away.  The color of the water is totally something else - absolutely beautiful.  Turquoise does not describe it well enough - maybe I will have caught it in some of the photos..........

It's as if I have a deep yearning to get close to this water - its like home in a weird way, when I am close to it.  I feel almost disappointed when the rivers run away from the roads and when the lakes hide behind the trees and I find myself sitting forward on my seat craning to see the next piece of water.  Frank teases me by chanting "water, Annie, water!" and yes, it gets the camera up and taking aim every time - even my kids laugh at the number of water photos I have.  It's just absolutely awesome to see this.  Sometimes we saw beautiful, gentle, blue lakes right next to another that was brilliant green with algae....... the color differences around here are stunning.  The greens of the trees and shrubs vary all across the spectrum and the blue's do too.  And all along the way the sides of the roads are littered with pink, white and brilliant orange and red flowers, berries or grasses.  

The mountains have all this snow on them but they are not solid white anymore after most of it melting this summer - but what is up there highlights the crevasses and cracks in the mountains showing some wonderful wavy patterns in the rocks.  There are a good many glaciers around here and its amazing to see how they seem balanced at an impossible angle way up high.  When the sun was just right we could see that awesome blue that belongs only to glaciers.  It was cloudy most of today, but not too badly so and it definitely did not spoil all the views.

We thought we might go on the Columbia Icefield tour this time, but there were just too many people so we just drove as close to the glacier as we could, looked at the throngs of people walking up there and headed on down the road some more.  It's just all so beautiful and again I find it difficult to explain it in words so will try to get pictures up as soon as possible.  It's quite amazing that no matter in which direction you are looking, there is something beautiful - I look in the big rear view mirrors of the  rv and out of the back window to see what is behind us too.  The side windows capture  pictures into another world too - we were literally surrounded by wonder.    What an awesome place to be.

Instead of driving on the regular road for the last bit of the Icefield Parkway, I put us onto the 93A, an alternate route.  Well, now I know what that road is all about - I have wondered on the other times we have been here.  When we come back through this way, we will use the regular road.  It was a minute, bumpy, narrow, overgrown road that was totally blocked in with trees, only leaving a small gap way up above where we could see the sky.  There was one place that we stopped and walked to the river, which was totally lovely, but generally..........well, no.  And then we were spat off the Parkway much sooner than we expected. We wanted to stay up there tonight but miscalculated the distance and found ourselves heading into British Columbia.  So here we are........

I am not sure whether we are just really relaxing now or whether it's because there is so much around us that is so much bigger, more important and longer lasting than anything we can imagine, but we find ourselves smiling and laughing a lot more lately.  We are in a campground that has no power or water to the sites, just trees, squirrels and birds.  It's totally quiet - well, apart from Franks sleeping in the back...........and I just love it.  

Earlier on we took the doglets for a walk which they finally enjoyed - it was warm enough to walk in just jeans and t-shirt - lovely.  Anyway, we found the showers and headed back that way after depositing dogs in the rv again.  So I walk into my side of the showers to find two tiny available cubicles.  At least each one had its own proper door - some campgrounds only supply a flimsy and much too small curtain!  Anyway, I looked at the shower and just about decided that I was not, after all, going to get wet.  The air had become definitely chilly and well, the floor looked as if it could do with some elbow grease.  I had forgotten my 'shower shoes' too.  But I wanted what Frank had called "a good hot shower", so I turned on the water and was instantly soaked with fairly hot water..........Ok - shower time!  And then right when I am ready to get under it, the water switched off.  Oh heck, one of these.  You press the button and it gives you water for 30 seconds and then stops.  So in I get only to find that the shower head sprays a beautiful circle of water which made me have to move in circles around this minute cubicle in order to get wet - it was as if someone had stuck something on this immovable shower head to prevent water coming out in the middle!  And they had bars on the walls for some reason, which collected my head every time I moved.  I press the button, quickly soap up, press the button again, half rinse off, button press again - and the water is colder!  Frank has started his shower on the other side of the wall and has taken half my hot water!  Anyway - after many multiple pushes of that button through gritted teeth,  I got rid of the shampoo and soap and started dressing.  Ever dressed in such a tiny space that when you bend over your butt touches the very cold wall on one side making you jerk so that your head hits the opposite wall and your elbow collects the door knocking it wide open so that you can see the trees outside?  By the time I was dressed, I needed a really hot shower!   At least there were no spiders.

But its lovely here and I am listening to some amazing bird sounds as the sun is setting.  The smell of fires and meat cooking is seeping through the window and the smell of pine is just lovely.

We are heading up to Watson Lake in the Yukon which is about 1300 miles from here and there are lots of open spaces to see the lights.  If we see them before then, we might just head south to warmer places.  None of us really enjoy the cold at all and some long walks in the warmth would be really gooood.

We are so very fortunate to be able to do this and not a day goes by without us knowing it.  I think back to my early 20's when I thought I knew what I wanted from life, when I had it all nicely planned out and packaged up, and I am tremendously grateful that nothing turned out that way!  This is truly wonderful and wonder-filled.

Love and light

Annie

Here's the photo link again:  http://photobucket.com/annieb

 

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