Magical Icefields Parkway!

Our rest day in Banff was spent wandering the shops. Banff reminds me alot of Queenstown - full of tourist souvenir shops and sports shops; and well-kept tidy streets and buildings. The Cascade Gardens were amazing, just spilling colourful summer flowers. That's one thing I can't get over: the amazing arrays of flowers everywhere we go - mainly in hanging baskets. Like a celebration, of the short summer.
The next day we checked out of the hostel, stored our bags downstairs and set off for a dayride around Banff.

We visited Lake Minniewanka, then Lake Johnson; then took on a mountain bike track which was good fun on the non-suspension touring bike!

All up it was about 30km of touring around Banff, a great chance to see the mountains better. We picked up our things and set off from Banff in the early afternoon, with a very foreboding sky. You could see the rain in the mountains all around.

We arrived at the Johnston Canyon Campsite, and when we checked in the warden said "there is a grizzly bear hanging around, the bear warden is keeping an eye on it". Needless to say I didn't sleep all that well in my tent that night.... The next day we talked to another warden about the bear; apparently the bear warden has been 'hazing' the bear - firing rubber bullets at it to make it more wary of humans; and to keep it away from the campsite.

The next day the weather wasn't that great so we stopped early in Lake Louise. The forecast was for rain and -2 degrees overnight - so that made the decision of booking into a hostel easy! Jimmy got burnt in the unpredictably hot shower, and they refunded his night's accommodation fee.
As we were heading off the next day we bumped into a group of cycle tourists doing a fully supported cycle trip of the Icefields Parkway. The guides gave us some snacks "take more! we like to look after cyclists!" and told us where they would be meeting for lunch "Come on over, have the leftovers; they'll just go to waste otherwise".




The weather was stunning the day we left Lake Louise - the mountains were crisp against the blue sky, with stripes of snow at the tops....

We had a wonderful day's ride (we are in the mountains at last!!) and arrived about 100km later at Rampart Creek. We were tossing up whether to camp or hostel - due to the cold - so we checked out the hostel first. It was a cute bunch of rustic buildings in a lovely setting, with just a german couple lounging outside. The warden wasn't all that effusively welcoming and said "you do realise these type of hostels have no running water, no electricity, no shower and pit toilets?". Charming. But still sounded warmer than camping, so we took it. For $27 - EACH. Not long after we'd had our early dinner a whole hoard of Adventure Backpackers turned up with their shouting guide. Some of them actually had backpacks; the rest trundled heavy suitcases from their van across the gravel to their rustic dorm-room. We escaped the now crowded kitchen and sat outside drinking our coffee with the german couple. Jimmy says his food intake has increased dramatically since I joined him (he was cycling by himself for 2 months before he met me in Vancouver). He used to just buy himself a Subway for dinner - now I am doing big pasta cookups!

The next day we set an alarm to get up and use the kitchen before the masses. After a nice bowl of hot porridge we were on the road by 8am. It was cold!! Fortunately there was a big hill to climb which warmed us up very effectively. We arrived at the Icefields tourist centre in time for lunch. There were buses of tourists mingling around, lining up to take the bus onto the Columbia Icefield. We were mooching around looking for some food when we came across a restaurant offering a $20 buffet. We were sold. So we sat at a window seat looking over the glacier, with a huge plate of food each. We were in heaven. Until we'd finished, and the food sat rather uncomfortably in our stomachs. I reminded Jimmy that he'd just been telling me we shouldn't eat so much.... Fortunately it was downhill with a tailwind after lunch; allowing time to digest. The scenery as been just great. The Icefield Parkway is a tourist highway (it is not a main route to anywhere; only tourists want to use it); so the traffic is fine; the views are fantastic; the road runs along a valley with towering cliffs/mountains off to each side. We haven't seen many wild animals, just a few deer and loads of squirrels. Still no bears, for which I am not at all disappointed!