30th April 2012

Hi all. I really have some catching up to do today........we have had a couple of days on the road and then one night without any internet access so I haven't blogged for a while.

So, we arrived in Banff on the 26th after a scenic drive along the Icefield Parkway. It was late by the time we arrived as we have been spending a lot of time stopping to take in the scenery along the way.
We woke, the next morning, to a pretty cold miserable day. The forecast was for rain and snow flurries so we were hopeful of actually seeing some snow fall. 

We decided we would head up to Sulphur Mountain and take the Gondola ride to the summit.  The Gondola is an eight minute climb 2292 ft straight up to an elevation of 7486 ft when you reach the top. The view along the way is spectacular. When we reached the top we then walked the 1km skywalk up to the Cosmic Ray Station, National Historic Site of Canada, and back to the summit terminal. Of course we had to buy a couple of souvenirs before we headed back down the mountain. On the way up and down on the gondola you can see the odd person hiking to the top of this mountain, through the snow and rain....unbelievable!

The Gondola Terminal. The summit of the mountain
 is at the top of the snow lined trail to the right of the photo.

The view from the top.

Emily half way up the skywalk.

The view from the Cosmic Ray Station.

Unfortunately we didn't get to see any snow falling. However when we got off the Gondola the wind chill must have been below zero cause it was freezing. We bravely headed up to the hot springs....which sounds nice but the pools are actually outdoor so you have to keep your whole body submerged or it is unbelievably cold.

Mark & Em in the hot springs.

The steam off the hot pool was sooooo thick
 cause it was sooooooo cold!!

The next day we hit the road heading out of the mountains toward the Lakes District of Brittish Columbia and eventually back to Vancouver. We had only intented to make it as far as Sicamous which is about 4/5hrs from Banff, but ended up driving through to Kelowna instead. After being in the snow for a few days(which we thoroghly enjoyed) it was nice to see spring come to life the further west we got. It was amazing to go from seeing ski shops snd skidoos everywhere to all of a sudden seeing boat yards full of boats and dealerships absolutely overflowing with Motorhomes and R.V's for sale!!!!

An almost thawed river

The trees getting greener

The beautiful clear lakes of the Lakes district.

And the blossoming trees.

This lake at Peachland was crystal clear and so still.