Another Day, Another Canyon!

Day 5 began as we headed toward Canyonlands National Park.  Quite a bit of the day was spent riding on the bus, taking in the amazing scenery that seems to announce itself at every turn.  This part of Utah is desolate, hot, dry and thinly populated (for good reason!).  Yet, it is also stunningly beautiful and awe-inspiring in the true sense of that word.  On our way, there were a few stops of local interest.  The first was in Hanksville, a wide spot in the road whose claim to fame seems to be that a general store and gift shop (and flush toilets) have been sculpted inside a rock.  Everywhere in the store are T shirts that say: "Where the hell is Hanksville?"  I looked but could not find any T shirts that said: "Who the hell cares!"  If one had been available, I think they may have made a sale!

Enough said!

After another fairly long bus trip, and a lecture in route from Dave about the naming and misnaming of the Grand/Green/Colorado River, we arrived at Green River to peruse the John Wesley Powell Museum.  JWP was a civil-war hero who did not let losing an arm as the result of a gunshot wound, stop him from  being a kind of rough and tumble Renaissance man.  His list of accomplishments is impressive, including being a professor at Illinois Wesleyan College, leading the first and second expeditions to explore the Grand Canyon, becoming the a lobbyist for western exploration and mapping and being the first director of the National Geological Department.  The museum is dedicated to river exploration and adventures, and was of little interest, over all to me.  I did like the statue commemorating the first expedition

. 

 John Wesley Powell and company.

We entered Canyonlands National Park, but the tour seemed focussed on getting us to Dead Horse State Park which abuts the national park.  My impression is that Canyonlands is best viewed from above, and I believe we were directed to a spot that adequately introduced us to its wonders.

View of what I take to be Canyonlands National Park

Arriving at Dead Horse State Park, we did have a clear view of the park's namesake, a distinctive white formation in the shape of the horse.  The main reason for all the excitement, however, is that this is the site of the famous concluding scene of "Thelma and Louise," a movie of some years ago that made an strong feminist declaration of independence at the time.  Western movies seem to have been an integral part of life in this part of Utah in the last 80 years.  We are frequently told of television series and memorable westerns that were shot and frequently peopled with extras from the local population.  Each of our tour leaders have tales of involvement with or relatives who were involved with some entertainment enterprise.

The namesake of Dead Horse Point.

Of somewhat more interest to me was the overlook of the Colorado River meander flowing toward Lake Powell and the Grand Canyon.  Unlike many of the "rivers" we see or pass over, the Colorado, at this location looks like a river and not a creek.

Colorado River meander from Island in the Sky, Canyonlands National Park

Island in the Sky is a large Mesa which stand above the canyon floor, some hundreds of feet.  Hence, it also offers impressive views of the canyon vista.  Our final stop was on the Island in the Sky at a stone arch called Mesa Arch.  In addition to being the first true arch we have seen on this trip, (we are assured that there are many more to come), this arch offers a view of  another arch which can best be seen through the big arch.

Mesa Arch, Canyonlands National Park

Washer Woman Arch as seen through Mesa Arch, Canyonlands National Park.

Back on the bus for another hour to our final destination for the day, Moab, Utah, on the outskirts of Arches National Park, which is the destination for tomorrow.  

The motel in Moab is poor and has no dining facilities.  The decore is late sixties, commercial, and we will be here two nights!

Adrift on Capitol Reef

Day 4 dawned bright and heading toward hot.  Consistently during this tour, mornings have been cool but warming quickly into the high 80's, and then returning to the 60's overnight.  The one exception was Bryce Canyon, where it didn't quite reach 80 due to the elevation.  I'm told this is typical desert weather.  After a day of hiking at high elevation, I was wiped out and crashed into bed by 9:00 pm (hence no blog entry) and woke up 8 hours later, much to my amazement.  It was like rising from the dead.  I am not accustomed to sleeping that long, but a few cups of coffee and a good breakfast at the motel, and I was vivified, once again.

We were told that there would be a surprise stop in the morning, before we entered Capitol Reef National Park, and they were true to their word.  We bused a few miles back to a Flute Shop, which several of us had noticed the day before, wondering what something called a flute shop in such a desolate location could possibly offer.  It turned out to be far more interesting than my imagination could envision.  Out in the middle of no-where, a local ranger began making native american flutes and has turned it into a thriving business.  Not to be outdone, his wife opened a rather high end native art and artifacts shop, co-located in front of the flute workroom.

We were given a demonstration of flute making along with a personal history of how a hobby became a business, and given a little time to shop.  Most bought flutes.  I resisted since I have two recorders at home which I have never learned to play.  Adding a pentatonic flute to the collection seemed excessive.  I very much admired an authentic Navajo incised bowl in black and brown, which, frankly, I admit, I regret not purchasing.

Ye ole flutemaker

We loaded ourselves back on the bus, and amid the sounds of novice flutists, made our way to the Park.  The "Reef"  make a formidable presentation.  It rises up abruptly from the Colorado Plateau to hundreds of feet of sheer rock (Navajo Sandstone, of course).  I asked why it was called a reef, rather than an escarpment, or fault, or rift, and was told that the pioneers who first encountered it on their way west had maritime experience, and so their analysis of such an obstacle was that it had to be navigated like a reef in the ocean.  And the name stuck.  The "Capitol" in the monicker comes from a particular formation which they saw are resembling the capitol dome.  Hence, we now have Capitol Reef National Park.

THE REEF

Our destination was a feature called "A Wash" which is a route that flash floods take when rivers and streams can no longer accommodate the overflow.  This one was impressive in size.

Capitol Reef Fremont Wash

We walked for nearly a mile up this wash, marvelling at the evidence of the power that moved (moves) large rocks and boulders down stream like they were balsa wood.  Part of our education that day included locating rocks that had been washed in from other distant locations, including some quartz, granite and limestone.  One of the more interesting diversions was a brief lecture by Dave on the archeological significance of packrat nests.  Packrats are notorious for collecting objects which are of interest to them, and then, if they find something that they like more, leaving what they are carrying in exchange for what they think is more interesting.  According to Dave, their entire life is spent on home improvement.  The archeological significance of these nests is that scientists have discovered that some of them have been in continuous use for 40,000 years!  The organic accumulation is a gold mine of information about climate, local vegetation and any number of environmentally informative indicators.

 Packrat nest, probably abandoned due to exposure from erosion.

A couple of more pictures from the walk in the wash.

It was time for lunch and a lovely spot by the Fremont River was chosen by our tour guides.  The Capitol Reef area was originally populated by Mormon pioneers who irrigated and successfully farmed the arable land that they found.  There were never more that ten families living the the community they called "Fruita."  But, they lived well and in apparent harmony for many, many years.  When the federal government approached them about purchasing their land and farms for a national park, they at first said, "No."  Eventually, though, they agreed provided that the government maintain the orchards and farmland as they had improved it.  Consequently, there are fruit trees, apples, pears, cherries and peaches scattered throughout the park.  The fruit is free for the picking, and some of our number used the lunch break to harvest apples and pears, presumably for later consumption.  The picnic grounds were very near the Gilford house, one of the preserved homesteads, which is now a museum and, of course, gift shop.  I bought a cup because I am tired of drinking coffee out of paper cups.  I resisted all other temptations although there were many.

Our next stop along the reef was to examine some petroglyphs left behind by the Fremont people who lived on the reef from about 500 - 1300 A.D.  I always find the artifacts left behind by ancient peoples fascinating, and, although it was difficult to photograph these particular glyphs, I submit one that I think is representative.

Petroglyphs at Capitol Reef National Park

We returned to the Red Sands Motel in Torrey, for a quick clean-up and a dinner at a local restaurant.  As with the evening before, we were given three choices for entrees, grilled mahi mahi, some kind of dressed up chicken or a pasta dish.  I had mahi mahi, and sat with a group of four friends with whom I had great conversation and more fun than I expected.  Not quite as exhausted as the previous day, I completed the two previous blog entries, and went to bed, tired but content. 

Brace for Bryce

Ruby's proved to be a surprise.  Located out in the middle of nowhere, at the intersection of two state highways, there suddenly appears a complex of buildings containing stores, gas stations, restaurants, gift shops, repair services, and more.  It's Ruby's!  A place that started out as little more than a gas station in the 1920's, is today the main private venue located on the outskirts of Bryce Canyon National Park.  My fears about accommodations and services were immediately assuaged when I opened the door to my room and found a desk, a table, two queen-sized beds, a flat screen T.V and a coffee maker, in other words, all the things a decent motel ought to have.  Meals (dinner and breakfast) were served from a large, well stocked buffet, which is apparently the standard for find dining in this part of the west.

Sorry to leave after only one night, and having purchased a splendid piece of Navajo pottery in the "indigenous" store, we boarded the bus for Bryce Canyon National Park, only a few miles away.  In a few minutes we began our climb to 8,600 feet to the Bryce Point overlook, and an amazing view it was!

First sight of Bryce Canyon

One of the first things we were told about Bryce Canyon is that it isn't really a canyon.  It's an amphitheater, and the erosion that created it is entirely different than that which shaped Zion.  Here a fault in the Colorado Plateau caused highly erosion-prone rick of the Pueblo sandstone formation to be exposed to the elements and rapid deterioration of the facade has created this wonder of nature.  We also learned that the shapes have all been given names.  There are wall, fins, windows and hoodoos.  Walls, fins and windows are pretty self explanatory, but a hoodoo requires and illustration.

Behold! the Hoodoo!

The formations at Bryce Canyon are beautiful in their coloring and intricacy.  It is almost impossible to look away because each glance brings a new sense of wonder and awe.  The overall impression one gets is of almost lacy sculpture from the imagination of a master tatter.  Stunning spires and crashing abysses compete for attention, and if one is lucky enough, as we were, to witness changes in light, an entirely new perspective is offered moment by moment.

A "crashing" abyss!

I walked the accessible area of the canyon rim and felt quite satisfied with the thouroghness of my exploration.  Some of our number felt compelled to do more in depth explorations and followed trails down to the bottom of the canyon.  I briefly considered making the trip with them, but quickly realized that going down was only half the story, and resigned myself, without much disappointment to exploring the Park Lodge, which is one of the few original National Park Lodges which has not burned down.  I feel that it was a much better use of my time and energy.

Bryce Canyon National Park Lodge.

We suffered and unexpected delay in our departure from Bryce Canyon due to two ladies from our group losing track of time in the gift shop, and then, not being able to find their way back to the bus.  Eventually, they were retrieved and we continued on our trek to Escalante,, Utah, where we ate a very nice lunch on the patio of a local farmer's home.  It was called a "Dutch Oven Dinner," but it seemed like an old fashioned country picnic with potato salad, beans and barbecue, pulled pork on a bun, with a little ice cream and a brownie for desert, to me.  The farmer invited people to take apples and pears off the trees in his orchard, and there was a mad rush to gather bounty from some members of the group.  I was able to resist such temptation, having concluded that I had little need for extra produce on this trip.

From Escalante, we made our way along Utah highway 12 to a thriving town of less than 200 whose name I did not write down and which I cannot recall.  It is the home of the Coombs Site,one of the sites of the archaeological remains of the Anasazi culture.  These are a mysterious people, who thrived in this arid and inhospitable land for some 900 to 1,000 years, and then simply pulled up stakes and left.  The current thinking is that their descendants can be found among Hopi, Zuni and Northern Pueblo tribes of today, but no one knows for sure.  The Anasazi produced fine arts and crafts and lived in permanent villages made of stone and mud.

 Remains of an Anasazi "L" house.

Anasazi round house.

This was followed by a presentation from the local expert in the life and history of the Anasazi.  He curated the museum associated with the site and has degrees in archaeology.  However, he seems to be struggling with senility, and his lecture, while providing some insight into the life of the Anasazi, was rambling and incoherent.  At one point he asked for questions, which he couldn't seem to remember long enough to answer.  Over all, disappointing, frustrating and embarrassing.  Apparently this same man has been "presenting" for Road Scholar for many years.  I'm afraid he has out lived his usefulness to this program.

We finished up the day with a long-ish drive to Torrey, Utah through some more spectacular scenery.   We were not told what the area is called, but it was the last area in the continental United States to be mapped.  Desolate does not begin to describe it.  I suppose it is safe to simply call it Canyon country.  It was beautiful in its starkness.  However, in what I think is a mistaken itinerary, there was no provision for a stop, even for pictures, a great loss of  an opportunity to capture more of this amazing territory in pictures.

Once again, we arrived to a wide spot in the road which serves as the jumping off point for Capitol Reef National Park, and once again, checked into a first class motel, before heading out for dinner at a local restaurant.  This time there was no buffet.  Instead, we were offered three entrees from which to chose, steak, trout, or rigatoni.  Quick and passable.  After a day of hiking at high altitude, I could not have asked for anything more.

We;re Marching to Zion, Beautiful, Beautiful Zion!

Well, maybe not marching so much as entering via luxurious motor coach, complete with adjustable seats, loads of water, a P.A. system and electrical outlets for re-charging mobile electronics!  The first glimpses of Zion National Park were already spectacular.

Approach to Zion National Park, Utah.

Our instructor, Dave, continued in his efforts to make us all more appreciative of the history of rocks, and as far as I can tell, he included a great deal of information that would be fascinating to any interested geologist.  Nearly all of it went completely over my head!  Zion was created by the raising of the Colorado Plateau, 65,000,000 years ago.  Rock which had been 3,000 to 6,000 feet underground was suddenly thrown up to where the curious could examine, analyse, comment and obsess about it,  In other words, not me!  My fascination comes with witnessing the sheer magnitude and scale of the aftermath, and a good deal of awe over it's stunning, and I would guess, unrivaled beauty.

Our excursion into the park was focused on a two mile hike up Zion Canyon, which has been formed over eons by a combination of natural erosion and geological activity.  The Virgin River flows through the canyon and creates a beautiful flood plain by which explorers such as we can take in the amazing sights leading up to the place where the canyon narrows and only the young, the sturdy and brave choose to go.  There are no restrictions to prevent traveling further, except most of it is in water, which is very cold, and good sense.   The hike through the"wide" as opposed to the "narrows," was truly eye opening.  Rather than try to describe the scenes or explain the rock formations, I think a few pictures will serve better.

The River Walk, Zion Canyon,

 Weeping Rock, Zion Canyon

 Hanging Gardens, Zion National Park, Utah

The Narrows!   Not for amateurs like me! 

Unexpected visitor.

Following the River Walk, we enjoyed a box lunch by the riverside, and proceeded to the Visitor's Center, where we saw a Park Service film presentation about, you guessed it, the history of rocks.  All that was left for the end of the day was to exit Zion National Park via the mile-long tunnel excavated out of solid rock in the 1920's to our evening destination "Ruby's," where we found far more satisfactory lodgings, a very nice buffet supper and a good night's sleep after an active and eye-opening excursion into unfamiliar terrain.

It was a stunning day, and a redemptive one for Road Scholar.  I may not have become more articulate about rocks, but the experience of the power and resulting  magnificence of mighty geological forces at work registered deeply in my consciousness, and opens the way to a deeper and more authentic humility.  Memorable in every way.

In the beginning......

I'm getting a late start on this series.  There are two mitigating factors.  One, just getting to St. George Utah was pretty exhausting.  Two, the initial accommodations is a former girl's dorm at Dixie State University were so deficient in their amenities that there was not even a satisfactory place to set up my computer to write!  More about that, later.

Not at all true to form, I was pretty well packed and ready to leave the night before D day, August 27.  My flight to Phoenix, Arizona was scheduled to leave from O'hare at 7:15 am.  Counting backwards from that time, two hours before flight to get through security and check in, an hour to the airport (just in case), an hour for early morning ablutions and final inclusions, meant that rising time was 3:00 am.  Everything went perfectly!  I was up at the correct time, called the doorman to signal a cab at 4:00 am, sharp, in the time it took to descend in the elevator, the taxi was waiting, and a very friendly and chatty Nigerian cabby got me to the airport at 4:50.

I had some concerns about checking in since this was the first trip I'd taken in a long time without a passport, but Bill, the trusty travel agent and coach assured me that I'd be able to check in with my driver's license.  Wrong!  The driver's license will get you through security, but it takes a credit card to check in.  Fortunately I have one.  I arrived at the gate with an hour to spare before boarding, just enough time for two McDonald's Sausage Biscuits and a cup of Starbucks's dark and a glance at the A.M. news.

The flight left, exactly on time, and was pretty uneventful.  No food, of course, and meager beverage service, but the flight was smooth and afforded some interesting sights from 35,000 feet.  As we neared Phoenix, I started to notice buttes and bluffs emerging from the landscape and wondered why I was so unaware the of rugged typography of the southwest.  We landed in Phoenix a little early, and had just enough of time to change to a much smaller plane to Saint George.  We landed in Phoenix on one side of the airport and the departure for St. George was at the other end, a goodly distance, I can assure you, with nothing but moving sidewalks to traverse the distance.  Still I made it with only moments to spare.  A quick trip to the bathroom, at we were boarding.  Soon we taxied out and there the story stalls.  We sat or inched our way to the take off for the next 50 minutes.  I began to fret about the arrival in St. George because I had hired a taxi/shuttle to take me to the motel and start of the tour, and my appointment with it was 1:15 pm. (an inflexible time frame, according to the shuttle company)

I had nothing to worry about.  We gained an hour flying to St. George, and the taxi/shuttle was delayed. And so, it didn't pick me up until 1:30.  I had built in some wiggle room in case there was a delay in retrieving the hold baggage.  I needn't have worried about that either.  The St. George airport is so small (and efficient) that my luggage was delivered withing minutes of me arriving.  I arrived at the Dixie State Motel (!!) at 2:00 pm local time, exactly twelve hours after my wake up time.

The end of the first day was spent in dismay over my motel room; (no morning coffee, no television, to courtesy goodies, table or desk, one lamp at bedside, oi weh!) having dinner in a university dining room, and a welcome session of introductions and orientation.  I couldn't wait for it to be over.

The worst room I've had since church camp!

Day two promised to be a little more interesting.  It began with breakfast (basically a cold buffet with a toaster and oatmeal) and a lecture on the geology we were going to encounter on the tour, given by Dave who had a career in mining before he switched over to captivating old people with the story of rocks.  One of his more illuminating discussions was to illustrate the history of the earth with a 25 foot tape measure.  Human history is less than the last 32nd of an inch of that tape.  The point being that rocks are a lot older than we are.

Dave illustrates earth's age.

We walked through the Snow Canyon State Park outside St. George and took in some of the desert beauty of the region and got a brief introduction to the plant life of this arid place.  Some of the terms we heard in the geology lecture started to have meaning as we saw actual ash cones from inactive volcanoes and took in Navajo Sandstone up close.  Impressive in its magnitude and beautiful in its own way.

 Million year old Navajo Sandstone in Snow Canyon State Park, St. George, Utah

The rest of the afternoon was spent getting an introduction of the Mormon historical sites of St. George, including one of the original homes, the original court house, the temple, to tabernacle, the irrigation system and it's rules, and the opera house with a "visit" from one of the original apostles who told us about the arduous trip across the prairie in hand carts and covered wagons.  There is no question that the early pioneers started with nothing and built a pretty remarkable functioning village in the middle of no where.  It proves, I guess, that a well organized and obedient group of committed people can accomplish amazing things.  I was particularly impressed with the extraordinary quality of the workmanship displayed in the tabernacle, which was build to seat 1,000 people when there were only a few hundred living in the area.

Mormon Tabernacle at St. George, Utah.

We finished our day off with dinner an Chuckarama, a local "favorite" eatery.  Buffet with many locals.  Bedtime couldn't come soon enough.  Tomorrow will be a better day!  We leave for Zion National Park in the A.M.

Westward Ho!

One week from yesterday, on August 27, 2018, I will begin a new adventure in the great west.  It will be the first "domestic" trip that I will undertake as a retired traveler.  It was always my plan to attempt one "foreign" and one domestic trip each year, while I am still able.  For a variety of reasons, the in-country trips have not occurred, buying a condo, moving, professional commitments, etc., all have frustrated the fulfillment of that worthy intention.  Finally, three years into retirement, I'm going to begin exploring parts of our great (it's always been great, despite some claims otherwise) nation that I have missed in my wanderings.  There is no particular reason to have chosen this one, other than it came up at the right time and it peaked my interest.

Trip #1-D is, once again, with Road Scholar, with whom I have been very pleased, not withstanding some disappointments in the Great American Get Together in Banff,  This will be in the small group format of the trips to China and Southeast Asia.  We will be touring the national parks of Utah, including a peek at the Grand Canyon, which, believe it or not, I have yet to behold.  Considering the recent attempts by our deranged president to severely reduce the area and services in these parks, I think the timing is especially fortuitous.  I'll be able to visit these grand, natural wonders before they are down-sized to picnic areas to accommodate the special, commercial interests of the few!

Getting to Saint George, Utah, our debarkation point, proved to be more than I could manage on my own.  So, I called upon my friendly travel agent, Bill, who found the magic route that will get me to my destination on time with minimum hassle.  I'll have to leave 27J at 4:00 am to catch the flight from O Hare to Phoenix, and from there to Saint George.  But I've talked to the doorman, who assures me that there is no problem attracting a taxi at that hour.  Who can believe it?

As in some of my past adventures, I will attempt to record and post day to day happenings that might be of interest.  My relatively new Dell computer served me well in Banff, and will be my companion on this trip as well.  I feel no sorrow at the demise of the iPad.  I've moved on.  Stay turned..........

And in summation .....

It's been roughly a month now, since my return from Banff.  The dust has settled and the clothes washed and put away, and the travel kit is replenished for the next adventure.  It seems a good time to sum up the experience.

Overall, the trip was fine....just not up to what I have come to expect from Road Scholar.  It seems as though it was a kind of throw-back to what Elderhostel once was, brief educational experiences housed in college dormitories which were empty for the summer.  My accommodations would certainly qualify under than banner.  My room felt like the R.A.'s apartment for a dormitory than a state of the art hotel room.  The furnishings were pretty basic, albeit showing evidence of a final project in design,  trendy, without being functional.  Lighting was terrible, and the heating system was uncontrollable, and the service (cleaning, replacing courtesy items like coffee and tea) were intermittent and seemed like to kind of job one would expect from college students doing a summer job, which, I sure, was exactly the situation.

The program, itself seemed disorganized.  Maybe the planners knew exactly what was supposed to be happening, but as a participant, it seemed to me to be a lot of last minute decision making and not much communication before the fact.  I also thought the "educational" component lacked much depth.  For example, it might have been helpful for those of us from the lower 48 to have a brief introduction to Canadian history, beyond the building of the railroad.  And while we heard about obscure pioneer women, we heard nothing about the indigenous people, now called "First Nations" and had no cultural encounter with them at all.

Over all, this tour seemed more like a promotional effort for the Banff Center and Banff tourism than I would expect from Road Scholar.  I'm glad I made the trip, but I found it worth the money only if I ceased thinking about what it could have been.

Road Scholar has a chance to redeem itself in a few weeks when I travel with them, again to Utah and the National Parks there.  It seems like an important trip to make at this time, before more National Parks are down graded or reduced by the short-sighted policies of the Trump administration.  God help us all!

My concluding pictures with be of my room, which I rate at below Motel 6!  You can decide for yourself.

A bed with a view of a service road.

Minimalist Desk and Chair

TGAGA in Banff - Days 6 & 7 - Hot Springs and Parting Glances

The final two days of The Great American Get Away in Banf felt more like a vacation.  Later starting times and a more leisurely pace gave everyone some recuperative space and unclaimed hours to pursue personal interests.

The major activity for Friday was a site visit to the original hot springs which inspired the growth and development of Banff and the entire region.  Three railroad workers who were left behind when the railway construction moved further west, decided to look around, hoping to find precious minerals and the opportunity to strike it rich.  What they found was a hot spring which had been known and used as a sacred site by the local indigenous tribes for centuries.  They immediately attempted to lay exclusive claim to it, but were frustrated by the Canadian Government, who also saw great potential as a tourist/health destination, and a possible revenue source for completing the railroad, which was costing much more money than had been anticipated.

Hot Springs Basin, Banff National Park

The Canadian government paid the men a "discoverer's fee" and designated the 64 square kilometers around the spring to be Canada's first national park.  Not long after that, the head of the Canadian National Rail Road, built a luxury hotel utilizing waters from the spring for a spa for the guests and visitors to the hotel.  There have been several iterations of of that first hotel following some destructive fires.  But, it stands, today on the same spot, much expanded and more of less modernized, still catering to the rich and famous.  A quick visit there demonstrates that there are still plenty of people in the world who fit easily into that profile.

Banff Springs Hotel - 2018

The rest of the day and evening were unscheduled free time which I spent looking around downtown Banff and locating a restaurant in which to eat dinner.  A group had loosely formed around the idea of meeting at "The Maple Leaf" at 6:00 pm, and I though it best if I located it in advance.  The meal was excellent, if more expensive than I am accustomed paying.  However to company was excellent, and aside from the price, there was nothing to fault in service or dining fare.  I even walked back to the Center (not an easy stroll!) and crashed into bed before 10:00  pm.

Day 7 also appeared to be easy on the energy expenditures.  Lecture on "Women of the Rockies" at 9:00 am, and another excursion in and around the Banff area.  First stop was another lake, this time, "Two Jack Lake," a pretty place set in a rugged mountain location.  For the untrained eye, it looks like the other lakes that I have posted.  However, there was one unique feature to this stop which makes it memorable.  There were skin-divers swimming in the water, which is so cold, we were told, that one would loose consciousness in minutes if unprotected.  What human being will get up to in pursuit of adventure and entertainment!

Insane divers in Two Jack Lake

We visited momentarily another lake, Minnewanka, which is the largest and deepest lake in Banff because it is also part of a hydro-electric power operation which has raised the overall depth of the lake by some 40 meters.  As we were leaving Minnewanka, we were treated to our first real sighting of native wild life.  An elk feeding beside the road gave everyone an emotional lift and a great photo opportunity. 

Young Elk, feeding at Lake Minnewanka

A walk-through at the Banff Springs Hotel lobby and observation platform marked the end of the excursions in this program.  All that was left was an afternoon viewing of the Banff Center Mountain Film Festival, an annual event which draws people who love mountains, mountain scenery, personal mountain stories and mountain history.  The program was made up of approximately a dozen short films, most lasting less than ten minutes.  I couldn't get my hearing aids adjusted so that I could really understand most of the dialogue, and, unless one is a fanatic mountain enthusiast, the entire presentation went on about one and a half hours longer than necessary.

That was followed by a "reception" to which all the cougars, elk and wolves were also invited, where photos of the various groups were shown on a projection screen, and a free glass of wine got everyone talking loudly enough to be heard.  This is the sort of social arrangement from which I flee.  Hearing aids do not help in situations with lots and ambient noise, and the conversation is usually inane.  I calculated my escape and made it happen in record time, back to the quiet and solitude of my room.

Tomorrow morning, this merry band departs for their various homes.  I feel that it's time to go, and so I will happily take my appointed bus at the appointed time to Calgary, and then on to Chicago.  I will be making a summation post in a day or two.  In the meantime, I'll add one more picture to this blog.  I think it could be called:  Banff through the rear window.

Banff, Adieu!

TGAGT in Banff - Day 5 - Going out for Ice!

Another early start! Board the bus at 7:30, leave at 7:45.  Morning ablutions, breakfast, bag lunch pick-up, all before that.  But, it was a mild, partly sunny morning that held a lot of promise.  Our ultimate destination was the Athabasca Glacier, one of sever emenating from the Columbia Ice Field in Jasper National Park, 60+ miles north of Banff.  Again, we headed west, but only for a short distance until reaching the Columbia Icefield Parkway.  Then, miles of break-taking scenery through some of the most rugged mountain terrain in Canada.  Truly towering peaks loomed on every side.

Roadside scenery on the Columbia Icefield Parkway

Our first stop was at Bow Lake, the very source of the ever present Bow River that flows through Banff and parallels the stretch of the Trans Canada Highway that we have traversed many times on this trip.  It is a beautiful lake, glacier fed, as almost all the lakes we have visited are, with cold, pristine water in a gorgeous setting.  But appearances are deceiving.  Our Guide warned us that the water in the lake is polluted with industrial toxins, air-born from Asia years ago, that precipitate out in the cold air and settle on Bow glacier, then into the lake, and then into the area food chain, affecting most severely the bird population.  There is no remedy since glaciers melt at their own pace ..... which is glacial!  The explanation of why this lake and not others seems to be that the distance from the glacier to the lake is very short, not allowing sufficient time to "purify' the run-off.  Still, it looks beautiful!

Bow Lake and Bow Glacier, Banff National Park

Less than half an hour later, we were at another spectacular lake and glacier.  This time it was Peyto Lake with it's stunning color, again produced by the mysterious rock flower which the glaciers produce.  We were told, yesterday, that rock flour looks and feels like wheat flour and can be used in the ways that other flour is used, but it tastes bad and functions as a strong laxative.  I'm curious to know who and when made that discovery!  Visit after visit to these mountain lakes and glaciers, we are told how far the glaciers have retreated from their extent even fifty years ago, often measured in miles.  So far, no one has blamed "climate change or global warming ......... however" is always an addendum to each explanation.  The lake is situated at Bow Summit, at around 7,000 feet, and marks the location of the continental divide, in this case, divided three ways. From this point, water flows to the east, the west or the north.  The only such location in North America.

Peyto Lake, Bow Summit, Jasper National Park

Our pace was slowed somewhat by highway maintenance and repairs along the way.  But, we were brought to a complete stop by some avalanche prevention that was going on atop one of the sheer rock walls adjacent to the road.  Apparently this is a regular occurrence on the Columbia Icefield Parkway.  Having cut through mountains in order to construct highways, the newly exposed rock is prone to dislodge itself and crash down on the roadway.  Highway repellers were looking for future problems in hopes of reducing future rock cascades.

After a half hour delay, we were again underway to the Columbia Ice Fields.  Along the way, on every side, more beautiful scenery as we rose and fell through numerous heights and lows along the way.  Occasional waterfalls could be seen as the snow from only a few weeks ago, continues to melt and streams speed down into the valleys.  Rapidly flowing water is everywhere.  It only makes sense that some of it will result in elegant waterfalls down sharp cliffs.

We stopped at one particular scenic vista to eat our lunch in the bus.  Our appointed time at the glacier was 12:30, and upon arriving, it was clear why timing was so important.  This is a destination which, I'm sure, rivals Lake Louise for popularity.  We were loaded onto a shuttle bus to take us on a four minute trip to the glacier staging area.  There we transferred to one of the several glacier vehicles and taken to a specific area on the Athabasca Glacier, itself.

Specially built vehicle for glacier transport at Alhabasca Glacier

Our allotted time on the glacier was 15 minutes.  We were very fortunate that the weather was good and the temperature and wind were quite moderate.  Having spent a good part of my life in northern latitudes, walking on ice was not particularly novel.  However, walking on mile deep ice provided a unique and memorable experience.

In the 1960's, the glacier came down to the road.  This picture captures the amount of loss that has occurred in the intervening time.  Predictions are that in less than one hundred years, it will be entirely gone and only a lake will be left.

Alhabasca Glacier, 2018, Jasper National Park

Rush Hour on Alhabasca Glacier, Jasper National Park

Alhabasca Glacier in only one of eight glaciers emanating from the Columbia Ice Field, but it is the one which has been most successfully developed to accommodate the tourists lust for safe adventures in exotic places.  The Canadians seem to have done an excellent job of this, judging by the popularity of the sites we have visited, as they have with so many other contemporary challenges and opportunities.

Our trip back to Banff was, of course, another visual feast on the landscape on Jasper and Banff National Parks.  We arrived back in by 5:30 with plenty of time for a dinner of German fare and a quiet night to rest and recuperate.

TGAGA in Banff - Day 4 -Far More Bear-able!

Having learned an important lesson the hard way, I indulged in a weather search for Lake Louise, the Bear's destination for today.  At 5:30 am, the temperature was 5 degrees, C, which I calculate by my lazy man shorthand method to be about 39 degrees, F.  The predicted high was around 58.  I was determined to be prepared for anything!

We were not due to leave until 8:30 am, so, after outfitting myself with what warm clothes I had, I set out for a late breakfast at 7:45, ate sumptuously, and met the other Bears at the appointed time, and we were off, headed west, once again to Lake Louise.  Within half and hour, we were stopped dead on the highway.  Inching ever so slowly forward we eventually discovered the cause of the delay.  A black bear had somehow gotten through the electric fence which parallels the entire highway to keep animals and speeding cars apart, and was making its way, at its own pace, toward an access gate that has been  opened by wildlife officers who were waiting patiently for the miscreant to return to its safe(r) haven.

Canada, at least in these national parks, has gone to get lengths to protect wildlife from harm.  The barrier fences are only part of an effort that includes migratory overpasses and underpasses for roaming critters, and strict laws about human animal interactions, especially feeding.  It seems to be working, at least for one peripatetic bear this morning.

Bearing with this schedule, we arrived at the Lake Louise ski area by 10:00 am, and were treated with an enlightening lecture/program about bears!  Our lecturer introduced herself as someone who has had working relations with bears, wolves and coyotes for most of her adult life.  Without going into detail, I think it is safe to say that she mesmerized our Bear-clan for over and hour with facts and antidotes that greatly expanded my knowledge of a subject I didn't know I was interested in.  A hardly necessary lunch followed (I'd only finished a large breakfast three hours before), and we got in line to ride the ski lift up the mountain for a better view of the area.  Our destination was about half-way up, since the top ski lift was not running in the summer months, but half-way proved to be adequate to our quest for spectacular scenery.  There were hopes of seeing bears on the mountain side.   But the only one we saw was a great distance away and make its appearance while we were still eating our lunch.  We may have seen the same bear, only farther away, on the way down the mountain just before departure.  Everyone seemed to be bearing their disappointment well and without paws (sic) for regrets.

View from Lake Louise Ski Slope toward Lake Louise

Amazing vistas in every direction could not hold us from our next destination which was Moraine Lake.   Our guide said that this was a lake created by an avalanche and was supplied entirely by run-of from the surrounding mountains.  It is a beautiful blue color, again caused by "rock flour," that mysterious substance that made Emerald Lake green.  It all has something to do with light absorbing properties, but the result is truly lovely to behold.  I don't understand the physics of a screwdriver so optics is a complete mystery.  Getting this picture required some stair climbing and a fair amount of huffing and puffing.  I'm sure it's the altitude and not my age and physical condition that is responsible!  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Moraine Lake, near Lake Louise, Alberta

Then it was on to Lake Louise.  That Lake Louise is a tourist mecca is a terrible understatement!  Our guide said that often there are as many as 2,000 people, all standing at the shore line, taking and posing for pictures, or taking numerous selfies which has become the current passion.  We were lucky, we were told.  There were probably only half that many there, today.  So we were still able to find a place to snap a picture or two.  Lake Louise has a long history as a tourist destination and it certainly deserves it.  Many famous people have stayed there and still do.  The present hotel has approximately 500 rooms at around $300 a night, we were told. Too bad that the tourists are the main obstacle to enjoying its palpable serenity and unrivaled beauty.

Lake Louise with its glacial source, Alberta

The program says, "Dinner on your own,"  Some of our number were hungry as bears and were dropped off downtown to sample local restaurant fare.  I returned, gratefully to my room, about which I will comment at a later time.  Dinner for me was at the campus "Bistro."  I had a huge pulled-pork sandwich and a salad with garlic and tahini dressing.  Good company and good conversation with a couple of other bears who showed up to forage at the same time.  It's been a full and entirely bear-able day to remember.  It's time to call it!

TGAGT in Banff - Day 3 - Fall(s)

It was a beautiful morning here in Banff.  The temperature, a bracing 43 degrees, Fahrenheit.  Had I only known that was approximately the high temperature for the day, I would have radically altered my wardrobe selections!  The only times during the entire day, I was adequately dressed were the times spent on the bus.  I should have brought fall clothing instead of "cool" summer stuff.

Pretty promptly at 8:00 am we headed west toward the continental divide. Our initial destination was Takakkow Falls, the third largest in Canada, at 700+ feet.  We traveled over the Trans Canada Highway which basically parallels the Trans Canada Railway, until we turned off on an access road which was narrow and windy, and at one point, required our driver to back up a switchback so that we could proceed!  We caught several views of the falls before we were actually there, each more impressive than the last.  Finally, we stood across from the splash zone, engulfed by the mist, and the slow drizzle that had begun by this time.  It was still in the 40's.  Takakkow means "It is magnificent" in Cree, and so it is.  Probably even better in sunshine and 75 degrees!

Takakkaw Falls: It is magnificent!

After a return trip  on the same mountain road (this time backing down the switchbacks), we were again on the Trans Canada Highway.   At some point I'm not at all clear about, we left Banff National Park and entered Yoho National Park.  Yoho, we were told, is Cree for "awesome!"  We were on our way to Emerald Lake, the largest lake in any of the Canadian national parks.  We stopped to admire the Engineering feats of the Canadian Pacific Rail Road in the design and building of the "Spiral Tunnels."  It seems that the original route which was pushed through in a hurry, had a grade of over 4 degrees.  The consequence of that questionable short cut was that it took five engines pushing, to get a train up the grade, and run-away trains that crashed were an all to frequent occurrence on the down grade.  A very expensive and brilliant solution was borrowed from Swiss railroad builders, large spiral tunnels dug into the mountains through solid rock (three of them, I think) modified the grade and reduced death and destruction.  (Why is it that there is never time to do things right, but always time [and money] to do things over?)  The tunnels themselves were not very visible , though the terrain was scary, and no trains came to offer us a demonstration, so we moved on to Emerald Lake.
It too is scenically arresting and well worth the trip.  If only it weren't so cold and damp, the rain having just ceased.  Emerald Lake as anyone might guess, is alight shade of green.  This comes from "rock flour" that washes down from the mountains, and remains suspended, indefinitely.  Since it is entirely glacier fed, it is cold, cold, cold.  I saw a young couple inflating a kayak and asked them if it had a heated bottom.  They did not seem to get the reference.  I'll bet they did a little later.

Emerald Lake, Yoho National Park

There was one thing of particular interest, there.  We were greeted with a huge caution sign warning of avalanches from November to June!  The lake is surrounded by high mountains which collect large amounts of snow which habitually slide down toward the lake.  One such avalanche slope was easily visible and demonstrated the destructive power of these snow slides.  But, they also bring some good, clearing out large areas of trees for new growth and pasture-like conditions for grazing animals.

Avalanche slope, Emerald Lake, Yoho National Park

Our guide finally allowed us time to eat our bag lunches, all of which had been ordered two months ago, mid afternoon in Field, Alberta, one of the other railroad towns along the Trans Canada Railway, which has now become another tourist mecca.  We were told that there was a lovely picnic area there, and so there was, and it would have been a pretty good place to rest and recuperate if the temperature and the wind would have born less of a chill.  Some sun would have helped, too.  Instead we got a hurried meal with sprinkles and a mad dash to the reception center for warmth.

Continuing the return trip to Banff, we traveled a half and hour to a natural bridge over the Kicking Horse River.  This is a direct result of centuries of erosion, and because of the hard winter and remaining snow pack, all rivers and streams are at almost full flood and ably demonstrating the power of racing water.  The Kicking Horse River was no exception!

Natural bridge on Kicking Horse River, Yoho National Park

There was supposed to be a walk about examination of flora and fauna at some point during the day.  But, the weather being so inclement, we headed back to Banff early, to the delight of everyone on the bus.  Cold and damp is no way to spend June 26!  Our final stop was at the water falls of the Bow River which runs through Banff.  Hardly an event after the experience of the truly spectacular Takakkow Falls, and the wind and the rain were back in force.  So a quick picture and back in the bus for this guy!  I know when I've had enough!

Bow Falls, Banff National Park

There is suppose to be some kind of music program this evening, contemporary, they say.  But, since I haven't cared for much of the music since the 70's, I think I'll pass.  I was thinking about going to the sauna that we were told was here.  But, when I checked into it, there is only a steam room.  So, I think I'll channel surf Canadian T.V., make some tea, read Compline and call it a day. 

More anon.