Golden to Field

Saturday - July 13 - Into Yoho National Park

And who said I can't have chocolate for breakfast....I have a lot of climbing to do! We are stocking up on Tim Horton's bagels too.

Our buddies Marcus and Leo are right on schedule, following us up the big hill right out of town. This time it really is the last time we will see them as their path and ours will diverge. They plan to go all the way to Lake Louise today and are much speedier uphill than we are. Happy pedaling, you two wherever you go!  

Promises, promises...........we didn't see even one.

Up and up we go.

Looking at our upwards progress. Seeing how far we've come helps keep things in perspective when we look up the road.

Shucks, we have to go down a little!

A very nice REST area and was strategically placed as far as we were concerned.

Because up we go again! :) 

This overpass is designed to get wildlife safely across the highway.

An elk fence ran along the highway for miles and miles to keep the animals from getting run over. This one-way gate allows animals to get out of the highway corridor if they accidentally manage to get in inside the fence. If you look closely, the heavy wires are curved outward. There were also several wildlife underpasses.

All that grayness is bug-killed trees. There were several similar large areas in this canyon.

Bagels and cream cheese for breakfast #2 anyone? They do travel well and hit the spot.

And it was a delightful little spot complete with seat-sized rocks.

The roadside flowers are abundant. These lovely lilies are new to the mix we've seen so far.

It sure looks like it wants to rain tonight.

It is also predicted to be close to freezing tonight. We had planned to camp but now a real bed and warmth sounds much more appealing. We stopped at the Field Visitor Center where the lady told us to just go until we found a vacancy sign in front of one of the many guesthouses in town and knock on the door. We followed the Kicking Horse River here all the way from Golden.

Not a guesthouse but the original park supervisor's house.

Success.....no one was home but the note said that a room was available and all we had to do was put out the "NO" on the vacancy sign out front and the room was ours. Sweet!!! Mount Stephens Guest House is our home for the night.

Now for a 3:00 lunch. This place was just a couple of blocks down the street.

Good food for thought as we ate good food for our stomachs.

Now that we had a place to stay we had time to return to the visitor center to check out the interpretive displays. Ken and Sara, who we met at Illecillewaet Campground, told us about local Burgess Shale which is rich with these fossils.

The history of Field and Yoho National Park were also part of the offerings.

The Canadian Pacific Railway was a big player in promoting tourism in all the National Parks in this part of Canada.

A current sentiment about this friendly little village.

Based on a recommendation by Ken and Sara,we went to dinner at the Truffle Pigs down the street from our abode,  Then 2 minutes after we arrived, who should walk in but Ken and Sara, following their own advice. Our party of 2 quickly became a party of 4. We enjoyed the rest of the evening getting to know them better. What a wonderful way to end a wonderful day!!