Field to Lake Louise

Sunday - July 14 - Kicking Horse Pass does NOT kick our donkey!

It was quiet and WARM. The low was 30F last night.

Back for breakfast and more encouragement.........we are going to need it!

Elk grazing right across the tracks from the village. They really didn't care how many of us were gawking.

Looking back at Field from across the Kicking Horse River. We are really glad we stayed in this friendly little village. 

Ah, sunshine, eh! Maybe it really will warm up a little today.

We arrived at one of the Spiral Tunnels just in time to see the passenger train emerge from the lower tunnel entrance. We had lots of company. The tunnels were quite the feat of engineering, reducing the grade from 4% to 2% by circling into the mountain.

The upper entrance is just above and a little to the left of the white hair. The train is coming out of the lower entrance.

This explains how it all works. It might take a little study on your part.

She is a bicyclist as well, and had some questions about touring.

Click on this one to make it big though the gist is that they dug from both ends and ended up within 5 centimeters (2 inches) of each other. Pretty amazing engineering feat!

One of the bridges that was abandoned when they finished the Spiral Tunnels.

Wapta Lake and a little bit of flatness.

These guys were very vocal about us eating a snack in their front yard.

Doug was so intent on getting the previous picture that he never noticed the one sitting on his foot. "I'm right here, take a picture of me, eh!!"

Made it! Only 2 1/2 hours after we started up Kicking Horse Pass.

Ken and Sara.....I ate the last of my dark chocolate right at the top in celebration.  We were a little disappointed that the construction meant that all signs saying that this was the top of the pass and that we were entering the Province of Alberta were missing in action.

A wildlife overpass with more mature vegetation and a bit more pleasing aesthetics than the newer ones we saw yesterday.

It's official....we have arrived....at least at the village.

Since it was a Sunday, the local bike clubs were out in force. We enjoyed talking with these members of the Elbow Valley Bike Club. 

Next to join us was Irving, a WWII Navy veteran. He was 17 1/2 when joined the Navy. He served on the USS Bunker Hill, surviving 11 battles including a kamikaze raid that killed many of his companions. We decided that he must have worn out a couple of guardian angels.

The campground was surrounded by this electric fence to keep the bears out. Made us feel a little better about being in a tent! However, we still put all our food in a bear box.

As if we needed it, we rode 2 more miles UPHILL to get to the actual lake though with bare bikes.

Just before he plunged in, we heard him say, "Do it for France!". That glacier fed water had to be really cold.

Our much anticipated ride down the hill was great for the first mile and then we ran into the traffic jam and had to put on the brakes and move to the shoulder. It was the pits but we still beat most of those cars to the bottom.

The paperwork demands to the done. I was actually a day behind on my journal and it had been 2 very full, adventuresome days. Rain and mosquitoes chased into our tent soon after this picture was taken. 

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!!