The count for today: Bears, 2; Deer, 5; Longhorn Sheep (females), 2.
We got on the highway going south on our way to Kootenay National Park. Shortly before we got to the Kootenay turnoff, we saw a grizzly bear walking along the electrified fence beside the road. Kootenay National Park lies in British Columbia just west of Banff National Park. It is the only national park to feature both glacier-clad peaks along the Continental Divide and semi-arid grasslands (including cacti) in the Columbia Valley. In 1905, Randolph Bruce, a business man who later became lieutenant governor of British Columbia, convinced the provincial government and the Canadian Pacific Railroad to build a road between Banff and Windemere. Only 22 km were completed when the money from the province dried up. The first World War kept further resources away from road building and there was just a road to the wilderness to nowhere. After the war, a new deal was struck where Canada would finish the road and B.C. would give five miles on either side of the road to Canada. This ten mile strip of land, one side following the Continental Divide became Kootenay National Park and the road was finished in 1922. Despite the wilderness it preserved, Kootenay has been known as "the highway park".
Shortly after entering British Columbia and Kootenay, we started seeing evidence of a forest fire with tall poles with no foliage on them and new growth underneath. In 2003 a lightening caused forest fire burned 170 square kilometers (12% of the park) in 40 days. Our first stop was at Marble Canyon where a crack formed in the earth's crust as the mountains were pushed up. Unlike a fault where the two sides are displaced, the crack here was not displaced and formed a series of joints. The Tokumm Creek has eroded and exposed this crack and its joints. We climbed up the trail beside the creek, crossing back and forth across its seven footbridges, that runs through the now gorge marveling at the power of nature. At times the water was as far as a hundred feet below us. It is called Marble Canyon because the suspended rocks in the water have ground the sides as smooth as a marble.
We stopped at Numa Falls, just off the highway , and took some pictures getting great shots of rainbows in the mist. Again the water has carved interesting shapes in the rocks.
One of our stops was at a beautiful green colored pond. We walked down to the pond and while we were standing there a mule deer came out of the woods and started walking towards us. We stood still and she kept coming. She finally stopped and started back towards the bushes. We figured she was there for a drink so left so she could drink in peace.
We ate lunch beside the milky, white, glacial Kootenay River which was formed when the Vermillion and the Simpson Rivers merged. We sat on rocks by the river instead of using a picnic table. A Columbian ground squirrel who had a den under one of the rocks entertained us while we ate our lunch.
We took the short walk in to Olive Lake to see the bubbling spring that forms it and look for the brook trout. Fisherman Ted was able to spot some trout in the clear, shallow lake right away.
A downhill ride through a narrow valley and a short tunnel brought us to Radium Hot Springs. We parked, took the pedestrian tunnel under the road and bought tickets to the springs. For less than $12 we spent a couple or more hours in either a large hot pool at 103 degrees or the even larger cool pool at 84 degrees, Canada's largest mineral springs pool. We swam a little, relaxed a little and Ted even tried the diving board a few times. The pools are surrounded by high, rust red cliffs and it was just a beautiful way to spend an afternoon.
We had an ice cream for dinner (in case John Wakeman missed me talking about ice cream) before starting the eighty plus miles back to the Lake Louise Village and the campground. Just after starting out there were two longhorn sheep in the middle of the road. On our way back we also saw several more deer and another grizzly near the fence of the west bound lane of the Trans-Canada Highway.
We got on the highway going south on our way to Kootenay National Park. Shortly before we got to the Kootenay turnoff, we saw a grizzly bear walking along the electrified fence beside the road. Kootenay National Park lies in British Columbia just west of Banff National Park. It is the only national park to feature both glacier-clad peaks along the Continental Divide and semi-arid grasslands (including cacti) in the Columbia Valley. In 1905, Randolph Bruce, a business man who later became lieutenant governor of British Columbia, convinced the provincial government and the Canadian Pacific Railroad to build a road between Banff and Windemere. Only 22 km were completed when the money from the province dried up. The first World War kept further resources away from road building and there was just a road to the wilderness to nowhere. After the war, a new deal was struck where Canada would finish the road and B.C. would give five miles on either side of the road to Canada. This ten mile strip of land, one side following the Continental Divide became Kootenay National Park and the road was finished in 1922. Despite the wilderness it preserved, Kootenay has been known as "the highway park".
Shortly after entering British Columbia and Kootenay, we started seeing evidence of a forest fire with tall poles with no foliage on them and new growth underneath. In 2003 a lightening caused forest fire burned 170 square kilometers (12% of the park) in 40 days. Our first stop was at Marble Canyon where a crack formed in the earth's crust as the mountains were pushed up. Unlike a fault where the two sides are displaced, the crack here was not displaced and formed a series of joints. The Tokumm Creek has eroded and exposed this crack and its joints. We climbed up the trail beside the creek, crossing back and forth across its seven footbridges, that runs through the now gorge marveling at the power of nature. At times the water was as far as a hundred feet below us. It is called Marble Canyon because the suspended rocks in the water have ground the sides as smooth as a marble.
We stopped at Numa Falls, just off the highway , and took some pictures getting great shots of rainbows in the mist. Again the water has carved interesting shapes in the rocks.
One of our stops was at a beautiful green colored pond. We walked down to the pond and while we were standing there a mule deer came out of the woods and started walking towards us. We stood still and she kept coming. She finally stopped and started back towards the bushes. We figured she was there for a drink so left so she could drink in peace.
We ate lunch beside the milky, white, glacial Kootenay River which was formed when the Vermillion and the Simpson Rivers merged. We sat on rocks by the river instead of using a picnic table. A Columbian ground squirrel who had a den under one of the rocks entertained us while we ate our lunch.
We took the short walk in to Olive Lake to see the bubbling spring that forms it and look for the brook trout. Fisherman Ted was able to spot some trout in the clear, shallow lake right away.
A downhill ride through a narrow valley and a short tunnel brought us to Radium Hot Springs. We parked, took the pedestrian tunnel under the road and bought tickets to the springs. For less than $12 we spent a couple or more hours in either a large hot pool at 103 degrees or the even larger cool pool at 84 degrees, Canada's largest mineral springs pool. We swam a little, relaxed a little and Ted even tried the diving board a few times. The pools are surrounded by high, rust red cliffs and it was just a beautiful way to spend an afternoon.
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| Hot Pool |
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| View From the Hot Pool |
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| Cool Pool |
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| Cool Pool |
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| View From Cool Pool |
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| View From Cool Pool |
We had an ice cream for dinner (in case John Wakeman missed me talking about ice cream) before starting the eighty plus miles back to the Lake Louise Village and the campground. Just after starting out there were two longhorn sheep in the middle of the road. On our way back we also saw several more deer and another grizzly near the fence of the west bound lane of the Trans-Canada Highway.
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| Just Leaving the Hot Springs |
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