O Canada!

You probably picked up from our last post that our decision to hop the northern border was a good one. But it came with some challenges. We noticed quickly that expenses ran higher in Canada--everything from food to gas (over $5/gallon) to park entrance fees exceeded our norms. Permission to burn a campfire cost an additional $8 nightly on top of campsite fees (we decided to do without the ambiance). And no fault of Canada's, but the Trans-Canadian Highway was where we dragged bikes for a second time on our road trip. O Canada! You're getting expensive!

Perhaps it was the mounting expenses. Perhaps it was jadedness from seeing so many beautiful places back to back. Whatever the reason, Shelly and I found ourselves almost daring Canada to impress us. So we drove to Banff National Park to see what it had to offer.

Right away, we could see beautiful Rocky Mountains as beautiful as we had seen.

And the bear-watching hit new heights (a total of 18 we think).

Famed Lake Louise in Banff impressed us with its turquoise waters and mountainous amphitheater.

Trail riding along Lake Louise's Bow River was perfect for our family and beautiful to boot.

And by far the best stretch of road we drove was the Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper. Dozens of miles of gorgeous views are enough to seriously distract a driver.

We stopped along the parkway to explore the Athabasca Glacier in the Columbia Icefield.

We walked on it, jumped from it, and drank from the glacier as it melted in front of us.

So we dared Canada to impress us. And now I have to confess, O Canada! You are beautiful!