Sept. 26-28: Cranbrook

 OK, so on with the show!  Our next stop was?  You guessed it!  Cranbrook!  Just a couple hours or so south of Radium, we stopped here mainly to visit Fort Steele, a ghost town some friends recommended.

 The place we stayed at was an interesting set up.  It was primarily a lodge but had a few full hook-up sites in back.  Wouldn't have been too inviting (although the motel looked nice enough) except that it was right next to a pretty little preserve.

The lodge had some neat murals painted on it.   

 And on to the preserve!  Dogs away!

 Sniffing the breeze along the preserve's lakeshore.

 Time for an all-inclusive outing!  After all, cats like to walk too!

 Back to the rig.  A little close for comfort but OK for a few days.

 One day, tons of kids suddenly showed up!  Evidently a preserve outing. 

 Tractor making the most of a sunny day, and as usual, you're never far from others in an RV (Ouray at the wheel and Scratty on the seat back - grey toadies visible).  What can I say?  It's a family thing...

 Tractor's TV:  the world.  So much to see! 

Sept. 25 - Yoho: The way home

Last bit.  Last light.  I wish I may, I wish I might, savor this place till dark of night.

 I wish I could've spent more time in Yoho.  It really deserved much more than a drive-through.  But the day was not young at that point, and I just had to drive.

 I think this was the little town of Field.  Here is a pic of the town with passing train cars adding to the splash of color.

 The town with the Kicking Horse River in front.

 The town reflected in a pond.  

 Another pond with more autumn in it.

 Dramatic clouds and light.

 It was getting dark, and I couldn't afford to stop, but I had to grab a quick shot of this pretty little scene.

 What a back drop for one's cabin!

 Yoho was an interesting mix of railroad and trucker traffic and pretty wilderness.

It was really too dark for this picture - esp. with a moving object - and it came out a bit blurry, so I applied a photoshop filter to try and get away with it anyways (not really obvious unless you enlarge it - by clicking on it, and maybe not even then!  It's a pretty subtle treatment).

So there you have it - the last best part of our trip, in my opinion.  But don't go away yet!  There's more coming - not as wowee as this stuff was, but there are still good-looking cats and dogs to be constantly documented, and you never know what else we might come across together in the nearly two months of travels to go yet, and I intend to finish this thing!  So stick around!

  

Sept. 25 - The real incentive: Waterfowl Lake

We drove by this lake both coming and going, and it took my breath away both times!  I was so mad at myself for not driving down from Jasper to spend some time photographing it.  But it was such a long drive from Jasper, and there was so much to see closer in.  And I just forgot.  But I figured I had one last chance - to go back, and to spend one more day with the too-good-to-be-true turquoise and incredible mountain surroundings.  After all, who knows if or when I'll ever be back.  I do so hope that someday I'll get to see this special place again.

 I think there are multiple Waterfowl Lakes, but I only visited the one by the road.  

 One of my favorite photos from this day (and from this trip!).  

 Just outrageous that a place is allowed to be this beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Just unreal.  I know these photos could never do the entire experience justice, but I hope they can give you at least a hint of it.

 The rainy day and low clouds might've been a bummer for everyone else, but they only added to the mystique for me!

Just unbelievable stuff.  I feel so blessed to have seen it in person.  And I recommend the same to you!

Sept. 25 - Birthday rewind!

So on the 23rd, we moved to Radium Hot Springs, but on the 25th, I gave myself my birthday present:  I rented a car and drove back to the Icefield Parkway!  No, I had NOT had enough of that gorgeous area yet! And there was so much that I hadn't spent time at because it was too "in the middle" of Banff and Jasper - just a little too far from either place to easily reach.  I did a very long loop, going through Yoho on my way home. A long day but well worth it!!

 The cool natural entrance into Radium when you come from Kootenay National Park!  See those tiny motorcycles?  Good perspective, yeah?

 Same spot but looking the other way - towards the Kootenay end.

The Radium Hot Springs.  The various hot springs sure vary in their temperatures!  This one was cooler than I would've liked, but that did allow us to stay in for a long time!

 Here is one of those reddish spots in the dead forest I showed before.  Such an interesting look, don't you think?

Some of the peaks, where Route 93 meets up with the Icefield Parkway.

 I had to make one more stop at one of my favorites - Peyto Lake.  Hmm, that yellow bush wasn't there last time!?!

 There's my rental car.  Not as fun as my little Ford Fiesta was - and WAY more expensive (being rented out of the teeny town of Invermere) - but it got me where I wanted to go, so...!

 Fall colors and glaciers sure go well together!

 The colors were really popping at that time!

 The Saskatchewan River Crossing.

 A look at a braided river - just like Alaska!

 More fall colors.  I don't know about you, but I just can't get enough of them!

 The Num-Ti-Jah Lodge.  Opened in 1950, this neat-looking place (right on the shore of beautiful Bow Lake) was built by Jimmy Simpson (famous Canadian mountain man) and his family.  Num-Ti-Jah is pine marten in the lingo of the Stoney Plains people.  Looking on-line, I can see that this place is scary-expensive, like most of the classic places are, but what a location (and probably less crowded and touristy than Banff, Jasper, and Lake Louise because there's nothing else out there except the Parkway!)!

More Alaska-like fall colors around Bow Lake.

 A little too rainy for sitting out on this day but sure would be a nice spot on a warm sunny day!

The Crowfoot Glacier.