In August, 2006, Claudia, Elizabeth, Kay and I left Oklahoma City and began driving a 4,800 mile trek to Canada and then on to the Artic Circle. We are good friends and remained that way throughout the trip although many folks thought that by the end, none of us would be speaking to each other. This trip, after all, was no afternoon shopping spree at the mall!
Kay and I had planned the trip for over a year. We had been in Whitehorse in the Yukon a couple of summers before and had run into a young man who was on his way to "Inuvik" to go kayaking from there to the Artic Ocean. I had never heard of Inuvik, didn't know where it was, but figured it was up north, . . . way up north. When I returned to Oklahoma, I found it on the Internet and the plans began to "go see for ourselves."
During the spring of 2006, whenever anyone asked about our summer plans, Kay and I would respond, "We're going to the Artic in August." Usually the inquisitor would ask again, "Where?" When my nephew added with a bemused grin, "why?," I responded "because I want to." That was the only reason I could think of.
Elizabeth decided to go all the way to the Artic Circle and Claudia elected to travel up to Banff in Alberta, Canada. As news of our plans spread, there were different reaction from people. Women generally loved the idea of the four of us crowding into a GMC Yukon and venturing north on our own. Men had different reactions. "Are you taking a gun?"; "What about the terrible roads?" "Are you going to camp?" "Do you have a CB radio in that car?" "You're going to fly, aren't you?" "You're not going all that way by yourselves, are you?"
Finally, August 18, 2006 arrived and we were off. We drove to Fort Collins, Colorado the first day and Butte, Montana on the second. The days of driving were filled with talk, good weather and good laughter. Claudia is a computer and Blackberry whiz. Most of one afternoon was spent teaching Elizabeth how to text message on her cell phone and watching "CRASH" on the DVD player as the flat plains of Kansas rolled past us.
By Sunday noon, we were in Great Falls, Montana and hungry. We stopped at a charming diner on the main street that is decorated in a 1950's decor; that, is - checkered tiles on the floor, a long soda fountain bar, small booths and tables, etc. 
It was a great place and had good food.
An elderly man captured my imagination as he sat alone, eating his soup. He didn't talk to anyone and no one talked to him.
BANFF, ALBERTA, CANADA
We crossed over the U.S. border north of Shelby, Montana and ventured into Alberta, Canada around mid-afternoon, and after getting lost for a short time in Calgary, we made it to Banff in the evening.
People were out walking along the streets of this mountain town and the aire was festive. I had been in Banff once before and loved the feeling of being back in the Canadian Rockies. These mountains are so massive that they make the U.S. Rockies seem like foothills at times.
We ate lunch at the Banff Springs Hotel, a wonderful, castle-like, old hotel that sits on the side of a mountainside. On one of its large porches, beautiful flowers were in bloom.
The porch was on the second or third floor of the castle and
looked out over the Bow River valley. The Bow river winds around Banff and the surrounding land like an aqua snake that threads itself through mountain-lined valley.
In Banff - flowers are everywhere and thrive in the cool mountain temperatures.
You can even find them in alleys.
Petunias thrive in baskets - a wonder to me when I think of how many times I've tried to grow them in the hot Oklahoma summers!
BOW VALLEY PARKWAY (Highway 1A)
Outside Banff, the Bow Valley Parkway leads to Lake Louise. 
The Parkway is a two lane highway and has wildlife in abundance as well as wonderful scenery of the Rockies. Two summers ago Kay and I saw several bears along the parkway and people were amazed that we had seen so many. I do believe that many drivers race along the highway and they miss all that is going on around them. If one takes the time to look, I don't believe anyone could travel the parkway and see no wildlife.
On our first short drive along the parkway, we saw a bear not far from Banff. Cars of other tourists were stopped on both sides of the two lane highway - forming what is called by locals a "bear jam." One has to be careful not to run over wildlife or reckless tourists intent on catching pictures of bears when driving on this parkway. Later, we saw big horn sheep. They come down from the mountains to lick the salt on the highway. 
They are incredible creatures who seem fearless of trucks and cars speeding around them as they walk along and on the highway. Of course, it could be that they are totally clueless of the danger that lurks on this parkway! The Rockies are incredible!
LAKE LOUISE & MORAINE LAKE
On August 23, 2006 - we made our way to Lake Louise, taking the Bow Valley Parkway. Lake Louise is a big tourist attraction and there is good reason that so many people from around the world love to see this lake and its glaciated mountains along its shores.
Its color is so unusual and so beautiful - a phenomenon caused by the glacial silt in the lake, minerals in the water, and the blue of the sky.
The water is quite clear. And it's a great place for pictures! 
We took a gondola ride up the ski slope of Whiskyjack mountain. It began raining on us when we got to the top.
But rain or shine, it's a gorgeous view of Lake Louise across the valley.
After stopping at Lake Louise, we took the short but winding road up to Lake Moraine. It's an emerald colored lake, and there is a small lodge with an excellent restaurant along its shoreline.
While there we met a group of "young in spunk and spirit" group who called themselves the "SECOND 60's" club. These energetic folks hike every Wednesday in the summer and go skiing every week during the winter. It was a cloudy and rainy day but the drops and occasional slick spots on the mountain trails didn't stop them.
A stuffed black bear standing outside the lodge's gift shop was too much of a temptation for Claudia who decided to pose for another picture. (Some folks will never pass up an opportunity for the paparazzi!) Unfortunately, I couldn't get both the head of the bear in the picture and Claudia too.
On August 25, Claudia started back to OKC via Dallas in order to check on a new grandbaby whose grand entry into this world was scheduled. But mother nature had other plans - and although Claudia was there, the baby decided to delay its debut. Eventually the baby did come - and all was well and is well.
ONTO JASPER AND THE COLUMBIA ICEFIELDS
After Claudia left, we started up Highway 93 to Jasper. North of Lake Louise, Highway 93 is known as the Icefields Parkway. This route is lined by massive, glaciated Rockies that seem to go on forever. 
Not far from Lake Louise is a wonderful, old lodge 
built in the 1920's by a man named Jimmy Simpson. The lodge is called the Num-Ti-Jah Lodge and the mountain behind the lodge is named after Simpson. The lake to
the east of the lodge is the Bow lake. 
While we were there, a watercolor artist was taking advantage of the beautiful day to try some plein aire painting. The restaurant served a good lunch of breads, soups, cold cuts and desserts. After a relaxing stop, we continued up the Icefield Parkway.
The day was spectacular - cool, clear and sunny.
The Columbia Icefield covers over 240 square miles. Approximately 58 miles from Jasper, a Canadian Parks Center has gigantic "Ice Explorers" which are buses with tires that are over 6 feet in diameter. These buses shuttle tourists about a mile onto the Athabasca Glacier. 
These buses are used by the U.S. Government in Antartica as well. There was a breeze 
on the day we were there and quite chilly. I was glad we had on our coats as the wind swept down across the ice which is at least 1,000 feet thick where we were allowed to walk across the ice. Blue horns along the ice were meant to warn tourists of pools of water created from thawing ice. I was careless and stepped into one of them, testing the truth of the "waterproof advertising" for my boots. But standing atop a glacier is a wonderful experience, especially when one thinks of all the individual snowflakes that have fallen over the centuries to make this river of ice. When one sees all of the tourists streaming across the ice, the glacier seems innocent of posing any danger to anyone. But a healthy respect for this wonder of nature is a must. A couple of years ago, one tourist hiked up the glacier (which is allowed) and fell into a crevass. He died of hypothermia before help could arrive.
