Chapter 3: The Mystery of the Two Waterfalls

~Dwylin and Nathan began stirring around 5 AM this morning hoping to catch the sunrise, and they found one.

~It was around 7:30 that we pulled out to an overcast and drizzly morning. We were in Banff National Park, which is the days planned leg which would also take us to the town of Jasper located in Jasper National Park. 

We've been driving through the Canadian Rockies enjoying the mountaintop views with jagged cliffs and pristine looking bodies of water that have a beautiful robins egg blue color and are clear enough to see to the lake bottoms. This morning though, most of the view was hidden behind the clouds, as they unloaded their rain on us.

~We drove a couple hours till we hit the big tourist attraction of Lake Louise.

~Definitely a beautiful setting as the lake lies at the bottom of several mountains that still have snow on them, but we were looking for some excitement away from the crowds. The best way to find adventure is to make your own. So, spotting a lookout high up amidst the trees we were off to try and find it. The trail began flat a just followed the edge of the lake, but finally, the ascent began. Before we reached the lookout we came to a clearing with a rock overhang and we, of course, had to climb up for an even better, more dangerous view of the lake.

Back on the trail we did some more climbing and finally reached the lookout high above the lake, able to catch our breath from the physical climb but losing it to the view of the lake below.

~By now the clouds were beginning to dissipate giving us a better view of the creation we were driving through. We may have looked like six guys with bobbleheads as we looked up to see the uniqueness of each snow-covered peak declaring this one looked better than the last, but also looking to the lowlands and any wildlife that may be hanging by the rivers and lakes created by the snow melting off the mountains. We rose and fell through kilometer after kilometer of the Rockies rising to elevations as high as 6800 ft. Seeing a waterfall gushing down a mountainside we pulled off for a better view. Quickly, Jon and Matt slid down the embankment in search of a better view. Nathan, Dan, Dwylin, and Jared soon followed and another waterfall was found where we could practically walk underneath. 

After a couple more hours of exploration we were off in search of a campsite for the night.

~With all of the wonders of God's Creation that we have witnessed on this day.  The only thing we kept wondering was... where are all the stinking animals? Then, just like a "Hardy Boys" book, It happened. 

While driving we again seeing vehicles pulling off to the side of the road, but usually, it seem like all the other tourists in these parts were impressed by the smallest of animals. This was probably not gonna be worth our time. Then driving past the cars, Hello Dolly Parton there he was! Dan squealed his way to a stop, and everyone jumped out so fast that they forgot for a second that Dwylin was still in his back bunk napping. With our camera's in hand we crested the hill to find that this was not a simple Elk, but a flippin' huge one. 

Upon our return to our 'Mobile Housing Unit.' We discovered that Dwylin was on his computer editing photos for this very blog. We could have felt bad for him, but in his lack of sleep and being unable to see the elk as we drove by he elected to stay and guard the unlocked RV... But don't worry we won't let him forget what he missed anytime soon!

~We pulled into Wild Horse Campground at 7:30 and immediately set to work preparing some supper as all the exploration, while giving some much-needed exercise, had worn us out and worked up an appetite. Steaks, potatoes, asparagus and baked beans were the menu tonight.

 We went to the lake after supper. We walked the shore, skipping stones and taking pictures as the sun slowly set behind the mountains in the distance.

Back at camp sleep came quickly came to our tired bodies as we fell asleep to the call of the common loon(That is a bird. Not a drunk Canadian).

Bonus Picture of the DAY!

OFFICIAL GRADE for this segment:
A+