This
is a real "Grandma picture." Kev's just doing a cute pose in the hotel
room.
We
stayed at the Banff Springs Hotel (here's a picture
from the top of the gondola). The first thing we wanted to do once
we got there was to hit the pool. The weather was great and we needed to
refresh our bottoms after a couple hours in the car. They have an outdoor
pool that we swam in, too, but jeez how many pictures of pools does anyone
really want to look at?
We
dressed up for dinner at the hotel that night, which the kids couldn't
believe we had to do on vacation! Before we ate we enjoyed the view from
the deck, and then we convinced the kids that we should take a family picture,
and then convinced them that they should at least fake a smile for it.
So here we are, sincere smiles or otherwise.
The
next day we rode the gondola to the top of the mountain. The view was amazing,
and the smiles are ALL sincere. We also saw about a dozen big horn sheep
up there.
On the Road Again
We
hung around Banff for three days. We saw the original smelly springs, took
a golf lesson and toured some other museums. Then we headed out for Jasper,
about a four hour drive north.
The first stop along the way was at Lake Louise. 
As
promised, the water was turquoise blue from the minerals collected by the
glacier. It was also windy and cold. Eric ducked low to stay warm and catch
the view while Kevin let me pinch his head.
We detoured a few miles and stood on top of the Great Divide.
This is the ridge line of the Rockies that separates the western portion
of the continent from the eastern portion.
The picture on the left shows Eric and Kevin standing with one foot on
each side (it's also the line between British Colombia and Alberta). The
coolest thing about the Great Divide is that any water going west of it
flows to the Pacific Ocean, and any water going east flows to the Atlantic.
They have a stream there that splits and goes both ways. You can stand
in one place and spit in two oceans.
Next
we stopped at the Columbia Icefields. This is one glacier feeding out from
enormous icefields in the mountains. There is a tour that starts in the
parking lot, busses you up to another lot where you get in these snow-going
busses. This tour site has 23 of the 24 busses of this type in existence.
The other one is at the South Pole. At the far end of the ride you get
to walk around on the glacier. The ice is over 1000 feet thick.
Hey, count me in on any tour where the bus is named "Brewster"!
Jasper
We
finally made it to Jasper without major mishap.
No, wait a minute - there was a big argument over whether we saw bighorn
sheep or mountain goats at the top of the Banff gondola (photo evidence:
it was sheep). This was significant because Kevin had gotten a stuffed
bighorn sheep (plush toy, not mounted trophy) as a souvenir and was concerned
that it wasn't what we had seen. Otherwise a great drive.
Speaking of a great drive...
For the first
time in any of our lives, we went out on a real 18 hole golf course.
The lodge has a great course as part of it. The views along the way were
stunning.
We didn't break any records, or windows (or wind), but we had a blast.
Here's some pictures of us out there. Eric loved driving the cart, even
though he wasn't technically allowed to be doing it. He did a great
job at it. Kevin is taking a practice swing here, which is why the ball
is still sitting on the ground. The other picture is of Sarah and me on
the 15th green. You can see the lodge behind us across the lake.
We
left on Saturday morning, flew out of SFO to Calgary. This is Sarah and
the kids in the car on the way to the airport. So far, everyone looks pretty
happy.
Here
we are at Customs in Canada. If you look closely,
Kevin is sticking his tongue out. Yep, that's my boy. Eric is a bit more
subdued. I got in trouble when I took another picture there - for some
reason they don't like cameras in the Customs area. It wasn't the only
time I got in trouble, but it was the only time someone official looking
sneered at me.
The
next morning on the way out of Calgary we went by the Olympic Park where
the 1988 Winter Olympics were. We stopped to look around, and lo' and behold
they sell tickets to ride the luge! I couldn't pass it up, so they covered
me with padding and gave me a shove.
