Candian Rockies
– September/October 2017
Part Two – Banff
to Seattle
Enjoyed staying in
the Yoho National
Park in the little town of Field consisting of about two streets. Had breakfast at Truffle Pig where I had
stayed, i.e. a very limited menu! I had
French toast and then was on my way to the Natural
Bridge, an impressive natural rock
formation that spans the flow of the Kicking
Horse River
and then to emerald lake, renowned for its vivid coloring. It took me about 2
hours to walk all the way around…Drove over to the Takakkaw Falls 833 feet high
and also stopped at the famous spiral tunnels opened in 1909.
Drove back to the
Truffle Pig for lunch, i.e. grilled salmon salad with goat cheese and apple
chutney and crème brulee and then on to Lake Louise, an emerald colored glacial
lake in the Banff
National Park. Walked the lakeshore trail to the end of the
lake which took about an hour and then visited the Fairmont Chateau Lake
Louise. Followed the Bow Parkway 1A, a very scenic drive, to
Johnston Canyon Resort where I stayed a couple nights in a little cabin about
25 minutes from downtown Banff. Went into town for dinner in the Juniper
Hotel at the Juniper Bistro and had tuna poke with cucumber, seaweed and crisp
wild rice and a beautifully presented chocolate tart. Excellent meal.
In the morning after
breakfast in town at Wild Flour Bakery on Bear Street I walked to Bow Valley Falls nearby. Afterwards I visited the Cave and Basin Historic
site where you can go into an underground cavern. It is also the site of natural thermal
mineral springs around which Canada’s
first national park, Banff
National Park, was
established. There is a small walking trail through the thermal pools which is
quite interesting as well. Stopped for a
quick egg salad sandwich and cookie and then reserved an icefield tour near
Jasper for the next day.
Drove back to
Johnston Resort, parked the car near my cabin and hiked the lower and then
upper falls which were very beautiful with lots of creeks, wild life, etc. Back into town for dinner at Block Kitchen
Bar, small little restaurant, cozy and quaint.
Sat at the bar and had crispy duck spring rolls, salad greens with
quinoa, beets, etc. and chocolate pot of cream – quite delicious!
Early breakfast at
Wild Flour Bakery and picked up a ginger cookie “for the road”. Headed up Highway 93 to the icefields. First stopped at Herman
Lake and then Bow Lake
where I walked around the lake for about 30 minutes enjoying the beauty of the
mountains reflected in the lake. Stopped
at wilderness lake for a lookout and then at “crossing” where food was
available. Got some delicious spicy
tomato soup which I had with some hot tea and my ginger cookie. Really cold out!!!
Arrived at the icefields,
parked my car easily and was in plenty of time for my 2:15 p.m.
reservation. Watched a video about the
icefields and then started the glacier adventure where about 25 of us drove
onto the Athabasca glacier where we had about
30 minutes – awesome. Afterwards I took
the self-guided skywalk tour which was very interesting. The skywalk is a steel bridge arcing 11.5
feet out over the Sunwapta valley. The
audio tour explains the glaciers, wild life, etc. and it takes at least an hour
to really enjoy it.
Drove into the Jasper National
Park and stopped at Becker’s Chalets where I
stayed in a wonderful private cabin for two nights. This cabin was a lot bigger than the one in
Johnston Resort, i.e. I had a kitchen, sitting room, bedroom, etc. It was delightful. Drove into town which took all of 10 minutes
and had dinner at Raven, i.e. Raven nicoise with rare tuna, fingerling
potatoes, etc. and chocolate pecan tart.
Really delicious and nice relaxing atmosphere. The town seems like a ski resort town, small,
quaint and with lots of little shops.
Bran muffin at
Bear Paw bakery in the morning and then drove to Maligne
Canyon where I took a fabulous 2 hour
hike along the Athabasca
River, i.e. many
waterfalls, deep canyons, etc. Stopped
at the Fairmont Hotel (Jasper Lodge) for lunch overlooking the lake and had
potato bacon soup and a small kale salad with goat cheese and hazelnuts.
Drove up to Pyramid Lake and walked across the bridge to
pyramid island which was rather unique.
Wandered around the town a bit and stopped for tea and a cookie before
returning to my chalet where I “chilled” for a bit. It was nice and cozy. Returned to Raven to dinner and had “Buddha
bowl” with arugula, quinoa, black beans, chicken, butternut square and banana
chips which was really good and another chocolate pecan tart. Great little restaurant.
Breakfast at Bear
Paws and I picked up an egg salad sandwich and rhubarb bar for later as I would
be driving down the icefield to Invermere and there wasn’t much to choose from
on the way up. Stopped at the five lakes
trail and spent about 2 hours hiking the five lakes, each of which was unique
and so beautiful. Stopped at Athabasca
falls, Alberta’s longest and Sunwapta Falls
– both gorgeous.
I had missed Peyto
Lake on the way up so stopped there and walked up to the Summit for a view of
the lake and then stopped again at Bow Lake where there were some tables
overlooking the lake and had my sandwich and cookie. There was also a place to get some hot water
for tea which worked for me.
On to Kootenay
National Park and stopped at the continental divide which denotes the dividing
line between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and my final stop was at Marble
Canyon with its turquoise waters of Tukumm Creek and a carved deep narrow gorge
crossing the water on seven bridges.
Such beauty!
Drove on into
Invermere where I stayed at the Mountain View B&B a ways out of town. Had dinner at Birchwood on 13th street, i.e. arugula
salad with apples, goat cheese, kohlrabi and hazelnuts and a chocolate
terrine. Very nice and unexpectly
delicious for an out of the way town.
Breakfast in town
and then walked the old coach trail where the old coaches and Model T’s used to
drive. Also took the Columbia
River headwater walk through the changing leaves. Stopped at Fort Steele Heritage town and
thoroughly enjoying visiting the 60 restored heritage buildings, i.e. barber
shop, bakery, old hotel, etc.
Charming. Drove into Fernie where
I walked 2nd street
and found the Crumb Café where I had lunch.
Cute little town. Checked into
the Lizard Creek Resort about 10 minutes from town which was a really nice
place to stay. Dinner later at Nevados
serving innovative Latin tapas, i.e. ceviche with plantain chips, pulled pork
arepa and churro bites with caramel and chocolate sauces.
Delicious
blueberry muffin at a little café in the morning and picked up a freshly made
ginger cookie to take along. Walked
along the Elk River for about an hour and then
headed to Nelson. Stopped in Cresson for
an egg salad sandwich and walked around a bit and then drove around the Kootenay Lake on the 3A. Stopped at the Glass house built by the
former funeral director David Brown in the 1950s. He constructed its walls from more than
500,000 empty embalming fluid bottles. There
is a little tour of the inside which is quite elegant.
Drove on to the
Kootenay bay to catch the lake ferry.
Had planned to catch the 2 p.m. ferry but only a small one was running
and it was full so I caught the 3:50 p.m. one instead. Took about 30 minutes to cross the lake and
it was free!!! Arrived in Nelson about
5:30 p.m. and wandered Vernon
and Baker Streets to see some of the historic buildings it is known for. Spent about an hour in the Touchstones Museum
of Art which dealt with the first nation’s heritage, the explorers, miners,
steamship captains, etc. Very
interesting and I was happy it was open late.
Stayed at Beach
Taghum bed and breakfast and had dinner in town at Sage Tapas and Wine Bar,
i.e. arugula and beet carpaccio salad with apples and goat cheese and chocolate
torte with dulce de leche.
Breakfast at Oso,
a fabulous bakery in town. Had a
delicious cinnamon/pecan bun and then walked around the lake for an hour.
Drove to Oliver,
north of Osoyoos for lunch at Miradoro in the Tinhorn Creek Winery. Sat outside on the patio overlooking the lake
and although a bit windy it was lovely.
Had tuna with potatoes and seaweed slivers and chocolate budino. Such a delicious lunch.
Drove on to Kelowna, first stopping
at the Geert Maas sculpture garden highlighting the works of this internationally
acclaimed artist. His sculptures were
amazing. Wandered around the town a few
minutes but didn’t really like it much.
Found my airbnb and it was fantastic, i.e. a private studio
apartment. Very comfortable. Later in the evening I drove to Basil and
Mint which was about 25 minutes away and it was very hard to find a parking
place. Food was nice. I ordered the 3 course menu and had poached
pear salad with arugula and toasted hazelnuts, roast duck with cranberry sauce
and horseradish mashed potatoes and crème brulee for dessert. Probably one of the best restaurants in town.
Drove to Peachland
in the morning for breakfast at Bliss Bakery on the waterfront. A fabulous bakery with delicious muffins and
great coffee. Walked for about an hour
into the small town, visited the little art museum and then drove back to
Oliver for lunch at the Sonora Room in the Burrowing Owl Winery. Sat outside on the patio overlooking the
vineyard and had a tuna nicoise open-faced on focaccia with tomato jam, tapenade
and greens and chocolate crème brulee.
Stopped at the
NK’MIP desert cultural center to learn about the Osoyoos Indian band living
culture and the desert creatures. There
is a nice trail outside through interesting plants with information, etc.
Final stop before
heading back to the U.S.
was the Desert Model Railroad with its 4000 sq feet of miniature villages,
towns, etc. and 45 computer controlled trains weaving through these villages
and towns. It was really fun to
see. Arrived in Pateros about 6 p.m. and
had a delicious tomato roasted pepper soup at the only place in town to eat,
i.e. the Bakery. Had picked up a
chocolate cookie at Bliss Bakery in the morning so had that as well with a hot
cup of tea. Perfect. Stayed at Howard’s, expensive but very nice.
Back for breakfast
at the Bakery after a nice walk around the lake and little town, i.e. just
baked and still warm cinnamon roll.
Amazing little place with such great food. Drove to Snohomish, Washington,
a very cute little town. Walked main
street and stopped at First & Union Bakery for a light lunch and then
checked into the Countryman B&B which was very nice and close to town. Changed into something a bit dressier and
drove to Herb Farm for dinner. My GPS
sent me the wrong way so when I finally arrived about 4:30 p.m. I had missed
the walking tour of the vineyards but luckily was on time for dinner. I had a nice little table of my own and
thoroughly enjoyed my nine course dinner which took about 4 hours…
The theme was An
Indian Summer. First course: Tomato water
w/braised celery and smoked Keta roe, relish of cubes, peppers and scallop
chips and tempura papa cacho potato with dried tuna. Second course: Wedges of
pear, turnip & fennel w/hazelnuts and roasted pear sauce. Third
course: Wood-roasted ling cod,
golden marigold, Pellegrini bean-tarragon sauce. Fourth
course: Mille-feuille of winter squash & matsutake mushrooms
w/fermented blackberry basil sauce. Fifth course: Grapevine-grilled 7-year old Angus tenderloin
w/ leek pie and charred leek sauce. Sixth course: Thyme-infused fresh
curds w/ Chioggia
beets in a sugar crust. Seventh course: Candied melon peel w/ lemon grass. Eighth
course: Apple baked for 36 hours,
apple cider glaze, black sheep creamy cheese ice cream. Ninth
course: Coffees and parfait of herb
farm grapes with pumpkin biscotti. There
were wine pairing with each course and all was extraordinarily wonderful! Found my b&b easily – about 20 minutes
away…
Took a walk along
the Constitution Trail and then had a delicious chocolate nutella pastry at
First & Union. Drove to the 268 foot
Snoqualmes Falls and walked the 0.7 mile trail from
the upper falls viewpoint to the lower falls viewpoint. Returned my car and checked into my airbnb on 16th Street. Had a fun dinner at the Indian style
restaurant Poppy with my niece, i.e. thalis with salmon and chicken and lots of
little tasty dishes to go with.
Took a walk in the
morning almost to Pike Market and had a delicious almond croissant and Seattle’s famous coffee at
a little café. Lunch at Pink Door in
Post Alley, a very popular ecletic spot with great food. Shared some spicy corn, pizza with arugula
and prosciutto and a plum tart with whipped cream with my nieces before taking
the lite train back to the airport and heading home.
Canada is such a beautiful country and I saw some
amazing things. I look forward to seeing
more, perhaps starting next time in New Foundland...
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