HELLS BELLS!!
Trip Start
Feb 25, 2012
1
9
14
Trip End
Mar 31, 2012
Where I stayed
Not sure yet
What I did
Dogs and Cats!!!!
Dogs
And Dogs!
And more Dogs!!
Dogs on trains
Dogs in airplanes
Dogs in Hotels
Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Lake Louise has been fantastic! - weve seen some stunning scenery, been snow shoeing, skiiing, hiking and ice skating on the lake. The lake itself is over a kilometer and a half long and was named after Queen Victorias fourth daughter "Louise Caroline Alberta", around the early 1900s. The princess never actually saw the lake, as she was involved in a sleigh accident with her husband and had to return to England. The province "Alberta" is also named after the princess. So far we have traveled through two of Canada's Provinces - British Colombia, and Alberta. (A province in Canada is like a state in Australia)
Interestingly, Queen Elisabeth II stayed in the chateau, and so did exiled king george
So yesterday we did some skiiing on the Lake Louise ski hills - one of the best ski hills in the world and not worth the money you pay (as we found out $200 later - and that was for half a day pass). So we didn't bother going back.
The skiing was awesome fun, Carrie fine-tuned her crash landings to a fine art, spiced with spectacular style with a dramatic ending; landing in the snow and sending it in all directions. It happened to me a few times as well but my poor girl took on some big slopes assuming the traditional Moore attitude of "drama first, safety isn't a word in my vocabulary" which started with her saying things like "HELLS BELLS" and ending with her down the bottom of the slope head first in the snow with one ski still sliding halfway down the slope before she had finished the S in "BELLS". Haha - I don't know where that phrase came from, and I'd never heard Carrie say it in my life but it was a hilarious.
One thing that has struck us both about Canada, is that they allow dogs everywhere - they are allowed in hotels, hotel rooms, bus's, trains, airplane cabins (pay an extra $50 for your dog to fly with you in the cabin) its weird. In fact the hotel we are staying in has their own golden retriever with a dog mat in the grand foyer at the entrance to the hotel. Oh yeah and one sister had a cute dog a the meeting =)
The snow shoeing was one of my favourites. I need to explain what snow shoes are before you hear the story. Snow shoes allow you to tread on snow with about 8 or 10 times more surface area than what your snow boots would. Like what you've probably seen Eskimos wear as they trudge across the middle of nowhere on snow. If you dont wear snow shoes, your boots will go straight through the snow, and sink into mushy ice, in some areas up to your waist or higher and you will not only get wet and cold but probably have great difficulty getting out especially if your on thin ice on a lake. Anyway, I also needed them because I also wanted to get close up photos of some melted areas of the lake which I couldn't otherwise do if I was wearing snow boots.
We walked for about 2 KMs through snow in snow shoes. We got to that spot where I took some photos and despite warnings, Carrie got so close that her foot went through the ice and into the water prompting another rescue - she was lucky it was a shallow part of the lake.
We then walked into a valley between two mountains where the track wasn't used that often. Walked about another 2.5 KMS through thicker snow and past the end of the trail into un-sounded terrain and then walked all the way back eyes popping at the scenery.
So tomorrow we will probably go dog sledding (mushing) in the morning. Then we have hired a car to travel one of the most scenic wildlife highways in the Rockies, so we can hopefully get some photos of the wildlife. Then we arrive in Banff for lunch, and stay the night, before getting up early and driving out of the Rockies to Calgary.
Keep in touch - hope your all going well!
Mike
Comments
It all sounds like fun. Actually Mike _ i am the culprit for the Hells Bells - sorry!! Keep safe and enjoy Banff and keep relaxing. Love Mum xxoo