Friday started out wonderfully. We headed out after a familiar breakfast of Raisin Bran and were determined to find our next hike. Kathy looked at the map, pointed at one of 3 trails Dave had marked on a map – not knowing anything about the hike – and we were off. Soon we were headed down the widest dirt road we have ever been on. At first, we thought the road was just under construction and the pavement had been removed. However it seemed to continue on and on forever. It was the longest, widest never-ending dirt road. Literally wide enough to land a 747 and long enough to be an interstate! Finally, we arrived at the Driftwood Boat Landing in Kananaskis Provincial Park and started up the trail. Like the road, the trail went up, and up, and up, and up. We never seemed to find the top of the mountain. Finally, we rested on a beautiful overlook near the top and decided to descend as the skies were looking a tad ominous. Heading down we took a shortcut as Kathy is still working on getting her ankle/foot to heal from the first hike in Glacier. The downhill trip was much quicker. The sad part was we saw no bears. A quick lunch in our rental vehicle and we were again off to find our next adventure.
That adventure came quickly! As soon as we were on a paved portion of the road, we saw a heard of bighorn sheep – ewes and rams! Check that off the list. Still waiting to use the bear spray!!
Next stop: another trail! Once again this trail seemed to go up and up and up. Going up we had amazing views. But yet once again we were close to the top, but not yet at the top when we decided to turn around due to impending weather.
Finally it was time for dinner! Time to relax, chill, and be casual. Oh yeah, and run from the downpour of rain and wind that seemed to open up the minute we decided it was time to stroll around town instead of hike. Great pizza! Lovely salad! And a waiter that Kathy is sure was flirting with Dave! (Dave’s comment: How is it that Kathy had not yet had any alcohol when she thought this??)
The next day dawned bright and early. Kathy, as usual, was up at the crack of dawn to drink her coffee and do a bit of work. This time of the day is one she actually looks forward to: nursing a coffee while doing a job she really enjoys. This, though, had to end and we were out the door by 08:30 AM to head to Jasper.
What an amazing journey that was!! One should never race down the Icefields Parkway. While it rained on and off all day and the high was only 50 degrees, it was still worth not racing through the sites. In this case the winner of this Amazing Race was the person who came in last! We routinely stopped to check out the amazing sites. We saw glaciers, waterfalls, and other amazing sites. The 3.5 hour drive took us approximately 8 hours due to all of the fun stops an short hikes along the way. Finally at our next home, we were pleasantly surprised to find we were in a small log cabin. Next on the journey was a nice dinner at a local brewery where Kathy tried a glass of brew with her dinner. Next stop on our amazing journey was to go back to our cabin where we finally settled in and relaxed. Next amazing race will be who falls asleep first. In this case the first one who does, wins!!