We let ourselves sleep in on Friday morning (28 Aug) and awoke to glorious sunshine streaming down on the tent, warming things up. The temperature had gone down to zero overnight ~ one guy said something had frozen on his site! In the wee hours we had noticed Zoe curled into the tightest smallest ball she could manage and put a blanket over her.
After a leisurely breakfast, we finally sallied forth about midday to explore the Park. Our first stop was Athabasca Falls. The campgrounds stretch along one side of the Athabasca River, a grand noisy rocky milky-turquoise fast-flowing beauty. We had taken Zoe for a walk along it for an evening walk on Thursday and we were all entranced by it. The Falls did not disappoint.
We even found a trail leading away from the crowds and upstream, where we let Zoe run off-leash. Zoe and I both had dips in the water: truly glacial, bracing and invigorating!
After an afternoon nap was had by all, we roused ourselves in time for supper and a bonfire … and back to bed.
Since the forecast called for rain, we’d put up the tarp over the picnic table earlier in the day. It rained, as predicted, for a good part of the night but by the time we were ready to get up today (Saturday 29), the sun was up and warming the tent again.
In New Zealand, it was already 29 August; AlexAndrea's first wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary you two! So many happy memories from this time last year! And so grateful that it happened last, not this year. You were able to celebrate in person with your families and friends surrounding you!
Today again we relaxed away the morning - oh! except Richard who posted our belated blog. (Turns out writing up the blog and adding the photos takes us about 1-2 hours. It's a surprisingly time-consuming affair which neither of us realized when we cheerfully agreed to keep a blog of our trip. Hence the delay in some of the postings. We've either been too darn tired or the cell phone connection has not been strong enough to allow all the technological wizardry.)
And then we set off to explore Maligne Lake. We learned it’s pronounced “muh-leen” - from the French adjective (fem) ”maligne” meaning wicked - named after a river running out of it.
Maligne Lake is about an hour's drive up the mountains from the campgrounds. A spectacular drive around Medicine Lake, surrounded by peaks and mountains, through a significantly impressive area which looked to be in recent recovery from a forest fire, and up to the popular attraction of Maligne Lake. A strong wind from the north reminded us of the elevation and lowered the temperature to just above 10C.
We hiked a 2-hour loop to a smaller lake, Moose Lake, which was a hidden gem, and away from the crowds, but alas, no moose.
Apparently, the moose didn't know there was a lake named for her, and instead, we found her, back at Maligne Lake, feeding in front of a large crowd. Seemingly unperturbed by canoeists, the Park's official tour boats, and the crowd of charmed spectators, she focussed on her dinner. What surprised both Richard and I (moose experts that we are - not!) was how she was mostly submerged, with only her hump showing. She appeared to be pulling up vegetation from the lake bottom and only brought her head up to breathe, with a loud gurgling and splashing. Zoe was rivetted by this enormous 'waterfowl'!
We drove back to the campsite yawning and thrilled from our successful explorations. Another cold night is ahead but we'll all be cosy in our blankets and sleeping bags. Tomorrow we finally cross into BC!
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