Tuesday 24 September 2013

Day Three - A Saturday for Whitewater Rafting down the Kicking Horse River


On our third day we woke up a little early, we had to be at the rafting place for 8:30ish as it all began at 9AM. The drive was very scenic, lots of cliffs, beautiful rocks and more trees of course. I took some shots along the highway of cool things. Above is a picture of the rafting place we arrived at. Inside the garage was where they hung all the wet suits and other equipment for rafting. The guys working were really funny, very successful at making us all laugh and enjoy our time throughout the day. So the first shots below are the drive in, there were a few bridges and rocks to drive through, the final shot is a shot of all the gear we were suited up in. We left our camera and phones in the truck so we weren't able to take shots along the way, but there was a photographer Jacq bought some of the pics from.






We chose to do the day long raft, so we stopped at lunch time for a BBQ along the river, it was really good. The only part I didn't enjoy was the outhouse that was not cleaned for weeks, it was disgusting to pee in it, I think I gagged the full 30 seconds I was in there, and the worst part was that our wet suits were wet and they were hard to peel off our butts to actually pee! hahaha (tragic I know) I should have just peed in my suit and jumped in the river.
 

This was our group. The guys in the back of the raft were travelling from Italy, Mauricio and Richardo, I nicknamed them Maurice and Ricky. They were bouncing the raft in this shot which is why we're all laughing so much. We were a bit of a rowdy crowd (suprised?) I can't remember the other two guy's names, however they were from Sasketchewan/Winnepeg and Beaverton. We had a great crowd, the day was so fun. Perhaps the best part was doing cowboys off the front of the raft and watching the guys loose their balance and fall in. At one point Jacq and I jumped off the raft with Maurice and floated down some rapids without the raft. The water was soo cold as the river is glacier fed, I was the last one in the water but my hands were pretty much numb, I couldn't really feel them when I tried to pull myself up on to the raft.
When rafting was over we went back to the lodge, had a fire outside after stripping down and putting our dry cothes back on, had a beer and chatted with everyone. I so meant to get the other two guys names who rode motorbikes across Canada each summer but somehow forgot to do so.
Jacq and I left, we went back built our own fire, made yummy sausages and relaxed. It was hands down one of my favourite days. Here are some more shots. The next day we packed up and headed to Jasper, stopping at other major highlights along the way. :)

Action shot - we were in front on the first part of the trip
 
Going under the Bridge

Monday 9 September 2013

Emerald Lake Pt. 2 - Long and overdue

So sorry for flaking out on these posts. I haven't had time since I've been back to actually write, spent last week in Penetanguishene, ON for a job (I know, the luxury!).

Continuing on, Day 2 in the rockies. I left off at Emerald lake, and some of the shots from the hike around the lake. Still, probably my favourite "scenic" days of all. We also canoed around the lake - here is a pic of Jacq with her canoe club skills :)





On the way back from Emerald lake we stopped at Takkakaw Falls, we had to climb this ridiculous road/mountain on the way in the truck, it was literally terrifying! The road zig-zagged up the mountain and it was full of hair-pin turns (So tragic) I think it would be super fun in a mini, but not in a big truck, you feel so high off of the ground. Truth be told, I may have discovered a little fear of hights during this drive that I never knew about. Kudos to Jacq for driving it, I would have parked and walked it - LOL. Below are some of the shots from that portion of the day.

Tunnel in the mountain along river


Takakkaw Falls


Takakkaw Falls





Bridge you walk across to get to the falls.


Crazy drive up the mountain!
After our adventure to the falls, we drove back to Lake Louise campground and set up our camp, it was spitting a little bit so we quickly put the tent up (tried to smash the pegs in but it was more rock than the first camp ground so they went half-way - LOL). I chopped a bit of the wood for later or the next night as we were staying at this camp ground for two nights. We sat back for a bit under the tent's fly that pulled out from the door, had a Twisted Tea and planned out our next move. Jacq was much happier because this campground was fenced in, no bears getting in! We regrouped, got our bags together for a nice hot shower, got dressed up and went for an amazing meal at the Emerald Lake Lodge. There was a wedding reception at the cafe (next to the lodge), so they had nice flower baskets hanging. Here are some shots of our amazing meal, some canoers on the lake and the river we crossed to get to our campsite.




At reception when you walked in to Lodge (beautiful!)
 

My Appetizer -Roasted King Scallop, Cucumber, Fennel, Citrus & Watercress Salad

 

               Jacq's -  Heirloom Tomato, Warm Goat Cheese Tart, Arugula & Basil, Olive Oil, Aged Balsamic




Jacq's main -
       Grilled Beef Tenderloin, Roasted Shallot Potato Mash,Charred Spring Onion, Morel Mushroom Veal Sauce



Mine -

                       Seared Northern Caribou, Sweet Potato Goat Cheese Terrine,Summer Fruit Game Glaze


Bow River - running along our campground at Lake Louise
As you can imagine, this was a full day for us. LOL - so after our grand meal we crashed. We rose early for white-water rafting in Golden, BC - Stay tuned.... :)