the amazing grace

While in Banff, we have been doing some Geocaching.  Geocaching is an activity that involves using GPS to find caches hidden around the world.  So far we have found 5.  Looking for these caches has taken us to places we probably wouldn’t have gone otherwise.  We saw the Bow Falls on the Bow River and Hoodoos while looking for caches.  We have also purchased the “premium membership” which lets us find EarthCaches, Geocaches without a physical container that highlight a geologic feature in the area.  We are looking forward to trying this out at some point.

This was one of the places a cache was hidden, underneath a garbage can!  The picture at the top is another great hiding place!

Charis and I were so excited to hike up to the Lake Agnes Tea House!  The initial hike up is a solid hour of climbing steep switchbacks with no relief!  The reward at the top was worth it.  The most darling European Style Tea House whose supplies are either flown in twice per year or packed in by hikers.  We met a couple there who are from Western Springs, IL and they took this picture of us.  We were actually quite cold despite the tea.  We had sweat so much on the way up that when we stopped moving it was freezing.  The tea biscuits and Summit Bar helped!  While we were there a helicopter landed right next to us.  The chopper was picking up full out house barrels.  We both wondered if they have ever dropped one on the way out?!

After the Lake Agnes Tea House, we hiked the trail up to the Big Beehive.  The views from there were stunning.  We ended up hiking about 3 1/2 hours, looping back around and down to the shore of Lake Louise where we ate lunch.  This was one of the views from just below the Big Beehive.

Lake Louise is actually turquoise, all the more from higher up . Minerals in the glacial runoff cause the lake to have this unreal and ridiculously beautiful color!

Check out the turquoise on this tree bark at our campsite!  I’m guessing the minerals from the glacial runoff that make the lakes this color also make the lichen have turquoise aspects too.  I love this color!

We are in Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada!  We have been near here in Banff National Park since Monday.  The lake is beautiful even on a gray day like most  that we have been experiencing.  Despite the clouds and rain we’ve had a great time.  We’ve hiked within  Johnston Canyon, Lake Louise and the surrounding area, and enjoyed more smaller hikes in the Banff area.

Did we say we were getting tired in our earlier post?  We were tired enough to leave a whole day early.  We wanted to pack dry before it rained the night we were originally planning as our last night.  We were officially tired of “Bear Aware” practices and needed a break!  The only bear we saw was a tiny little brown blip in our binoculars!  We went to Mammoth Hot Springs on our way out but didn’t care one bit about seeing it!  Halfway through the boardwalk loop we turned around and headed back to the car.  More is not always more!  We did get our passports stamped though, saying that we had “visited Mammoth.”  This made us laugh because we didn’t even bother to bring a camera on the abbreviated tour of the terraces.  If you want a picture you’ll just have to look it up!

We saw more buffalo on Friday while driving through the Lamar Valley!  They are so beautiful in their natural habitat.  The one in the picture is a bull standing a bit away from the herd and only a little bit away from the road.  Here is the rest of the herd.

OK, so not everything has been easy and amazing.  One of the things we didn’t expect about camping in Yellowstone is the intensity with regards to “Bear Awareness.”  Upon arriving we had to sign a document saying we would abide by “Bear Aware” guidelines.  These guidelines included leaving nothing at the  campsite besides a tent and sleeping gear.  NOTHING!  So every time we cooked we had to go up to the car and haul (that’s what it felt like….hauling) our food and stove and water, and utensils etc….down to our picnic table.  Cook and eat and then clean up was in a bear proof dishwashing station further up the hill past our site.  So we had to haul all the dirties there, wash and dry then haul back to site to re-pack and haul up to the car…..are you getting the picture?  No hanging around the campsite with our stuff set up for the week….we unpacked and packed at least twice per day.  This eventually led to some finger pointing and tears as we frustratingly found ourselves accusing each other of making it even more work than it was by being inefficient or doing it the “wrong way!”   We cried and forgave and chose to leave a day early and have an extra inside day before four more days of “Bear Aware” at our next destination. The picture above is a playful shot of our campsite from our car.

Friday we climbed Mt. Washburn!  It was extremely windy that day so we were getting very blown about at the top and on the way down.  The trees near the trailhead were covered in this bright green moss.

I also saw this guy!

I had been wanting to get a picture this close to a chipmunk for a long time because I missed an opportunity to get one last year in Estes Park, CO.  These little chipmunks were everywhere along the trail, usually with stuffed cheeks!  This one was the most “camera tolerant.”

Charis and I thought we’d try a bit of sketching this semester.  It’s kind of hard…..but really fun!  What a studio!  Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River.

Charis “blowing out ” her candle….Old Faithful!