we got up bright and early and drove into town for breakfast, picking something up from the bakery to eat as we drove to lake louise. it is busy, and we wanted to make sure that we could park easily enough. we got there in good time and nibbled our breakfasts before going down to the lake. we had hoped to go canoeing, especially since the guide book said there were 4 person canoes. there were, but 2 adults and 2 littlies, and the price was such that for 2 canoes we would have to think hard about it. walking away BB had such a mega temper tantrum as she had been so desperate to canoe, and so couldn’t control it that we had no choice but to not canoe. it had a bit of a cutting of nose feel to it. 
i was unsettled as i could so clearly remember walking round the lake with viv that there was a blurring of then and now, and wailing tantrumming children and an out of sorts partner were not what i needed at all. however, we did walk round the lake, and i let myself blend then and now whilst holding hands with one girl and then the other. we did nearly do a walk to the teahouse, which would have been very nice, but BB wasn’t keen, and had only just regained her equanimity. the path was easy, and busy with tourists, but the lake and mountain serene and beautiful 
. there were some fallen tree trunks to make beams of, some rocks to scamper on by the waters edge, and a variety of birds to spot. watching the canoeists i did wish we were out on the lake tho. in the stillness and the tranquility i thought of you, viv, where you wished to go again x x
after we finished the walk we attempted to buy an icecream, but it was shut so we went back into the town and bought one there before driving on towards the spiral tunnels and takkakaw falls. driving on it was a bit of sleet a bit of snow and a bit of rain, so all those beautiful viewpoints weren’t really there for us, tho we did pull in at some stops and take the opportunity to look at what we could see. One of the stops was the spiral tunnels where the cross canada trains gain and lose huge amounts of height in a safe way. the info boards, as always, were very good, including historical, scientific, engineering and human interest bits. the old route without the tunnels must have been extremely scary, and obviously there were a fair number of derailments and fatalities. there was an interesting discussion on routes chosen and why as well. we did see a train go through these tunnels, but from a different viewpoint and later. it was very rainy though, and the girls starting playfighting, so we moved on!
the next stop was at the weeping wall where we bagged a geocache and answered the questions. it was still not the best weather, but at least not pouring with rain so we decided we could make takkakaw falls ok. we went past the monarch campground and up towards the falls. the road only opens mid to late june and there was snow higher up. there was also a scary bit where rv’s over 8m have to go up the switchbacks backwards for a section. DH didn’t fancy this, and the roads are pretty empty, so he did a big swing round and went forwards. eek!! luckilly ok
As we got to takkakaw falls it started to rain a lot again so we all got togged up and set along the route. Takkakaw falls is arguably the highest falls [they do argue] in the rockies, and its name means it is magnificent in Cree. there were lots of beaches BB was keen to paddle a bit in as we walked along to the falls foot. due to the drizzle we saw no rainbows but DH and the girls did some rock climbing up the slippery slopes, the start of a climb that can take you to the top. BB particularly loved the climb. SB had a small fall on the way down, so i helped her back to the van for meds and got the tea going etc for when BB and DH joined us. Unfortunately, I also did some washing up and put the sink side out, so when DH raced in, he didn’t look, hit his head on the drainer, fell down the stairs and broke the door . we tried to fiddle and fix it, but then we had to take off the top bit the holds the door open and doesn’t let it slam about hmmm 2 problems we were going to have to pay for . When DH recovered, we set off driving again. we had a layby stop to consider camping at monarch, but it is small looked full, and the road near it was roads worksy, so we decided to carry on.
this was a mistake really, as it was a long drive. we stopped at field, and looked at the info on the burgess shale there. would have loved to go to it, but felt that BB would have been utterly miserable, and I am not exactly fit, though would have done it! We picked up a Yoho xplorers booklet from the parks canada place and looked in the mini mueum. BB fell in love with a schleich mummy and baby grizzley bear, so we did buy those with her money
Moving on we decided to drive all the way to golden, to have an easier day the next day. It was a LONG way! and when we got to the municipal ground it wasn’t appealing, luckilly they had a brochure of campsites in BC, so we found a phone number of one in nicholson and went there. It was much nicer, and even had wifi! the first opportunity we had to send of geo-logs, catch up with friends – that seemed very odd!! and pop a few photos on flickr for family back home. quick tea and DH and i played race to the galaxy game before bed and planned out the next day a bit. we also took the opportunity of wifi to book a family white water raft experience along the kootenay river. my sisters dying words were have fun today, so my challenge will be on or around her birthday to do something fun and perhaps a bit challenging to celebrate the joy of living. this year it was to be my first whitewater raft experience.