Mission Falls Hike 2011

So these are the Mission Falls, located in the Mission Mountains, which are the mountains that border Flathead lake on the east. The Red arrow marks where we hiked to.
Close up view of the falls from below.
Another falls coming into the same valley from the opposite side of the canyon we were hiking.
Paula on one of many steep sections.

Bolton crossing some rocks.
The top of the falls as it cascades over.
Bolton perched on the edge.
Paula and Bolton taking a breather.
Paula and Jim at the lip of the main falls.
Looking down.

Unfortunately, we didn't just stop at the top of the main falls. Instead we decided to see what was further up the falls so took this very steep trail up past the falls as it ascended several hundred more feet up through several rock ledges
Paula and Bolt ascending the first part of the trail from the top of the falls.
Indian Paintbrush along the way.
Jim looking back down the valley from one of the rock escarpments above the falls.
Jim, Bolton, Marybeth and Paula sipping wine at the end of the day.

Banff, Alberta 2011

We drove up to Banff this past weekend. Banff in located about 8 hours straight north of us in Alberta, Canada. It was a spectacular drive the whole way, with mountains and pristine turquoise colored rivers nearly the whole way up.

Paula at Lake Louise, at the beginning our our hike to the Plain of Six Glaciers.

On the hike up. It was about 3.5 kilometers one way.
Hanging Glacier
Paula at the Tea house located 3.5 Kilometers up in the mountains. It was our destination.
Jim with Tea and scones.
Paula enjoying her tea and scones.
Jim at the Tea house.

Beyond the Tea house, you could hike another 1.5 kilometers, gaining another 1000 feet to get up to the moraine field for a closer view of the glaciers.

Paula on the Lateral moraine. It was very narrow and very steep on the outside.

Jim on the moraine with Lake Louise in the background.
Looking up at the glaciers. We could hear and see several avalanches as we enjoyed the scene.

A curious friend.
The gray area is actually a crevassed glacier. The gray is rock debris that is covering the ice.
Paula on the return trip down.
Lake Louise, you can see the glacial silt as it mixes with the clear water.
The next day we drove up towards Jasper along the scenic highway.

We stopped at the Columbia Ice Fields along the way and did a few short hikes. Jim on the moraine field.
Paula crossing a plank onto the edge of the glacier.
On our hike up the glacier.


The marker indicates where the edge of the glacier was in the year 2000. You can see how much it has receded since then in the background.
Grizzly bear along the side of the road.

On the return trip to Banff.
On our final day, we started driving back and stopped to soak at the Radium Hot Springs.

It was fantastic. (they had a cool pool seen here, a warm pool (below) and a small hot pool).
The warm pool.