We were lucky enough about four years ago to have a snow fall on Christmas Day, we were partying at my brothers house in Rainhill at the time and the excitement was prodigious with snowball fights and hastily made sledges from bin liners, wheelie bins, car bonnets, small pets, small children, satellite dishes, cake tin lids, you name it. The children quite enjoyed it too!
But it's been many years since I woke up on Christmas morning to a beautiful scene of fresh white snow like this...
This is the view that we were so blessed with over Christmas... It was still cold as I may have mentioned before but what a treat it was to wake up and look out of the window
As we awoke we rang The Girls who were back in the UK having almost had the entirety of their Christmas day. They were very excited and were having a really great day. Then we rang our parents as we took turns in the bathroom and got ready for our breakfast. Boy... WHAT a breakfast! We had the first of our Christmas day banquets in Poppies Bistro, I've never seen so much choice, so much quality, and so many greedy b*stards going up for helping after helping.
It's Christmas Day for Christ's sake! Calm down!! It's not like you're going to starve is it!? Anyway... the scene outside was beautiful.
Children and their parents walking in the snow, skating around the ice castle, dogs with little Thinsulate boots on, yes... really!, horse drawn sleighs, and such a wonderful atmosphere of "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Holidays!", it was completely and utterly wonderful.
Janet and Eamonn had more magic up their sleeves for us and we set off for a Christmas Day walk in the snow, to Johnston Canyon. We drove along the Bow Valley Parkway and every time I looked out of the truck window I just had to take another picture. This one below is a frozen river that had babbled along so blue and so energetically during the summer. It was amazing to see it so white and so still.
The walk up Johnston Canyon started with our second Christmas Day banquet, Janet's sausage rolls!! Delicious!
Named after a lucky prospector who discovered gold whilst panning in the (now named Johnston) creek which is a tributary of the Bow River. The walk is very exciting and takes one up through the beautiful canyon via a set of paths which have been enhanced to accommodate all of the walkers and climbers in all seasons.
There are amazing views all along the paths of the frozen water cascades, waterfalls and the breathtaking displays of crystals and hints of Athabasca 'blue' within the pure white snow.
We were so fortunate on this day that the sun was shining, this added so much life and allurement to the displays before us as it shone through the trees and inside the icicles and behind the frozen falls.
Then every so often there's a striking display of frozen blue which looks so out of place. Everything is so peppermint white and then out of nowhere you see a frozen blue spray as if somebody has spilled a pot of ink.
The scale of the place is stunning. It stops you in your tracks when you realise that the entire canyon has been formed by this now pathetic trickle of a creek which doesn't even have the strength to peep though its winter blanket.
Linda was so stunned by the beauty of the canyon that she decided to have a closer look. She still hasn't forgiven me for taking this photograph when she fell on her bum, rather than helping her up. Well... The way I see it is; It's Christmas day, your away from home, it's snowing, you have a camera around your neck, and some dozy bird falls on her ass... in the snow... right in front of you. What do you do?
Opportunity - A favorable or advantageous circumstance or combination of circumstances.
Chivalry - the rules and customs of medieval knighthood. Which would you choose?
As we reached the bottom of the main falls the noise was huge! We could see the water gushing down behind the ice and then bursting out into the pools at the bottom.
Once again the colours and the ever changing ice formations were truly breathtaking.
We left the canyon and headed for Banff where we were treated to the magical sight of several hundred Elk resting on the frozen waters of the Vermillion Lakes. Resting at least until several over enthusiastic people walked across the frozen waters to get a closer look, and scare them all off. We had our third Christmas day banquet in Starbucks, Banff. Well... a nice warm drink anyway :-)
As the evening drew in Eamonn took us for a drive around the Minnewanka loop and we had a close up encounter with an Elk or two of our own.
How weird was it to see the pier on the lake all frozen in! That (above) is where we caught the boat from last summer :-)
As we stopped to admire Two Jack Lake we were treated to the most dazzling sunset.
It was like our very own Northern Lights display. My pictures don't do justice to how special and how romantic this 10 minute period really was! It looked as though the mountains were on fire and the rocks were radiating heat. The ice was melting just enough to give off some steam and then freezing again as if it hadn't changed. The whole occasion was so special that I couldn't take my eyes off it for a second.
It was like one of those moving pictures that one can buy from the Sunday supplements! but VERY real! And then it was gone....
We raced back to the Chateau Lake Louise where we had our final banquet of Christmas Day. A truly special event that we'd booked for in advance, in a true banqueting hall (although we did have a private room just off the main hall) with every possible type of food you could imagine. Between us all we ate FAR too much and I had three foods that I'd never eaten before including rabbit, goose, and bear.
Calm down!! I was joking about the bear! :-)
Boxing day was glorious! The sun was shining in the beautiful blue sky and the mountains surrounding Lake Louise looked different. They were clearer, with not even a hint of coverage and they seemed to be more three dimensional than on previous days. It was really cold again but we decided to go dashing through the snow... on a two-horse open sleigh.
Mutt and Mouse were our power engines for the morning. The poor things had frozen eyelashes.
Once again people skated around the ice castle and we heard the rumble of an avalanche in the distance.
We just had time to catch a few rays of sunshine and pet the horses before we set off. Eamonn tried to sell Mouse a house, here he is touting his business card, you just can't stop him! :-)
We each had extra blankets over our legs and set off along the ice path, crunching around the tight corners as our two horsepower carriage sped through the snow and pines.
The driver/guide was quite a character. His moustache and beard were frozen solid and his cheeks all ruddy and outdoor-lived-in. He explained to us that the horses were winter workers and spent the summer months in meadows recuperating.
As we got out of the sunshine the temperature dropped to Oh-Christ-Below-Zero and even through the blankets, fleece pants and two layer gloves, we started to freeze. My own moustache and beard froze up and I couldn't control my camera properly for more than one shot at a time as it just hurt too much.
Our spirits kept up though as it was such a special treat to be out there at Christmas, in the snow, being pulled along by horses, with our now double blankets.
At the end of the lake the view back to the hotel was simply stunning and the horses took us out onto the frozen lake to turn around for the return journey.
We paused a while to rest Mutt and Mouse and the driver told us tales about his life... In front of us was the most fantastic frozen waterfall, like a blue crystal poking out of the rocks.
Soon it was time to head back and get some warming hot chocolate, a bun, and a fancy!
We spent some time in the afternoon up Sulphur Mountain above Banff. We'd missed out on that trip last summer due to lack of time and an overambitious itinerary.
A short and exciting trip up the gondola cable car to the 360 degree station platform at 7,486 ft above sea level revealed THE most sensational views I've seen for... well.. probably for ever!
Outside the temperature was without a doubt the coldest we'd experienced and due to our various colds and flu, and the over indulgence from the night before, and us not being exactly fit between us the cold and thin air made it quite hard to breath at times. However, the vista was truly amazing and I wouldn't have missed it for a warm Gluhwein and a bowl of chili. Another set of spiral stairs take you up the the 360 degree roof terrace where there are markers for directions and distances to all the major cities of the world and commemorating the area's designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
After a lovely trip back from the Rockies to Okotoks we had a couple of relaxing days back at Janet and Eamonn's house. On my final morning, which was VERY sad... They took us out to High River where we saw a Bald Eagle, experienced the intrigue of Peavey Mart and showed us around some of the housing that's available in the area. It was snowing and just as we decided that we should head off for lunch and then drop me off at the airport, we saw these beautiful creatures hiding behind a hedge off the side of the road.
We managed to wait long enough for them to peek out at us and then cross the road in front of us.
What a very special way to end a VERY special Christmas Holiday! I loved every second of it and I wouldn't hesitate to do it all again. Not sure the others were so keen tho ;-)
