3:18pm
We set out this morning to have a look at Pyramid Lake and Patricia Lake to look at trails to walk. I thought there would be a trail around both, although given the length I only would have managed to walk the one in one day. We discovered that Pyramid Lake had an island trail which was short and sweet, and we got there so early that the water was still enough to create a perfect reflection. A nice spot for lunch, I thought.
There was indeed a Pyramid Lake walk which didn’t actually go around the lake (which does not make sense...) and Patricia Lake had a walk NEAR it which incorporated PART of the Lake (still does not make sense!). Even though Pyramid Lake looked prettier (neither were that spectacular to be honest) we decided to do a trail called “Patricia Lake and Cottonwood Creek”. The first 15 – 20 minutes seemed quite a slog for me and I was quite grumbly....but we soon reached the edge of Patricia Lake and despite the flies and mosquitoes buzzing around, it was actually really quite nice.
We continued and lost the Lakeside eventually, turning around the corner back i
nto the woodland. At this point I was in the mood to “get it over and done with” but we seemed to approach an area which turned out to be very marshy and wild, and really quite pretty. This turned out to be Cottonwood Creek, and later on turned into Cottonwood Slough, and we saw a beaver – from a loooong distance mind, but we were both convinced and Mathew was happy with that. It was very peaceful here at this point, and despite the road being there in the distance it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere, yet again. It would have been great to have lunch there, but we had left it in the car. We stayed there for a good long while though, admiring the marshes and the wildlife pottering about within them.
We set off back to the car and had lunch on the island at Pyramid Lake. After that, we went into town and to the Yellowhead Museum which was tiny, but man, did they fit a LOT into a small space here! And three other exhibits t
oo!! One was on a Canadian Cowboy named Stan Carr, who had written a journal, poetry, and great drawings. I hoped there was a book on him in the shop but there was nothing. I thought about buying it for Dad as I thought he might enjoy it. Thinking of souvenirs, I suddenly realised I should be looking for those Maple candies as I hadn’t seen any for a while....
nto the woodland. At this point I was in the mood to “get it over and done with” but we seemed to approach an area which turned out to be very marshy and wild, and really quite pretty. This turned out to be Cottonwood Creek, and later on turned into Cottonwood Slough, and we saw a beaver – from a loooong distance mind, but we were both convinced and Mathew was happy with that. It was very peaceful here at this point, and despite the road being there in the distance it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere, yet again. It would have been great to have lunch there, but we had left it in the car. We stayed there for a good long while though, admiring the marshes and the wildlife pottering about within them.We set off back to the car and had lunch on the island at Pyramid Lake. After that, we went into town and to the Yellowhead Museum which was tiny, but man, did they fit a LOT into a small space here! And three other exhibits t
oo!! One was on a Canadian Cowboy named Stan Carr, who had written a journal, poetry, and great drawings. I hoped there was a book on him in the shop but there was nothing. I thought about buying it for Dad as I thought he might enjoy it. Thinking of souvenirs, I suddenly realised I should be looking for those Maple candies as I hadn’t seen any for a while.... Anyway, after the Museum, we wondered what to do, but we hadn’t been up the gondola to the Whistlers yet – named after the hoary marmots of course! So up we went in the cable car, and the view was pretty damn good – those never ending mountain peaks again. There was no place you could look where there wasn’t a mountain. Mathew went to the peak while I sat in the cafe admired the view, drank hot chocolate and wrote my journal. And by the way, all the hot chocolate in Canada so far....is terrible, I’m afraid!!
Anyway, at the moment I thought it gave me time to reflect on our time in the Rockies of Canada. Honestly, I was looking forward to the second half of the holiday more than the first – British Columbia – and I really hope it doesn’t disappoint becau
se I still am looking forward to it very much. But I have to say something about the Canadian Rockies. I am no mountain climber – I just cannot cope with the altitude here, as I have expressed MANY times. But I can definitely see why it attracts so many people. Its almost difficult to grasp the size of everything here – the mountains and distances in particular.The Rockies are so different to Canyons of the same size. Seeing mountains as far as the eye can see is indescribable. And seeing just as much forest is just as indescribable too. The whole valley between the mountains is basically a blanket of trees. Distance is hard to guess or see, as the entire perspective you thought you had before becomes completely lost in a place like this, and you feel incredibly tiny. So much so, that you can’t really comprehend how tiny you really are compared to your surroundings. The size of the Great Lakes also gave me this impression, after standing on the edge of Lake Ontario and seeing Toronto THAT far away over THAT much water.
In the Rockies, I have been so glad that we have been fortunate enough to have time to sit and admire the landscape for what it was, and think about how vast an area this really is. I was still struggling to comprehend it as I sat in the cafe looking over Jasper, seeing where we had come from and where we are headed tomorrow. I don’t think I will even be able to comprehend it fully at all, but I feel so glad to have been fortunate to travel over here and see (for me) a new part of the world. It is truly amazing, unbelievable and incredible.
No comments:
Post a Comment