Yoho National Park
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Yoho National Park is only about 15 miles west on the Trans-Canada Highway over the Alberta provincial line into British Columbia. With no room at Lake Louise in Banff NP, we were hoping to find a spot for the weekend at the Kicking Horse Campground, and we did.
Established in 1886 at the urging of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), Yoho National Park is named for a Cree word conveying a feeling of awe. Located along the western slopes of the Continental Divide, the park is home to one of the most important shale fossil finds in the world as well as the Canadian Pacific Railway’s Spiral Tunnels. Sad to say, fossils aren’t high on our interest list and we neglected them. On the other hand, David will tell you more about the famed Spiral Tunnels in an upcoming Blue View.
Kicking Horse is a lovely campground with hot showers, flush toilets, fire ring, and picnic table ($29.25/night + $9.50/fire permit including firewood). We had good cell reception here as well. We crossed the time zone heading into British Columbia and lost an hour. The only negative… we could hear trains, lots of them, go by all night long.
Canada’s National Park Service provides excellent Visitor Guides and maps for their national parks on request and we used our Yoho Visitor Guide constantly. I love, by the way, that most all signs and reading material is available in both French and English. It’s an easy way to brush up on my French.
The next morning was sunny, bright and warm. After a leisurely blueberry pancake breakfast, we took a drive up the tortuous Yoho Valley Road. Open seasonally from late June till early October, the road climbs constantly up via very tight switchbacks, one of which requires a 3-point turn.
There are several stops along the route including a less-than-advantageous viewpoint of the Upper Spiral Tunnel as well as the Meeting of Waters viewpoint where the Kicking Horse and Yoho Rivers meet - also with a limited view.
The highlight of the drive is Takakkaw Falls, the second highest waterfalls in Canada at 1265’ (380m) high. It’s an impressive sight.
The Canada Park Service has installed ‘red chairs’ in several national parks. These iconic bright red Adirondack style chairs are strategically placed to encourage visitors to take the time to relax and enjoy outstanding views.
Views of Cathedral Mountain were spectacular.
Back at the campground, we enjoyed a pleasant evening outside then retired to Blanche. We heard the scratching sounds again during the night last night. David was convinced it was me fidgeting and I thought it was him. Tonight as we sat reading and writing, we heard the sounds quite distinctly coming from the front seat area and it was definitely not one of us fidgeting. We shut off all the lights and David crept silently forward with flashlight in hand. The noise ceased for a minute or two and then resumed. David shone the light and EEK!… a field mouse! The mouse scurried up and under the dash. We’ve got a mouse in the house! There was nothing to do for the night. David set out a couple of crackers to keep the mousekin forward, hopefully occupied, and away from our bed. “If you give a mouse a cookie…” Tomorrow we’d tackle a mouse evacuation.
In the morning, one cracker was gone and we’d heard no activity during the night. So far, we’ve seen no mouse leavings nor gnawed packages. We keep most all food in the mule bag lockers or in plastic tubs in the garage.
We headed out to visit the little town of Field and the Yoho National Park Visitor Center.
The Visitor Center had some interesting displays. There were specimen drawers upon drawers of fossils to which we gave only a passing browse.
Across the Kicking Horse River, we waited for a very long train to pass and the switchmen to switch the tracks for the next train before we could cross into Field.
The little community of Field was established in the 1880s by the CPR as a rest and resort stop for its tourist passengers. There was a lodge with a restaurant, a small cafe and a couple of art galleries. It was a pleasant enough little community and we enjoyed wandering around.
Heading back out of Field, we once again stopped for a passing train. We were entertained by the colorful and imaginative rail car graffiti as it whizzed past.
The only nearby store that possibly offered a mousetrap was the Yoho Brothers Trading Post. Their sign was the most interesting thing about the store which turned out to be very 7-11-ish. Unfortunately, though they had lots of kitschy souvenirs, convenience store foodstuffs and snacks and miscellaneous gear ranging from camp lanterns to prayer flags, no mousetraps were available. Was it worth traveling to Lake Louise to find a trap? We thought not… we’d leave out another cracker.
The morning was cold (39F/4C) and the rather long walk to the toilet block was a brisk one. The day was clear and the sun was bright in a cloudless, deep blue sky. We heard no rodent activity during the night and the mouse cracker remained untouched. Hmmm…
We were on the road by 0900. We stopped briefly at the Lower Spiral Tunnels Viewpoint. We watched a train approach, but once again the distance was far and the view was less than optimal.
With the weekend past, we headed out of Yoho National Park back into Alberta, regained our lost hour and headed to Lake Louise. Maybe we’d find a campsite this time. If not, the overflow parking lot would have to do.
Next time, stunningly beautiful Lake Louise… an elegant lunch at the Chateau Fairmont Lake Louise and a steep climb up to the Lake Agnes Teahouse. Join us… we’ll treat for the tea!