Day 8: Today has been a bonus day!

What3 words: measure.pecan.empowering (I must be in a different chair!)

The weather forecast for today was pretty pants (forecast thunderstorms all day), so we decided on an easy day, with one activity, thinking it was a one road in and one road out situation, and we reaffirmed that the journey is part of the destination. We also have big-ass macs in the car so we knew we could stay dry. We actually ticked off 4 things from our list so we classing it on a bonus day!

We had a morning of no alarm wakeups so slept a little later and headed out to Emerald Lake.

On the way we stopped off at the viewing point for the Spiral Tunnels (what3words: instant.nosh.spying) at Kicking Horse Pass - this is a series of tunnels which cut through the ‘Big Hill’ and form a figure of eight as the trains do a kind of spiral down and both the front and back of the train can be seen at the same time on different levels of the mountain. It is a great feat of engineering, but what defeated us was trying to find out when the next train would be! The only one that is guaranteed at a particular time is the Rocky Mountaineer, and that does not run every day…..needless to say, we did not see a train.

We carried on to Emerald Lake (what3words: reporting.behold.character) which is just as green as its name and completely enchanting.

The weather was holding up and was very warm and sunny. We got there just at lunchtime so we had lunch in the little restaurant next to the lake, Cilantro's (what3words: grabby.otter.written)

before ticking another thing off and taking out a canoe!

Just my opinion, but this lake is prettier than Lake Louise, does not have a massive hotel at one end, and is only $90 including tax for a canoe. Plus you can walk the whole circumference if you want to, and they do sell bear spray in the shop....

There are lodges on the banks of the lake, but they are low rise enough that they are below the treeline, and their roofs are green which helps them blend in.

Out on the lake was just wonderful - just us and a couple of ducks dipping for their lunch.

Just to prove I was actively paddling....

It started to get a bit windy on the lake and just as we were bringing in the canoe the clouds were rolling in and the boatman commented that there would be thunder and lightning in the next 30 minutes - so we scurried off as we had one more stop to make before the heavens opened too badly.

Natural Bridge (what3words: demonstrated.theatrics.homemaker) is just what it says - it is a natural bridge over the Kicking Horse River. We had driven along the river and it was quite slow and meandering, but that was when it was in an open expanse - by the time it got to the Kicking Horse Canyon it was going through narrows and was extremely fast - it makes for a lovely spot to take pictures.

It reminded me of another waterfall we visited before our road trip - nowhere near as high as Niagara, but the water was crystal clear and entrancing.

We came back to the hotel to get dolled up for a night out in a secret speakeasy that one of the locals told us about, but as the chef has just been crowned the top chef in Canada, the prices were a little out of our league for dinner, so we ate next door at the Grizzly Paw, (what3words: douses.voltages.briskly) where Emily had Poutine (which I think is disgusting, but the gravy is always yummy) and I had a Caesar salad made with kale.... a twist on a classic but it was lovely.

This is when we realised that we are completely turned around with what day it is and the speakeasy is closed today! Never mind.

Tomorrow is our last day at Canmore and we are going to try and be at a lake at sunset (Emily has given up trying to persuade me to get up before dawn :)) so we will try and have a lie in and late start. For tonight, we both have books to finish and our feet need a well earned rest.

Oh, and an update on the pickles in a bag......she did not like them initially, but persevered and at the whole bagful. Another flavour of pickle is waiting in the fridge for tomorrow.