Day 7: Today we each fulfilled a wish....

What3words: Joins.salvaging.banish

We went back to Lake Minnewanka today and what a difference from yesterday. Space in the car parks, no hoards of people - much nicer.

Lake Minnewanka is the largest lake in the area at 21km long and 142m deep, We took the hour long lake cruise which went down to the mid way point (what3words: wrists.shutdowns.market) and back.

The guide gave some really interesting facts about the area and the people who lived there in the past. I was actually very impressed by the way she spent quite some time paying homage to the peoples who’s home the land is and has been.

She pointed out one beach area that it is forbidden to step foot on, or you would be fined $25,000. It is a site of historical significance and when it was excavated they found 12,000 spear heads. She showed us a replica and asked if we thought we could kill a mountain goat, elk or bear with one of them. No is the short answer. It turns out that the berries that are all along the trails and are the bears’ staple diet are actually an anticoagulant, so the Clovis People (or Stony people), who lived her 13,000 years ago, would mash up the berries and coat their spears with them so that any animal they hit actually bled to death rather than being killed outright by the spears.

She also talked about the rock formations, and said that the rockies are made from flint and limestone - you can see where the 'orange' colour is on the rocks, that is rust seeping out. (looks a bit light brown on my pic)

The Clovis people were very resourceful - they used to heat up the limestone rocks in the fires, then drop them into animal hide lined holes filled with water - this created the steam they used to cook. And we think we are high tech with our cooking methods! Steaming is old hat.

After the cruise we bought lunch from the Black Anchor (what3words: saliva.alone.clients) and ate it by the lake,

and then I got to fulfill my wish - to dip my toes into a glacial lake - and it was, glacial!

It was such a hot sunny day, we thought it would be nice to cool down - nope, blinking freezing!

Managed to keep our feet in for pics, but they were right out again :)

We went on to Vermillion Lakes next (what3words: pays.unwavering.baggy) - pretty, serene, no hustle and bustle, lots of cyclists and trails around the 3 lakes and lush marshlands.

It was a great place to kick back and shoot the breeze before we headded off into Banff.

We did a walk along the Bow River and then visited the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies (what3words: tanker.browsed.tonality) . I can honestly say this is the first time I have felt that something was not worth the entrance fee (only $10pp). I was expecting lots of information about how the Rockies were settled by the white folks, and even more about the indigenous people that were ousted. The information was there, but you really had to search for it in the reference books and reference pictures - and there were 100s of them, so not easily accessible. What they did have was a video of a grizzly bear trying to get into one of the clever rubbish bins they have here - they are clever because you have to put your hand inside the handle and release a catch to open the lid - the bear obviously did not read the instructions, but it was having a really good go at demolishing the whole structure. I tried to hide it from Emily, but she saw it.......terrifying!

On the subject of bears, we were speaking to a lady and she said that the local school had to have a lock down as there was a grizzly walking through the schoolyard trying to open the doors! OMG!

We had a wander around Banff itself - it is pretty and the two main streets are pedestrianized but so busy, and so expensive. We both prefer Canmore, not just because it is a little cheaper, it is just less frenetic.

Tonight we ate dinner at Woodward Pizza Co. (what3words: dweller.longed.refute) We split a pizza and a summer salad. Wow, these Canadians know how to make a salad - this is two nights on the bounce we have had a fabulous one - this one was full of blackberries, raspberries and watermelon, as well as the mixed leaves, tomatoes and feta cheese - yum!

Finally for today - Emily's wish was fulfilled....since we got to Canada she has been trying to find a 'pickle in a bag' which is something she saw on social media and has craved ever since (it is a pickle, in a bag). We went into several supermarkets in Ontario and one in Fernie and she always asked an assistant - without exception they looked at her as if she was from another planet, or she was taking the p*ss, but they all said no, they had not heard of such a thing.

She popped into the convenience store along from our hotel tonight, and when she came out, she was beaming....not one, but two flavours of 'pickle in a bag'! I have vetoed the eating of them in our room, so they will not be opened until tomorrow...... I bet you cannot wait for the next installment!