The Rockies - Yoho National Park

August 14, 2012

Off to British Columbia for 2 days in Yoho National Park!
We find a really nice campground there: Kicking Horse.
It's the smallest of the Rockies parks, but we really love it. We'll spend 2 nights here.

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Takakkaw Falls

Up early, we head off under a glorious sun to see Takakkaw Falls, among the highest in Canada: 833 feet.
No hiking this morning. We take the chance to rest up a little (a lot!) And that's good for all of us, because the afternoon is going to be rough: the first CNED (French distance-learning school) math test!

It will be an outdoor exam. Juliette's hazelnuts for the squirrels on the table. Alex's binoculars (he never lets go of them anymore) next to his pencil case. The results are good. We're proud of our 3 little monsters!

Natural Bridge

Emerald Lake

The next day, bad luck... It's raining.
Even so, it will turn out to be one of our most beautiful walks in the Canadian Rockies.

We get there around 11 a.m. The weather is so-so. So the picnic we'd planned by the lake is off. We eat lunch in KIFONS.
Noon... The rain starts pouring down. We didn't hike yesterday and we're feeling the withdrawal (yes, friends, unthinkable just a few months ago...)
So we decide to treat ourselves to a drink at the Lodge next to the lake. A superb place that, if we didn't have KIFONS with us, would have tempted us to stay a night or two.
Hot chocolates and espressos by the giant fireplace that dominates the lounge. We warm up by the fire.

It's still raining. We decide to do the long-awaited walk anyway: the loop around the lake (flat, 3.2 miles).
Singing in the rain! Under our umbrellas, we start a hike that quickly turns into a really lovely stroll, because the sun comes out to join us after half an hour.

So we have a lake rated 3 stars by the Michelin Green Guide all to ourselves. Cool!

Ever since we got the CNED course materials, Juliette has been dying to do "Visual Arts". So it's a "Visual Arts" day... by Juliette!
On the agenda: sculpting bear poop out of the lake's clay... I'm not sure the CNED teacher will find the assignment convincing. We still took pictures of the works of art made by Juliette and Alice.

The walk ends under the umbrellas again. Yep, we went all the way around the lake, so we ended up right back under the cloud!