August 27

We left camp this morning in the car long enough for a trip back to the town of Lake Louise and from there the short drive to the actual lake. It was as beautiful as I remembered when Mom and I came here in the early 1970’s on a rare vacation alone. I believe that our family consisted of only Laurie, Leon and possibly LaRinda at that time and I believe they stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Carson for a few days while Mom and I visited Glacier National Park, Cardston, Calgary, Banff, Lake Louise and back through northern Idaho to home in Salt Lake City. On the shore of Lake Louise there is a beautiful resort that I’m sure would cost a bundle to stay at. The whole area around the lake is very nice. After Lake Louise we drove a few more miles to Moraine Lake which was equally impressive but not quite as well developed although there were also nice facilities there. I wanted to rent a canoe and paddle around on the lake but time would not permit as we had to get back and check out of camp. At camp we hooked up and headed down highway #93 toward the town of Radium Hot Springs. We did not go all the way to Banff on highway #1 before the junction with highway #93 but outside of it being another big crowded resort town there is no particular natural scenic wonder to see there. Highway #93 took us almost immediately back into British Columbia and more nice scenery that was marred for a number of miles by a recent huge forest fire. We did, however, see what was either a coyote or fox for one of the few wildlife sightings in recent days. Fairly early in the afternoon we arrived in Radium Hot Springs for a relatively short eighty miles on the day but the swimming facility coming into town was so attractive that we decided to stop here for the day, find a camp site and return for a soak. We found a campsite at Dry Gulch Provincial Campground within about three miles from the pools with the town of Radium Hot Springs about half way between camp and the pools. The town is fair sized and had many hotels, etc. along the main drag that were decorated with many pretty hanging baskets of flowers. There was also a scenic, what appeared to be, natural gap in the rocks through which the highway passes as you descend a steep grade from the north entering town due to rock formations, coloring and how high, narrow and winding it was. After a quick bite of dinner at camp we drove back to the pools and indulged for two and one half hours making prunes of ourselves. We talked to a number of people including a young LDS couple from Lethbridge, Alberta and another older couple from Missoula, Montana. The facility has two pools, one warm and one cooler. Both are in the most attractive settings with high, vegetated rock cliffs behind one entire side of the warmer pool. The water was crystal clear and everything was so attractive and well maintained with excellent dressing rooms and showers, etc. It was also very pleasing that the hot pool was not too hot to enjoy for extended periods without coming out for cool-downs and yet provided a pleasant and penetrating soak and the cool pool was also a perfect temperature for swimming. We did a lot of swimming in the cool pool and a lot of soaking in the warm pool and got back to camp at about eleven PM after one of the most enjoyable and relaxing experiences on this trip. I forgot to take our camera to the pools so I have made arrangements to return tomorrow before we leave to take pictures.