20th day 09/08/2016 Emerald Lake, Canmore - foggy - sunny

06:30 am was wake-up time this morning. The weather was very cloudy, foggy, and cold. There was no sunshine, but it was dry. At this early hour, there were not many people in the washrooms, so we made good progress. We headed to the Emerald Lake, where we arrived around 08:00 am. It was not busy yet, so we first checked if we could have breakfast at the adjacent lodge. Unfortunately, it was not a public restaurant, so we had breakfast in the RV. Then we put on our hiking boots and chose one of the numerous trails. We decided to take the path to the Emerald Basin. This trail led along the left side of the Emerald Lake and then steeply uphill along the inflow. It was a very beautiful atmosphere. The lake was very calm, in green color, and covered with fog. Moreover, we were the only hikers at the moment. After walking steeply uphill for some time, we had a nice view from above of the lake and the surrounding mountains. The clouds had cleared up by now and the sun was shining. Unfortunately, we didn't see any animals other than squirrels. On the way back, we only encountered one family, no other soul. We didn't have that often in this vacation.

After about 2.5 hours, when we returned to the lake, the scenery had changed immensely compared to the early morning. Not only was the sun shining and the fog gone, but there were also a lot of visitors on the circular path. Anne and I decided to walk the rest of the circular path, to the right. The children didn't want to join and went back to the left. Now, we walked over sticks and stones, through marshes and mosquitoes. The path seemed endless and I envied the children for their smart decision.

When we came out of the lodge, it was unrecognizable as well. Several souvenir shops and food shops had appeared out of nowhere, and busloads of tourists were in front of them. It was time to say goodbye here.

Since the weather in the Rockies was forecasted to be very unstable and rainy for the next 3 days, we decided to continue driving towards Calgary. So, we took the route via Lake Louise, where we took a break, and continued on Hwy 1 to Canmore. Now that we had been in the wilderness for long enough, we longed for a city visit, and Canmore has a lot to offer. It is a small town, with about 12,000 inhabitants, on the edge of Banff NP. It is the winter sports region for cross-country skiing and biathlon competitions. It is also a nice tourist town on the Bow River, with nice small houses in Western style, lots of cafes, shops, etc. We tried to stay at the Spring Creek RV Campground, close to the center, but unfortunately, we received a rejection because it was fully booked. So we drove back and found the Rundle Mountain RV Campground on the left side. Behind a very narrow entrance, there was a shabby reception house. Half-naked, tattooed old men were walking outside, and it looked like we had ended up in a hippie camp with drugs and alcohol. Anne courageously went to the 'reception' and I looked for a good escape route. After a while, Anne came out of the house with a smile, asked me for $50 in cash and told me to follow her. After a left turn, we found a spot on a meadow, with a 'self-made' power connection and water. The whole campground was a larger garden with some permanent campers. There were 2 houses with showers and toilets. The first one looked a bit run-down, but the second house was clean and tidy. After settling in, we made our way to the city center, which we reached after about 20 minutes. It was sunny and very hot by now. We first inquired at the tourist office about the latest news. Then we strolled through the various shops, including bookstores with the latest books for the children, a great photo studio with very nice animal photos of the surrounding national parks, a candy store, etc. We took a break in a delicious ice cream cafe. In the early evening, we returned to the RV. Behind us was the track of the Pacific Railway, and we saw the legendary Rocky Mountaneer heading towards Calgary.

In the evening, a thunderstorm approached, and we withdrew into the RV, playing cards and watching a movie.