The Road to Radium Hot Springs

Young Grizzly on Icefields Parkway.

Although we have seen very little wildlife, we were thrilled to see a young grizzly shortly after we left the Icefields Visitor Centre. He was ambling lazily along the highway, oblivious to the tourists stopped to admire this resident of the Rockies. I am still marvelling at our good fortune.

We drove through Kootenay National Park to Radium Hot Springs. The late afternoon was warm and quiet; we saw only a few other cars in this isolated part of British Columbia. Ninety minutes or so out of Lake Louise, we descended into the lovely community of  Radium Hot Springs. We were both tired but spotted a hotel in the center of the valley.

Prestige Inn is our best hotel so far. Our room -- large, newly redecorated and very comfortable -- overlooks the valley. The desk receptionist practcally promised mountain goats on the hotel grounds (!) so I'm looking forward to tomorrow. We had a light supper in the restaurant and watched the President's speech on TV - big, high def.

Looking forward to a 7:00 a.m. swim tomorrow morning.