TOTO, WE’RE NOT IN KANSAS

6/20: It’s days like today that I really need to pinch myself to remind me that we’re not back home in Overland Park, Kansas. Well O.K., we don’t have any soaring mountains or rich colored emerald glacial lakes there, but we do have a world class petting zoo (Deanna Rose for the non-locals) and a kick-butt SuperTarget. Even so, I manage the drudgery of pulling out the camera for yet another breath-taking view. Besides cultivating the camera eye of an Ansel Adams, I’ve also developed the back of an ox from lugging Hayley’s 30 lbs (and change) on each of our adventures. Look for me on the next ESPN heavy truck pulling challenge (Robin & kids will be touring with me on the Winnebago).

The photo above is the Slome gang hanging out at Lake Louise (named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta [1848-1939] – daughter of Queen Victoria of England). The remarkable emerald coloring of the lake is a result of light-absorbing silt deposited primarily by the Lefroy glacier. The silt soaks up all colors of the spectrum except for emerald green & blue. We truly lucked out with the weather since Lake Louise is often frozen from November to June and June weather is hit or miss (it rained all of last week).


(View from Banff Springs Hotel – not Overland Park, Kansas)

The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was instrumental in Banff's rapidly expanding tourism industry in the late 1800s around the time of the original transcontinental railroad. CPR built the renowned Banff Springs Hotel and Chateau Lake Louise, and focused on tourists through extensive advertising. William Cornelius Van Horne, the head of CPR, gets most of the credit for Banff and is known for his famous quote, “Since we can’t export the scenery, we’ll have to import the tourists.”

(Daily smore ritual perfected by Whitney – evidenced by chocolate smeared over face)