Day 6

It was another early start for us in Canada today. We were up bright and early this morning for our drive through the Canadian Rockies.

Our day started with a pancake breakfast at a local farm. The students enjoyed pancakes, bacon and fruit salad with fresh apple juice.

From there, we started our journey to Banff. Along the way we stopped at Craigellachie which was where the Last Spike was placed for the Trans-Canadian Railroad. The students learned that one of the conditions of British Columbia joining Canada was that a railroad would be put in place to connect them to the rest of Canada.

Our next stop on our way was the Northern Lights Wolf Center. Here the students learned about Karelian Bear dogs and how they keep the villages or towns safe from the bears and how this is a more humanitarian way of protecting people. They also learned about Grey Wolves and the balance these wolves bring to the region. We learned how these animals are really more scared of humans than what is depicted in the movies (imagine that!!) We all got to howl with the wolves...or actually we howled and then the wolves joined in. They were probably embarrassed at our attempts to be a wolf. The learned about the hierarchy of the wolf pack and got to see first hand what happens when two wolves both want to be alpha, when two of the females started growling and barking at each other through the fencing of their respective enclosures. The caretakers explained that that is why these two females were never let in the same enclosure as each other.

We were back on the road again....to joyous music in the bus as all, at least it seemed like it, the students sang along to Justin Bieber, Kei$ha, Lady Gaga, Train, B.o.B and other of "their" selections...only to be drowned out by the dismay when we traded out every so often for an "Oldie but Goodie" We were also lucky enough to spot a BlackBbear grazing on the side of the road and also a pair of Big Horn Sheep. From what our field instructors tell us, this is not a common siting. The Big Horn Sheep even caused a traffic jam as drivers slowed to get a glimpse of them and take pictures.

Our final destination this evening was Banff National Park. We feasted on Lasagna, Cesear salad and garlic bread at the Top of the Summit, a beautiful restaurant on one of the mountain tops that we had to get to via gondolas! The food was very good, but the view was spectacular! We were going to take a small hike to another peak, but the temperatures were extremely cold and we all opted to forgo that.

We finished the evening off by taking a relaxing dip in the Hot Springs. Then it was to our accommodations for the evening. Everyone is tucked into bed and soundly asleep dreaming of our adventure tomorrow on the glaciers and Lake Louise.