After packing up we collected our hire car, a Cherokee Jeep, and set off back towards the Rockies which we could see in the far distance. After passing through the suburbs, and once again passing the ski jump and bobsleigh run from the winter Olympics, we were on the Bow River trail heading west. We passed the Smashed Head …., the cliff where in times gone by the locals used to drive herds of buffalo over the cliff, and we also passed a couple of Indian Reservations and a resort and casino.

Within a very short time we were through the rolling foothills and the mountains were growing more imposing around us. The Three Sisters were to our left, and Dead Man's Flats to our right and then we paused at Canmore for supplies (wine). It is a lovely little Alpine looking town just outside the park which makes it a very popular place to live as it is not governed by all the red tape and restrictions that apply to towns within the parks such as Banff.

As we neared Banff we were very aware of all the roads closed off because of the large number of stressed Grizzlies in the area. At Canmore we had read the reports in the local paper about Grizzlies following and bluff charging various groups of people and, bluff or not, we didn’t feel this was something we wanted to experience up close and personal from ourselves so we didn’t get out for a walk around. We did drive past the Banff Springs again and yes, it still looks impressive!

In spite of grizzlies in the area and having our eyes well peeled, we didn’t spot any wildlife ourselves as we drove off in the direction of Lake Louise. We drove past several familiar sights including Kicking Horse Pass and the Spiral Tunnels, and the osprey nest on top of Castle Bridge. After a few false turns in spite of (because of?) our trusty Sat Nav we eventually reached Field and then were on the look out for the turn-off to Emerald Lake. We had to park our car down the road at the overnight car park and catch a shuttle bus up to the lodge itself. This was a beautiful old style wooden building situated on a sort of island surrounded by the amazing lake itself. It was reached by a bridge which connected almost directly to the main lodge while all the accommodation was in separate cabins scattered around the property. We had a first floor lake view room which was great. No wi-fi, phone signal or TVs, this really IS off the beaten track!

We went up to the main lodge to get a snack and use the internet before returning to our cabin. We weren't very hungry so just had some soup and bread. I whipped open the napkin and grabbed a delicious bread roll. A few moments later I noticed a slight smell of burning and realised that I had accidentally covered a nearby candle with the napkin and yes, it's true, I had set fire to the bread basket! We pretended not to notice and scuttled away without mentioning it! It was very chilly back in the cabin and a marvellous excuse to light the log fire which was soon roaring and crackling in the grate. It warmed the place up really quickly and we fell asleep to the sounds and smells of the fire with the flames flickering.