Saddleback Pass and Mount Fairview

It was our turn to say goodbye to the Paradise Lodge at Lake Louise and take a leisurely drive down the Bow Valley Parkway, once the main highway, back to Calgary. I chose the picture of Saddleback and Fairview mountains because it was the view from our lodging (see extra) and because it shows the wonderful band of color provided by the larches. Soon their needles will turn brown and fall, leaving behind the twisted black skeletons of these hardy trees that struggle for survival above the tree line. 

We had a lovely farewell mosey, stopping off to watch the Canadian Pacific freight train at Morant's Curve, and to photograph the stands of birch trees which had already lost most of their leaves. (another extra) We had lunch at Baker Creek Cabins, where John fell in love with  Citradelic, a beer made with hops which could be seen floating in the amber liquid…definitely not my tipple…

As quickly as we entered the mountains, we left them at the town of Canmore and headed East across the plains, littered with rolls of hay and neat red barns, and into the city of Calgary and the airport hotel where our evening's entertainment was watching a wedding party assembling….