Thursday: July 15, 1999

Still hazy, but starting to clear, this seemed a day for low lying sites such as waterfalls and canyons. So where did we go? Why off to Mt. Edith Cavell of course. As the van crawled up the mountain, the temperature sunk to our trip low of 38ºF. Nathan of course didn't need a jacket. We took a chilly walk through a valley carved out by 2 glaciers whos beauty even impressed our cold blooded teen.

It was here that I experienced my greatest single memory of the trip. While I gazed at the surreal beauty of the ice mass and its resultant pool of ice laden water, I heard cracking and snapping as a large chunk of ice calved off its mother and plunged into the drink. The resultant "tsunami" lapped at my feet as all the lake's aboriginal ice cubes clinked together like a giant punch bowl. WOW!

While the day brought other sights such as Goat Lookout, Athabasca Falls, Sumwapta Falls and Old Fort Point (a satisfying hike through which Nathan slept in the van), my second favorite memory of the day was discovering English Toffee Cappicino at the Esso station. It tasted like what the White Witch must have fed Edmond in Narnia (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis) and, like Edmond, I was warmed right down to my toes.

By the day's end, all clouds had cleared, and except for one evening in Banff, our weather remained incredibly clear throughout the remainder of the trip.

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