Home of Chris LeDoux, Kaycee WY

Fun accidents happen! We basically threw a dart at a map for a place to stop today. It wasn’t until we drove in that we learned that Kaycee was the home of Chris LeDoux. 

From a Chris LeDoux song…”I can see you got your eye on this old cowboy

And I can tell you've never had one for your own

Or you've never been around one

Now you're thinkin' that you've found one

Well it might be kinda fun to take him home”…….Well yes please! I think maybe the 70 degree temps in Banff changing to 100 degree temps here may have gotten to me. 

Seriously a one horse town, you gotta wonder why LeDoux picked Kaycee - population 267. Except for all the vastness for horses. 

We wondered if someone actually rode this horse to one of the three bars in this tiny town. 

We took the 2 minute drive (seriously) to the prettiest place in town - the Chris LeDoux Park. 

Someone must water these hanging baskets 10 times a day to keep them living in this heat!

LeDoux died at age 56 from a fairly rare liver cancer. But he packed a bunch into his young life. After youth bareback rodeo championships, he went on to win the national bareback championship in 1976. He retired in 1980. 

However, he was a singer songwriter selling his tapes out of the back of his truck at rodeos. He self published 22 albums - not wanting to sign a recording deal to keep his creative freedom. However in 1989, when Garth Brooks named him in Much too young to feel this damn old song - he shot to national recognition. He signed with Liberty Records and recorded and performed for another 10 years before his death in 2005. 

Chris and Garth were good friends and Brooks even offered a part of his liver but wasn’t a match. 

SPECTACULAR… Lake Louise and the Icefields Parkway

Day 3 more than made up for my disappointment, yesterday. 

Bucket list item complete! Lake Louise and the Fairmont Chateau. Experienced based tip: If you want a place to park be at the hotel no later than 7 am during the summer! 

The Victoria Glacier and snow fed Lake Louise is simply stunning. You could easy spend hours looking at her beauty. 

I kept taking picture after picture. And how do I pick just one or two? An impossible task. 

The Icefield Parkway to Jasper is said to be the most beautiful drive in North America and I can see why- glacier after glacier, snow capped mountains, turquoise lakes and waterfalls galore. 

Bow Lake 

Herbert Lake

Water Fowl Lake with crowfoot glacier

Columbia Icefied

Athabasca Glacier

Tangle Creek Falls

Goats and Glacier 

Athabasca Falls

Sunwapta  Falls

Small water falls around every turn!


Elk herd

Take me back to the camper, honey! 

Plan B - Day 2

So MANY people!  I thought Glacier was crowded!  We attempted to go to famed glacier fed Lake Louise and the Fairmont Hotel this morning. But when we were diverted to the ski area for Park and Ride with the next available shuttle 6 hours later…. the party was over. We will try again very early tomorrow morning. There were easily 1,000 cars in each parking lot. This was like Glacier National Park on steroids. Crazy! 

We did spot the Victoria Glacier that supplies Lake Louise. It is almost 500 feet of ice. 

We were trying to guess the depth of this snow or when it will avalanche! It has to be several hundred feet. 

Plan B. We drove back to Banff and visited Canada’s first National Park the Cave and Basin Historic Site. The hot springs and cave were discovered by railroad workers in the 1880’s. Heavy in sulfur, I can’t imagine wanting to swim but the spring was pipped to fill a large swimming pool and it was a huge attraction. 

 I guess in the winter the hot spring pool would feel great at between 98 and 104 degrees. The pools have been modernized and moved up the hill a bit.

We took a scenic drive to see Two Jacks Lake and Lake Minnewanka. The area was full of big horn mountain goats loosing their winter coats. 

Deep below the surface of the lake's pristine waters is the sunken resort town of Minnewanka Landing built in 1885. While it used to bustle with tourism and life, its only residents are now trout and the occasional scuba diver. 

Banff, Alberta Canada

Day 1 -

Unlike many mountain towns that began as mining settlements, Banff was established in the 1880’s to be a tourist town. Perfect with the trans Canadian rail line passing right through Banff. And it is a very cute touristy town. Reminds me of any ski town in Colorado. But the views… are incredible. The Canadian Rockies are magnificent. 

We started the day off visiting the Banff Springs Hotel. Built in 1888 and added on to over the years. 

We were serenaded by bagpipes. 

We walked down to visit Bow falls. 

We walked the Banff Ave pedestrian street and shopped. 

There were some interesting sights! 

Stopped for lunch at a pub that had fun wall art. 

Ice cream at COWS - yum!

Then we took the Banff Gondola for an incredible view of the town. 

Some big horn sheep made an appearance. 

Ended the day with cocktails at Camp Cowling.