So, here's how it went down. I was in the vicinity of Banff:




The weather was curious: sleet, driving and freezing rain, slush, snow, sheets of ice, and then winds so fierce that cars were being blown off the road:




I drove a small country highway up towards Lake Louise, and saw, first, the usual, standard, laid-on Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. One had stopped some traffic and was licking salt off wheels and grilles:




I continued on, driving almost imperceptibly, to maximize the chances of seeing something more impressive. I rounded a bend and, at 30 paces, a huge black wolf stepped out of the woods, slunk across the road, and proceeded up a snowbank into the woods on the other side. I reached for my camera while keeping my eye on the animal, and managed to pop off one shot:




but by then I was drifting straight into a snow bank, and was soon lodged there.
Two cars were close behind, full of families, and the kids were most amused, and they ran up the road to get another glimpse of the departing wolf, which their two sets of parents had not seen, as they'd been intent on my unorthodox driving.

Fortunately one family was in an enormous pickup, and towed me out.