July 29, 2014 Canmore, AB

Today was another laid back day. We drove the 12 miles to Banff for a day of sightseeing and shopping. We arrived in Banff at about 11:00.

We were early enough that parking was not a problem. We visited several shops along the main business area for a couple of hours and then had a late lunch/early dinner at Chili's.

We then drove the Tunnel Mountain circle and got back to the RV park at about 4:00 PM. We had a great day.

Although we are a bit anxious to get home, we are somewhat sad that this is the last day of our journey through Canada to Alaska and back. This was absolutely a trip that was everything we had anticipated, plus a bit more. We were able to see amazing scenery and wildlife throughout the trip. We have favorite places that we would like to see again and a couple of places to which we likely would not return. But overall, it was a great adventure.

A special thank you to Jeremy for creating and updating our blog. We will download the blog to allow us to visit Canada and Alaska anytime we wish.

July 28, 2014 Canmore, AB Canada

Today we drove approximately 50 miles north to Lake Louise. The drive was easy and we arrived at the lake at about 10:30 only to find a parking space extremely difficult to locate – particularly in an extended cab, long box ¾ T pickup.

Once we got parked, we only had a short distance to walk to a boardwalk at the lake. I mentioned parking was difficult??? It was nearly elbow to elbow on the boardwalk. However, we were able to get photos of the lake and the Fairmont Lake Louise resort.

This lake is fed directly from glaciers and ice fields directly west of the lake. The ice grinds and pulverizes the smaller rocks. These small particles are suspended in the water and refract the light to make the water appear to be aqua marine in color. Absolutley beautiful!!

A person we talked with at Lake Louise recommended we visit Lake Moraine which is only a short distance from Lake Louise. When we arrived at Lake Moraine, we encountered cars parked on the edge of the narrow road at least ½ mile from the lake. We drove on, meeting cars and driving very slow. Well...the parking lot was full. Cars were stopped, waiting for people leaving to vacate their parking spot. The park service has an attendant directing traffic in the parking lot. We quickly decided we didn't really need to see this lake. We fired our tour guide.

On the way back to Canmore, we could see a very large building in the town of Banff with spires that rose far above the trees. We drove through Banff to the original Banff Springs Hotel which is still in business. The hotel appears to hav had an addition built on in recent years as the stones are a bit different in color. This is truly a magnificent structure!!!

The Bow River falls lie directly behind the Banff Springs Hotel. We drove to the viewing point and spent about an hour watching the river and people.

We got back to the RV Park about 6:00.

July 27, 2014 Canmore, AB

We left Hinton at 8:30 this morning. It was about 46 degrees this morning and the skies were clear.

As we approached Jasper, a 6 point bull elk was grazing beside the road. His horns were still in velvet and were huge. I believe these elk may be a different subspecies from the elk found in the Idaho/eastern Washington region. The horns were much, much larger and heavier plus the elk just nonchalantly grazed along while passersby took photos. All the elk we have seen in Idaho don't hang around very long when they see you. (Actually, National Park wildlife have become so accustomed to humans, they no longer fear them.)

As we drove south towards Banff National Park, we were overwhelmed by the sights!! It seamed as the mountain peaks got steeper and larger. Glaciers and ice fields were also viewable from the parking/viewing areas. All of the lakes and rivers are aquamarine colored from the glacial silts. These are just a couple of photos. (We must have taken over 100 photos today.)

One of the highlights along the way was the Athabasca River falls. Over eons of time, the water has carved a narrow slit through the rock. The colors and rainbows were amazing!! (The Athabasca River heads in Jasper NP at the Columbia Ice Fields and flows across Alberta and Saskatchewan to the Hudson Bay.)

We entered Banff National Park and drove on to Canmore. The roads are much improved and are divided 4 lane similar to our Interstate system. We noticed that the roadway is completely fenced to keep wildlife off the roadway (8' tall elk fencing). Periodically, underpasses and overpasses have been constructed to allow the elk safe passage across the highway.

We arrived at the Spring Creek RV Park (south of Banff) at 5:00. This day was glorious. Tomorrow, we will visit Lake Louise.

July 26, 2014 – Hinton, AB

We awoke to a beautiful, clear and sunny morning. Today, we will travel back into JNP for a ride on the Jasper Tramway.

We left the RV Park at 9:30 and drove directly to the Jasper Tram arriving at approximately 10:45. Each Tram car holds 26 occupants and it takes about 10-12 minutes for a round trip. We purchased our tickets and found that our gondola will depart at 12:00 noon. An hours' wait isn't too bad.

We boarded promptly at noon and occupied the space at the rear of the car (where we could look out over the Jasper valley). The trip to the 7500' peak was quick and the view breath taking!! On top we took several photos and had lunch.

Insert pics 0726.028.1

When we returned to the parking lot, we took a side trip and went to Lake Maligne, which lies 25 miles off the main road. Boy, did we make the right decision!! The lakes and granite crags were spectacular. The Maligne River reminds us of the Lochsa, only smaller and on a steeper grade.

We returned to the RV Park a little after 6:00. Tired, but well satisfied with our day!!

Tomorrow we will move to an RV Park near Banff and spend the next three days site seeing Banff Natl Park.

July 25, 2014 – Hinton, AB

The rain continued throughout the night. At 6:30 this morning, it was still raining. Because the mountains are shrouded in fog, we decided to stay at the RV Park today and visit the town of Hinton.

We went into Hinton around 11:00. Hinton is the east gateway into Jasper Natl Park and has a lot of commercial businesses including, WalMart, Safeway, a large tire center, several hotels, and the usual fast food restaurants (DQ, A&W, KFC, etc). The business area is 2-3 miles long which took us all of 10 minutes to look over.

We restocked some of our supplies and had a treat at DQ. We arrived back at the RV Park around 1:30 and relaxed the rest of the day.

The rain quit in the afternoon and the skies to the west cleared some which resulted in a pretty sunset at 9:45 PM.

Insert pics 0726.004.1

July 24, 2014 – Hinton, AB

We arrived at the Hinton KOA about 1:30 PM. The drive over was uneventful, but we must say, this part of Alberta certainly has its own beauty. There are no jagged peaks or magnificent lakes, only rolling hills covered with sense birch, lodge pole, and spruce with cattle ranches and farm ground etched out of the trees. The area reminded us a lot of the of the drive from Portland to Lincoln City, particularly southwest of McMinnville.

In the later afternoon, we drove west into the Jasper National Park and the town of Jasper (about 45 miles). The mountains around Jasper are steep, jagged monolithic granite. On the lower sections of the mountains, trees are able to grow.

We stopped at the Fairmont Jasper Lodge which was a little disappointing to us. We expected a “mountain-themed” lodge like Yellowstone or Glacier, but what we found was a modern building with some natural features. We entered the lodge and found a latte shop for a quick mocha and muffin.

The town of Jasper is located about in the middle of the park. It reminds us a bit of Leavenworth, WA the first time we visited there, about 20 years ago. Jasper is in the midst of upgrading their streetscape and there is quite a bit of commercial construction in progress. We walked the town's business area, made a few purchases, and then drove about town.

On the trip back to Hinton, we were able to photograph a few big horn ewes on a near-vertical cliff beside the roadway. It is absolutely amazing how these sheep are able to maneuver up, down and across the steep slopes.

We encountered intermittent rain showers late in the day, but as we approached Hinton, we had steady rain. We arrived at the KOA about 6:30, had dinner, and watched TV before going to bed.

Tomorrow we plan to go back into JNP and take the Jasper Tramway to a 7500' peak.

July 23, 2014 – Stony Point, AB

Not much activity today. We visited a second hand/antique store but there wasn't anything in the store that begged us to purchase it, so we went on into Edmonton to see the downtown area.

Hmm...we forgot the map. So we just drove around. The Edmonton area industrial park is located on the north side of the city. It covers an immense area. Gayle was really impressed (not!!).

We milled around in and out of residential and business areas, crossed the Athabasca River in mid city, and ended up in a large mall (not the WEM) and had lunch and did a little shopping.

Our Magellan navigator found our way back to the RV Park around 5 PM where we relaxed for the remainder of the day.

Tomorrow, we will drive ~180 miles towards Jasper Natl Park. We will stay in Hinton, AB as all of the RV Parks in JNP are full.