The Canadian Rockies - Banff & Jasper
Alberta, Canada Wednesday, June 18, 2003
Entered Canada mid-morning. Customs asked us to step out of the RV while they searched it. They opened every cabinet inside, but didn’t open any of the large storage bins underneath or open the car at all. Go figure.
Apparently, billboards are not allowed in this area, but every farmer's field had trailers from tractor trailer trucks with professional advertisements (e.g., McDonalds, etc.)on the sides.
We spent a few minutes trying to nail down conversions of Canada measures to US – like how much Canada $ per liter is in US $ per gallon for gas. Also needed a way to translate radio info about temperatures in Celsius, currency conversions, etc.
On the way to Banff, we decided we had to stop at a place called “Head-Smashed In Buffalo Jump”. This is where the Indians developed a highly sophisticated way to herd and stampede buffalo into funneled trails that led to a cliff where they fall to their deaths. Excellent movies, exhibits, and guide at the visitor center 
made the history seem very real.
Drove through Calgary and saw the ski jumps used in the 1988 Olympics that are still used for practice. Leaving Calgary we encountered a hail storm – luckily, it was short and didn’t do any damage.
Stayed in Canmore, Alberta, about 11 miles from Banff. 
Very upscale small town that caters to the ski crowd in winter and folks like us in the summer. Jack reserved a tee time at the local country club and I’ll check out Banff for info about the park and check out some of the stores is town.
Alberta, Canada Thursday, June 19, 2003
Woke up to pouring rain, so no golf. We decided to take our time getting ready this morning and head into the park and stay at Lake Louise – only electric hookups, so we filled our fresh water tank before we left.
We drove 50 miles north to Lake Louise, bypassing Banff and got our campsite – a great location under tall pine trees and next to a turquoise green swift-running river. 
The rain stopped and the sun started peeking out, so we decided to take advantage of the weather and go for a hike near Lake Louise. Drove a couple of miles from the campground to Lake Louise Chateau (really big, fancy hotel) on Lake Louise with Victoria glacier on the mountains surrounding the hotel. 
The hike went around the lake behind the hotel and up and up and up and up – in fact, 1,270 feet over 2 miles – no breaks – just up. We arrived at a small lake called Mirror Lake 
and then we went up again for another ½ mile to Lake Agnes and a “tea house”. Lake Agnes was partially iced over and water spills over a beautiful waterfall down into Mirror Lake. We had tea in the tea house and spoke with the waitress. The workers have to hike up to the tea house, stay there in a loft for five days and work and then they return back down the mountain for a two-day break. They have to carry everything they need on backpacks – no roads at all to this teahouse. Twice a year, a helicopter drops supplies in. Wow!
Hiked back down in a few raindrops (liked down much better than up), and found out that a grizzly momma and her two cubs were spotted on the same trail we had just hiked. We’d love to see a grizzly, but not face to face. Checked out the lobby and dining rooms of the hotel and then back to the RV for dinner and relaxation. We are going to sleep really good tonight!
Alberta, Canada Friday, June 20, 2003
Woke up to pouring rain, again. I had noticed a wet spot in the ceiling corner in the bathroom yesterday. Asked Jack if he had accidentally sprayed it (shower head converts to a hand-held sprayer thingie) – he said probably. Well, this morning it was wet again – we have a leak! Not good, as it can run inside the walls and build mildew and rot and all that bad stuff. Jack called our buddy at the RV dealership and he said it was probably the seal around the skylight. So, today we drove to Banff to check out the town and see if we could get caulk.
Banff is a neat little town – definitely caters to the winter skiing crowd – the McDonalds had a fireplace! Reminds me a bit of Aspen, or is it Vail – I get those two confused, so have to make plans to get back there on our next trip to get them straight. Lots of neat tourist shops with interesting artsy pieces.
Fossils are big here – not giant bones, but dinosaur teeth and lots of small squid-like animals and shells that look like snails. Some of these things turned to rock that mineralized into all iridescent colors that they call ammonite. We also got our caulk.
Took the scenic drive back from Banff to Lake Louise where they say wildlife often appears. They were right – we saw an elk right next to the road and even more interesting was a gray wolf! We got lots of pictures of the elk, but the wolf was a little too far away.
Clouds are low and moving among the mountains – very pretty where the sun is shining in one place and clouds are squeezing between the peaks in others. Back at the campground and up on the RV roof, getting ready to apply the caulk we notice that it isn’t the seal, but the plastic bubble skylight is cracked in two corners. We used the caulk to seal the cracks, and then covered the whole thing up with plastic as it is supposed to rain more tonight. We’ll have to stop somewhere and have the skylight replaced if the caulk doesn’t hold.
Alberta, Canada Saturday, June 21, 2003
Raining again. 
Drove north on the Icefields Parkway – one of the most scenic roads in the world, they say in the brochures and they were right. Because of the rather miserable weather, we made no stops and drove straight to the Columbia Icefields where they take you out on a glacier in a giant-wheeled bus. 
We drove over Bow Summit at about 7k feet and it was snowing – here the first day of summer. The glacier was fun and interesting – the glacier ice is blue – they told us why, but can’t remember the details but it has to do with the ice being compressed.
After the tour, we drove to the base of the glacier and hiked up to the base – cold and windy. Returning to Lake Louise after the glacier, we stopped at many of the viewpoints and spotted a coyote and a moose. Hiked down to a canyon that was really spectacular and hiked up to a mountain viewpoint through alpine wildflowers. We still are hoping to see a bear and big horn sheep.
Back to the RV about 5:30, Jack watched the news on one of the two TV channels and I took Spike for a walk – he’s getting used to walking on a leash. Dinner and early to bed after all that hiking. Longest day of the year here is a little different than back home – it was still light (not even twilight) after 10pm. We feel like little kids going to bed before it gets dark!
Alberta, Canada Sunday, June 22, 2003
We both slept in – I didn’t get up until almost 8am! Made an omelet breakfast and on the road about 9:45 for Jasper. Jasper National Park is north of Banff and they meet just beyond the Columbia Icefield we visited yesterday. Drove about 150 miles to Jasper from Lake Louise along the Icefield Parkway. The first half was a repeat of yesterday, but we could see so much more from the large windows of the RV. 
We spotted an entire family of big horn sheep and a coyote on the way. Stopped at a pullout and had lunch looking at beautiful snow-covered peaks. There was a fresh coating of snow on the peaks and the trees at the higher elevations.
Got a full hookup site in the Jasper Park campground – a great site under tall pines and lots of space between “neighbors”. Headed into town to explore, stopped at an internet café so Jack could check email and pay bills and go the grocery store. Drove out to the Jasper Park Lodge –these historic lodges are very different from each other. This one is on a lake with the snow-capped mountain in the background, but the inside is not very impressive. We decided our favorite lodge so far was the main Glacier Park Lodge that was very rustic. Back to the RV for an Italian pasta dinner, a few phone calls and little TV on one of the two TV channels.
Alberta, Canada Monday, June 23, 2003
Raining again, but it is supposed to clear up this afternoon. Took Spike for a walk in the morning and there was an elk just grazing near the RV – cool. This is the time when the females have had their young and are quite aggressive. Decided to do laundry at the Laundromat in town and stop at a business center so I can get some high-speed internet access, send a fax and some other work stuff.
Back to the RV for lunch and a nap and woke up to clearing skies. Rode to Maligne Lake and saw a yearling black bear on the way. Hiked a few miles around the lake and fought massive swarms of mosquitoes. A female elk was running through the woods right at Jack and he had to yell at her to scare her off – apparently, they don’t see well. We saw another elk just grazing and went through a large moss and lichen-covered forested area. Driving back we saw a momma bear and a newborn cub that was still unsteady on his feet. 
Went to bed again before it was dark – not even sunset!
Alberta, Canada Tuesday, June 24, 2003
Raining again and today it was supposed to be beautiful. The sun started shining and we headed up to Mt. Edith Clavell (named after a WWI nurse) and hiked up to a glacier – it was fabulous and decided it bumped out everything else from the #10 spot. Guess we’ll have to enlarge our scale since everything seems to be a 9.5 or 10.
Jack was having major golf withdrawal as he hadn’t played since we were in Jersey. He played golf at the Jasper Park Golf Club, and loved it! 
Beautiful scenery, some elk and he played well, to boot! His tee time was 3:06 and the sun was still up pretty high in the sky when he finished at 7:45. We went to dinner at a mediocre Italian restaurant and driving back to the RV at 10:00 was the first time we actually were up late enough to see early signs of a sunset. This is our last day in the Canadian Rockies Park – tomorrow we actually start on the Alaska Highway.
