Heading Home Sunday, Sept 15th

Banff to Cranbrook, BC and home

Well, the journey is coming to an end! We have one more night in Canada which we spend in the little town of Cranbrook about an hour from the US border. We decide to make a beeline for home, so we enter through the top of Idaho, traverse to Spokane, then down to Pasco, Bend and home. We stay at a nice KOA in Pasco, Washington and the La Pine State Park, in Oregon.

This has been a wonderful trip! Beautiful scenery! Delightful companionship! Great vehicles!  Mostly we have a gracious God who created so much beauty and allowed us the privilege of enjoying it! 

Tim and Kathy

A Day in Banff Saturday, Sept 14th

Banff

Our last day in Banff was spent mostly in town. The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies was quite well done. It displayed the art of the founding couple and a number of historical items from the railroad, early helicopter skiing, and mountaineering. Very interesting. 

Another highlight was a self guided tour of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. This is a 20 hundred star hotel with a long history. Absolutely beautiful architecture and views of the towering mountains around it.

Fairmont Banff Hotel

Fairmont Banff Hotel

Fairmont Banff Hotel

Fairmont Banff Hotel

Johnston Canyon, Vermillion Lake, Mt. Norquay Friday the 13th

Banff

This Friday the 13th brought lots of rain, so we decided to go for a hike. The Johnston Canyon is very well known and a must see. So we joined many other folks that arrived early to get a place to park.  

Johnston Canyon

This was a very beautiful climb along the river to the lower falls. A side trail got us to a short tunnel with a close-up view of the falls. We continued another mile up the trail to, as you might guess, Upper Falls. All the pathways were well maintained and many sections were suspended out from rock canyon walls or suspension bridges. Very pretty! After a couple hours or so, we returned to the pick-up rather wet from the rain. The rain jackets were great, but the pants took a direct water hit! All in all, totally worth it!

After drying out, warming up, and eating a little we went exploring again. This time we stayed mostly in the vehicle. Tunnel Mountain Drive was interesting as was the Mount Norquay Ski resort. We still had time so we captured a few pictures and looked for birds at Vermilion Lakes.

Vermillion Lake

Vermillion Lake

Bow Valley Parkway to Banff Thursday, September 12th

Yoho to Banff

Bow Valley Parkway

Today’s move from Yoho National Park to Banff takes us by way of the Bow Valley Parkway. Mostly it was a scenic drive with several viewpoint stops such as Castle Mountain and Moose Meadows where once again we saw no moose. We also enjoyed a nice lunch stop at  the Muleshoe Picnic area. (No mules!) We had a good rain in the night and found snow on the mountains around us as we traveled. 

Our next campground is the Tunnel Mountain Village 2 which we found with no problem along with many other people who seemed to find it. After getting the trailer settled into it’s new home, we headed to the town of Banff. We stopped by the visitors center to say hi and ask for a coffee shop suggestion. One of the recommendations was the Whitebark Coffee Shop which we walked to and enjoyed a lite snack, good coffee, and fast internet.

Cascade Gardens

Banff is a very busy tourist town with many shops and places to eat. We explored around and really enjoyed an art gallery of an absolutely amazing wildlife photographer by the name of Jason Bantle. His website is https://allinthewild.com. We walked across the river from the main part of town and discovered the delightful Cascade Gardens.

Cascade Gardens

Bow Parkway

Lake Louise and Moraine Lake Wednesday, September 11th

Lake Louise and Moraine Lake

Lake Louise

So today we need to do the best we can to manage the crowds at Lake Louise. We leave the campground at 6:00 am to make sure we get a place to park and discover we are one of the first arriving! Bonus points for us! We had breakfast as we drove and finished up in the parking lot. It was all good planning as we could enjoy this beautiful and so well known emerald lake. We had to bundle up a little since it was only 40 degrees and a bit foggy.

We walked along the Lakeside trail with delightful views back toward the Fairmont Lake Louise Hotel. The clouds moved in and out creating new views around each corner.

Tea House

We returned to the Hotel and enjoyed a hot drink before climbing the Lake Agnes Trail to the tea house. Here we found another picturesque lake, a few more people and a really good Chai Tea and soup.

We made our way down the mountain and drove to the Lake Louise village. We explored an old train depot that is now a restaurant, did a little shopping and had dinner at an Asian eatery.

Because a person can never get enough lakes and mountains we headed on to Moraine Lake. The people management rule says to wait till early evening to drive up to this lake. By then, many of the crowds have left and there is room to park. This worked great and we enjoyed an evening walk by the lake with the mountains towering around us.

Moraine Lake

Tea House

Moraine Lake

Trains, Takakkaw Waterfall and Emerald Lake Tuesday, September 10th

Yoho National Park

Narrow Gage Train Engine

This area is known for a railroad engineering masterpiece. The Continental Divide pass is extremely rugged and steep. The original track grade that was built was way too steep. After several accidents the track was redesigned. To reduce the slope of the track, they created two switchbacks by boring two deep tunnels in the mountain that formed a large loop. The long trains could exit the tunnel and still see the end of their train entering. 

This morning we hiked from our campground up a trail that led us to the train tracks and to the crashed remains of the original narrow gage engine that was used to build the tunnels. This was quite an uphill climb but provided a great history on the railroad system in this area.

Convergence of Glacier and Lake Water

We drove up the Yoho Valley Road from our campsite and stopped at the viewpoint of the lower spiral tunnel and a little further on the convergence of the Yoho and Kicking Horse rivers. One was glacier fed and milky, the other lake fed and clear. At the top of our road we end at the Takakkaw Falls. This is one of the highest in Canada.

On this same mountain area we explore Emerald Lake. We hike the entire level trail around the lake enjoying the beautiful turquoise colored water. 

This evening it’s time for dinner out, so we find a great little place to eat in Field called the Truffle Pig’s Bistro. Very good food! We both had salmon.

Takakkaw Falls

Emerald Lake

Truffle Pig Bistro

Kicking Horse River next to campsite

Travel to Yoho National Park Monday, September 9

Travel day from Wilcox Campground to Yoho National Park

Our next travel day takes us South toward the Canada Highway 1. There are several stops along the way to enjoy.

Panther Falls

Panther Falls Trail - From this hike you can see Bridal Veil Falls from the viewpoint, but for the best view a hike down the canyon is required. This was quite a rugged climb down and the falls were great!

We enjoyed many beautiful mountains, rivers, lakes and valleys as we drove. Not every spot was workable for the trailer, so we enjoyed the drive-by sightings. We watched for moose and other wildlife without much luck.

Peyto Lake - The glacier fed lake required a nice uphill climb. We have decided that an uphill climb a day keeps the doctor away. We sure find no trouble finding trails that go up! 

We settle into a campground right on the Kicking Horse river. The town of Field is very close so we drove in to check things out. This delightful little town of very few people is right on the main line of the railroad. It is surrounded by huge mountains with a river running right next to the city. They had a great info center that helped direct our activities both in Yoho and Banff National parks.

Peyto Lake

Community of Field

Community of Field

Mistaya Canyon

Greetings from Canada

Greetings from the Canadian Rockies!

Our internet has been a little sparse, so a few days have gone by since checking in last. It is currently Sunday, Sept 8, so I have some catching up to do.

Cold Sulphur Spring

Miette Hot Springs is about an hour from our campground, so on Thursday, Sept 5th we followed the Athabaska River to the Hot Springs. Along the road was a small little spring flowing out of the mountain called Cold Sulphur Spring. It is so fun to see water simply flowing from the ground with no visible source. The underground channels trace all over these mountains!

Another stop on our way to the Hot Springs was a pathway leading to the top of an overlooking grassy knoll. What a view up and down the canyons with the river flowing along the middle. On the far side we see several very long trains  loaded with shipping containers chugging both up and down the valley.

Grassy knoll overlooking Athabasca River

We stopped to explore an old coal mine. I poked my head in as far as Kathy would let me go. Nothing to see! Another stop was at the Punchbowl Falls. A little anti-climatic since we were directly on top but could not get a good view. Again, Kathy’s tight grip kept me from scaling the walls for a better view. 

Original Hot Springs

At the very end of the road we arrive at the Miette Hot Springs. This vacation destination has captured the natural hot waters and provided resort swimming for many years. We walked beyond the current day development to the source of that wonderful hot water. We could still see the remnants of the original pool and buildings that have been abandoned for quite some time.

We returned to our little traveling house by way of the local library where we sent out the last post.

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Maligne Canyon Trail

Friday arrives following another good nights rest and we are ready to head out again. Our goal today is to hike the Maligne Canyon Trail. We get out early to get ahead of any crowds and choose to start at the bottom of the canyon and work up. From bridge number six at the bottom to bridge five it is simply a level trail through the woods and wanders beside the powerful Maligne River. As we pass the fifth bridge, the river begins to narrow a little and the water speeds up. By the fourth bridge the canyon really narrows and the river falls and cascades through narrow deep channels. Breathtaking! We complete our assent and enjoy a hot drink and pastry at the small mountain resort. The return decent went much faster!

We continued our drive up the canyon to have a look at Medicine Lake and Maligne Lake. As expected, we enjoyed amazing beauty in these high mountain bodies of water. We hiked out to Moose Lake was was also very beautiful, but now moose to be found. On this day Kathy reports sightings of a Bald Eagle, American Robin, Junco, Golden-Crowned Kinglet and a Common Loon.

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Saturday  the 7th is a travel day. We were up very early to receive a phone call from Moses in Liberia. Connection was very poor, but we could see the children in the school during a presentation of their school supplies and the gift of a year in school. 

Athabasca Falls

By 9:00 am we were on the road with beautiful stop at the Athabasca Falls. The force of the water through the canyon of rocks was amazing. As you can tell, we are seeing a lot of water falls, channels, and hydraulic cuts through rock made by years of glaciers and water flow. We arrive at the Wilcox Campground by 11:00 am and find an open spot in this first come, first served camp. This was a terraced area in the trees, so trailer maneuvering was challenging and the spaces small, but everything worked out very well. Both Wilcox and our next one are without services, so we are dry camping for the next five days. 

After setting up camp, we met long time friends, Scott and Melissa Griffith, at the Icefields Center for lunch and a brief chance to catch up. They just happened to be heading to Jasper as we were headed the opposite direction. The Ice Fields Center was a perfect meeting place.

We headed back toward Jasper after lunch to explore several of the sites we bypassed. Sunwapta Falls provided another thunderous waterfall. We were having so much fun and our legs were not shaky yet, so we walked another 4 kilometers round trip to the lower falls. Did I mention that this is absolutely beautiful country? We returned to our little chalet hung on the terraced hillside ready to rest our legs.

Forefield Trail

Sunday morning we enjoyed a leisurely start before heading to a glacier. We hike the Forefield trail which is a rocky trail crossing moraine and glacial debris. The path leads us to the toe of the Athabasca Glacier. 

We really needed more glacier views, so after lunch we headed to the Parker Ridge Trail. This trail is a continual uphill battle with gravity that escorts us through an area of dense trees but quickly begins to open up as it makes it way to the tree line. What we see from the ridge top is spectacular with panoramic views of the Saskatchewan Glacier and its valleys below. There are waterfalls cascading down massive rock mountains pouring into the aqua blue glacial lakes. Joining us on the ridgeline was a very contented herd of mountain goats that munched on the grasses and did not seem to care that humans were there. What a place for them to call home.

Parker Ridge Trail

Well, That's my parting shot!

Tim and Kathy

Mount Edith Cavell

Greetings Friends!

Our morning began promptly so we could beat any crowds to Mount Edith Cavell. We gladly paid the entry fee of a very curvy road to a sparsely populated parking lot. I must say these friendly Canadians are really taking good care of their National Parks. Roads are great and improvements constantly being made. The first leg of our hike was on a paved pathway. We are surrounded by massive rock mountains and glaciers. 

It is not long before our view opens to more greenish blue milky water, this time with chunks of ice floating! The massive wall before us is trying very hard to hang on to the Angel Glacier. One of the wings partially fell off in 2012, causing flooding and destruction. 

The weather could not have been better! The morning light on the snowy canyon walls was breathtaking. The temperature was comfortable and the sky blue with scattered puffs of white. We continued past and above the lake looking for more views and enjoy this amazing moment. Our legs burned and lungs worked quite hard, but it was worth it!

Darting along the rock scree a pika called out a friendly greeting. Kathy tried to squeak back, but the conversation ended there. Further up the path, and rather close, a marmot looked up to check us out. He seemed rather unconcerned with humans and provided several good photo-ops. 

We used quite a bit of energy, so lunch and a brief nap for Tim was due. Later in the afternoon we drove into the town of Jasper to explore. The tourist community is cradled in the mountains, very clean, and, on this day, not very packed with people. Lots of gifts shops, restaurants and outdoor supply stores. We arrived just in time to pop into a local farmers market to grab a few items. We eventually settled into a local wireless equipped coffee shop for a hot drink and computer time. The previous blog post came from there.

Our campsite placed our trailer very close to the neighbor. We both pulled in about the same time, so a hardy greeting was in order since we were going to be living close. Delightful couple from Australia on holiday for over a month. The night before their departure from camp they offered some of their extra food, since they are wrapping up their adventures in Canada. There seems to be a trend of people giving us food. Starting with Judy and Eric to Rest Area Joe, and now the Australians!

Today’s hike calls for this quote: Psalm 92:4 - For you have made me rejoice, Lord, by what You have done; I will shout for joy because of the works of Your hands.

Tim and Kathy

Beginning with Jasper

A second full day behind wheel! I love it when there is no excitement on the road. I also enjoyed the miles and miles of green agriculture lands with the mountains in the distance. Historic farm houses, modern estates, falling down barns, and rusted farm equipment. A painter’s paradise and photographers delight. We had miles to cover, so the pictures are only in my mind. For how long, who knows! 

Our lunch was at a roadside rest area parked between a bus load of Asian tourists and a small RV that housed a overly tanned shirtless local fellow that was also having lunch (I did not take a picture). We chatted briefly and exchanged some home made chocolate bark for a couple local peaches. He initiated this kind act of neighborliness by bringing over the peaches. As we drove off he was licking the last of the chocolate off his fingers with a grin and quick wave goodby.

We crossed the border into Canada with ease, but were asked by very kind border people to leave our home grown apples behind. We parked for the night in the Pinegrove Campground near Kamloops, Canada. This was a nice little family run camp that sat just below the highway and above the train tracks and river below. We heard a number of trains rumble through but they were out of sight. It’s getting a little cooler and sleeping is easy!

Before departure the next morning we enjoyed more of Eric’s amazing bacon! We were slept, fed, cleaned, and ready to get on the road again. This day will provide a most delightful panorama of new terrain and beautiful mountains.

Mount Robson

        We followed the Thompson River much of the time with the water becoming more milky as the miles rolled on. We stoped to take in the spectacular Mount Robson and eventually crossed the continental Divide and entered Jasper National Park. We settle into Wabasso Campground which sits near the shores of the even more milky Athabasca River. We get to spend the next few days exploring these beautiful Canadian mountains and rivers.

Tim and Kathy

The Canadian Rockies

Getting There

Following several days of preparation, the trip begins. All the key components checked and replaced as needed. Wheels greased and tires replaced. The wasps evicted from their homes and solar panels cleaned. The trailer storage is stocked with goods and supplies, the gas tank is full. Let’s roll!

Just for the record, we pull out of the driveway on Thursday, the 28th of August, Tim’s dad’s birthday. We leave the property in the able hands of our son Brian and gleefully hit the road. It feels really good to be behind the wheel of the Toyota Tundra traveling with my sweet wife!  

We spent the first night in Albany and enjoyed cruising the backroads the next day to McMinnville through vineyards, hazelnut trees, ornamental nurseries, and crops we could not identify.

Domaine Drouhin Vineyard

Kathy’s brother recently completed the build of a new home in McMinnville, Oregon. First on our agenda is to explore their new home, neighborhood and community. This delightful suburb forty miles southwest of  Portland sits in the middle of one of Oregon’s prime wine countries.

Just like what we left behind in Medford, their home is surrounded by new construction complete with many, many workers. It was so great to celebrate with Curtis and Stephanie, the joy of a brand new home. They have done an incredible job of working through all the decisions required to complete this major project. Great Home, Great Community, and mostly, Great People.

     Our tour of homes also included a recent purchase and move by Tim’s sister and husband in Happy Valley, OR. Another great home that looks to be exactly right for their needs. Gardens producing incredibly well, a green house in the works, and Theo the cat guarding the land. Maybe even the neighbor’s land! As always Eric and Judy treated us to delicious home grown meals and warm hospitality. I really need to learn to BBQ like Eric. He is the grill master!

Our last night in the United States is in Mt Vernon, Washington. One space left in the park was all we needed. Lot’s of traffic today, a number of accidents, and one skidding stop for us, but all is well!

As we head into Canada I hope to post periodically depending on wireless service, so stay tuned!

Tim and Kathy