Drove back into Banff National Park today after a quick stop of at Timmys. We began by visiting Lake Louise and got there before the crowds which made it even better. The lake was beautiful, very very green and the surrounding glaciers were spectacular. It was very cold there, the lake does not get warm enough to swim in even during the summer, and the morning fog had not risen so it all looked very mysterious. It was beautiful. It also had real flushing toilets; if I never have to use another ‘hole in the floor’ toilet again then I will be happy. Guess we all now where my priorities lie.
From Lake Louise we took Bow Valley Parkway, the scenic route, to the town of Banff. We didn’t get to see any wildlife today but the drive was still amazing. Banff itself is cute, another tourist town like Jasper only a little bigger.
After spending some time at Banff we headed to Yoho National Park; the word Yoho is a Cree expression of awe. I dare you to try saying Yoho out loud without getting the urge to sing “a pirates life for me”. Yoho is a smaller national park that butts up against Banff, but although it’s smaller it’s just as amazing. We stopped at Kicking Horse Pass to view the Spiral Tunnels. These are tunnels cut through the mountain that reduced the grade for the railway line by more than half. A pretty amazing feet that was completed over 100 years ago. We attempted to drive to Takakkaw Falls (magnificent in Cree) which are the second highest falls in Canada but we couldn’t get even close as the road was closed due to the weather. We did get to see the convergence of the Yoho and Kicking Horse rivers, the meeting was violent!
Our next stop was at a natural bridge that had been created by the Kicking Horse River; it was once a waterfall. Nature is awesome. The last place of the day was Emerald Lake, which as with all the other lakes we’ve seen was wonderful nestled amongst the trees with a glacier backdrop.
We have had a lovely few days in Donald and tomorrow it’s off to Radium Hot Springs.

Mike: Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of rum!

Do you have any idea how loud the coffee grinder is when it goes off in your ear at 6a.m., I do, it's loud. Mike very consideratley didn't set the alarm this morning (I am on holiday after all), he did however turn on the coffee timer, lovely! We wanted to get an early start today as we decided to visit Banff and Jasper National Parks.
Today was Mike's turn to pick what we were going to eat (we decided yesterday to have alternate days so we didn't have to argue about what to eat) so first order of business, Tim Hortons of course. Doughnuts all round, boston cream for me, walnut something and an old fashioned glazed for Mike, and timbits for Tal-y, all before 7.15 a.m. Once we were all fueled up it was on the road to Jasper; we decided to head to the town of Jasper along the 93 which is known as the Icefields Parkway (one of the worlds ten greatest drives apparently). It's a 143 mile drive from Banff NP to the town of Jasper and they (whoever they are) weren't joking about the drive, it is absolutely spectacular with glacier topped peaks, waterfalls and green and blue lakes. Words cannot really describe it and none of the pictures we took do it any justice, it is just stunning, gorgeously beautiful. I spent alot of time looking for wildlife on the ground and then I'd look up and the mountains would just take my breath away, each magnificent in their own right. We did get to see a rather large black bear grazing alongside the road on the way to Jasper, like he didn't have a care in the world, but no other animals.
Since we were on the road early it was quite cold and we got to see snow, in June, whilst driving through the Columbian Icefields. The trees all looked beautifully festive with their dusting of snow. The early morning fog hadn't lifted when we were driving through and Bow Glacier, which was the first we passed looked both majestic and eerie, just beautiful.
Jasper was cute, very touristy. We didn't spend very long there other than to let Tal-y have a run.
On the way back we got to see more bears, some really close as they crossed the road right in front of us. We also saw mountain goats and some feisty long horned sheep who decided to have a head butting match in the middle of the road - typical males!
It was a long day, we (I mean Mike) drove for about 10 hours altogether, but it was so worth it to see the views; nature at her finest for sure.

Mike: Long drive but it didn't seem like it, great views and the weather was perfect.
Lots of stops along the way. Lakers tonight! We have internet but not fast enough to
stream live video. We listened to the radio pod cast. Yeh, they're even now, and going to a 7th game Thurs.

The sun woke me at 6.30 this morning streaming in through the window; I managed to go back to sleep! We packed up the trailer in double quick time once I did get out of bed, and were on the road around 9.30 a.m. with only about a 3 1/2 hour drive ahead of us along Highway 1. It's been quite an uneventful day really, just more breathtaking country to look at, oh and my first look at the Canadian Rockies; they are absolutely magnificent. We did stop of at Last Spike which was the place where the last spike was driven on the Canadian Pacific Railway in November 1885; it was here that the east and west tracks met.
Got to the campsite in Donald around mid afternoon and got everything set up and then drove into Golden; there's not a whole lot going on in that town.
We started to take Tal-y for a walk when we got back when we saw a wolf, I swear, a grey wolf. We turned around pretty sharpish and walked the road instead, Mike with several large rocks in his hands, but we didn't see him again, or any others.
That was the most exciting thing that happened today although the wind did come up again for a while and then disappeared as fast as it arrived, is that something that happens in this part of the world?
Stayed up reading Eclipse this evening and didn't realise it was almost 11.00 as it was still fairly light outside. It's strange going to bed when it's not yet dark. Should have been in bed earlier probably as I have an extra early start tomorrow.

Mike: Nice short drive, no internet tonight, watch a movie. No problem Tal-y chased the wolf off!

On the road again today after two lovely days at Cultus Lake, where I finally got to hold the hose while Mike cleaned the loo. We hadn't anywhere planned for tonight so we headed towards Golden. We are spending the next few days just west of Golden but from Cultus Lake it's about a 7-8 hour drive so we wanted to stop somewhere along the way. We headed towards Kamloops and depending how long it took us to get there we were either going to stay or go east a little further. Again the drive was beautiful (if we stay in Canada much longer I'm gonna need a thesaurus, how many times can I use beautiful?) Mountains, trees, and then right out of nowhere a flat bountiful valley, amazing. I thought I saw a bear today, turns out it was just a cow.
I have decided, finally, that I prefer going up hill to going down hill providing the uphill pull is gradual, otherwise I prefer going down hill. We headed up a "hill" today to about 6500 feet, the truck was working hard and we were going very slowly, I don't like that! Mike tells me it's what Serena (Mike and Lec named the truck) is built for and she loves the climb; by the sounds she makes I'm not sure he understands his lady at all.
We finally stopped for tonight at Salmon Arm, which is somewhere between Kamloops and Revelstoke. We drove into town to get some food and ended up having to have Wendy's fries and shakes as theirs was the only car park we could get into. It's quite difficult since most places are not built for trucks and trailers; I'm very glad I don't have to drive, we'd probably be still sitting in Del Mar.
The camp site is ok, pretty much an open field but it does have water, sewer and electricity which is basically all we need. The weather has been great all day and then just after we got here the wind really picked and was shaking us around, then as quickly as it started it dropped and everything is calm now, weird.
Off again early tomorrow towards to Golden.

Mike: Simple little park but we have internet. Laker's still suck but I watched the
game anyway.

Mike is absolutely devastated this morning. He was ever so excited when we checked in yesterday as they supposedly had breakfast here at the park on the weekends. He dragged me out of bed to go eat early this morning but when we got there the kitchen was all closed up, not a hash brown or an egg in sight. He sought out the ranger and discovered that we are a week early and breakfast doesn't start till Father's Day. I think his whole month is now in ruins!
This park is lovely. There are lots of people here but it doesn't seem crowded at all and everyone is very friendly, I think they are all Canadians which explains everything! We had a good walk to the lake this afternoon, it was beautiful and we had gorgeous weather for it too. It took us a little while to find it as the road we walked down was through a residential area and all the houses has private beach access. We finally found some public access and the views were amazing across the lake with the snow capped mountains off in the distance. Tal-y had a little paddle but she was a little wary of the breaks from the power boats - I will make her a brave terrier if it's the last thing I do.
Mike spent the afternoon plotting our trip for the next ten days or so as we head toward Banff and then finally over into Montana, we head out tomorrow. I spent the afternoon bathing the dog and finishing New Moon, I'm definitely Team Jacob.

Mike: Becc did a good job finishing the bottle of "Old Moon" (wine) also.

Had a little lie in this morning as it was raining again and didn't really like the idea of hitching up the trailer whilst getting wet. We got it done and left Birch Bay mid morning to head to Canada. I think the squirrels were glad to see us leave as they sat in the trees dropping pine cones on us while we were packing up - cheeky little buggers.
We only had about 1 1/2 hours to drive today and everything went very smoothly, no traffic, the rain stopped, and literally a three minute border crossing (it would have been quicker if Mike could only learn to answer the questions he's asked).
The RV park here in Cultus Lake is beautiful, as was the drive around the lake to get here; it seems like we are in a hole with forest on every side. I know the lake is somewhere close by and we are going to walk to find it tomorrow.
This whole experience still doesn't feel quite real, it still feels like a vacation (Mike assures me it's not and that I have to do things like laundry and cleaning). We've been on the road for five weeks now but this is the first "real" week, alone together and not heading to see anyone else. It's going great so far but there's still the weekend to go.

Mike: This place is fantastic! It looks like we are going to have great weather also!

It's Thursday. We have been at Birch Bay now since Monday and it's been raining since Monday, fun. Not much happening really, just a few days to catch up on all the stuff we haven't done while we were in Canada and to get ready to go back across the border tomorrow. Spent most of the day Tuesday shopping in Bellingham getting restocked with food and things. Yesterday was the most fun day as I got to clean the trailer - if I never see another pine needle it'll be too soon, they get everywhere! At least the cleaning is done now for another month or two. Today we had to go buy the stuff we forgot on Tuesday and I also got the second Twilight book so haven't done much of anything else today - it's calling my name as I type.
Mike spent most of today planning and plotting for our trip to Banff; it looks like we probably won't get to Jasper this time. He has booked parks for most of the nights but there is one in there, Sunday night, where we are just going to drive and hope we find somewhere to spend the night. That'll be the first time so far where we haven't got anywhere booked so we most likely won't be speaking by Sunday night. Wish us luck.
Birch Bay is a nice little spot; we did manage to get to the bay in between the cloud bursts. The camp site is okay but not great, and we are still not sure whether the ranger here is a man or a woman. He/she did reprimand us early tonight though for parking on the grass and not in our space, naughty, naughty Mikey. Tal-y has been both very happy and very frustrated this week, happy because there are bunches of squirrels here for her to chase, and frustrated because since the first time she shot after one she's been tied to the wheel of the trailer - Mike refuses to chase all over the park after her. When will she learn that if she came back when she was called then she wouldn't need to be tied up?
Off to Cultus Lake, BC tomorrow morning, good night.

Mike: No more rain, please. Laker's suck!