Day 58 - Another LONG transfer day
We had overnighted in Kamloops at the Paul Lake Provincial Park. It was a great campsite and felt back in the woods, but the bathrooms there were the roughest we had experienced on the trip. This was likely due to the heat, but the odors of those places alone made us glad we were heading out. Phew
However, before we left the area, we did want to see a little of the park so, despite the resistance from the troops, we did a hike up to Gibralter Rock. It was a fairly easy trail until the end which brought us up to the top of the rock and left us with a great scenic view of the lake and surrounding area. It was worth the hike, even if some may not agree.
While yesterday’s drive was good, today’s was even more scenic and majestic. We drove through 3 National Parks (Mt Revelstoke, Glacier, and Yoho) before stopping in a 4th (Kootenay) for a brief moment to take some pictures and relax. And as a bonus, as we traveled we entered our second Province - Alberta!
A quick note on our drive - we have been doing most of our land crossing on Highway 1. It’s a road that crosses Canada from east to west, but it is NOT like an American Interstate. It’s largely a two lane road that was full of traffic. So if you’re looking to get somewhere fast with low traffic, this is not the choice. However, if you want some amazing scenery - at least in British Columbia and Alberta, this was perfect! Also, Highway 1 is lined with overpasses that are designed specifically for the wildlife. The sides are fenced to prevent the wildlife from coming onto the roads and the overpasses on the highway are just for them. Pretty awesome investment in preserving nature. Here's one of them.
Despite the long drive, the boys did great. They split their time between listening to The Hunger Games and watching some Bluey episodes. There was more electronic time than usual, but we felt that was in order given the length of the drive. We made one last stop in Golden at an IGA for some groceries and then pulled into Banff. We made one wrong turn, but it worked out because we ran into (almost literally) an elk mom and her calf. What a great way to start our Banff experience!
Banff campground is set up a bit different from what we were used to. Rather than pull into a specific spot, there was just a long road with RVs parked along each side almost like parallel parking. Amy and I joked that it could have been a rock concert or even some of the rougher areas of Oakland. Still, it worked for us and we had camp set up and then enjoyed corn dogs, peas, and diet root beer for dinner.
Banff camp had a couple of oddities we didn’t expect. First was that camp quiet hours were 11-7 (normally 10-6) which worked for us since our bodies were still on Pacific Time. Also, there wasn’t a burn ban which seemed odd given the issues Canada is having with fires. But I guess this area doesn’t have too much of an issue. This was further reinforced as it rained on us briefly just before dinner. We took advantage of the lack of a burn ban and enjoyed the fire pit with the free firewood that was supplied by the park! We sat around the fire and finished Hunger Games before calling it a night.
Comments
Post a Comment