Banff 2nd July
From Calgary we headed up to Banff. We had real trouble booking into any of the National Park Camp Sites as it is now school holidays and everything was booked out. With some shuffling we managed to cover all nights we needed between Banff and Jasper. The only way to book these camp sites is on the internet, so I don't know what we would have done if we didn't have internet.
Morno's at Canmore, a really nice town on the way to Banff
The camping here in the National Parks is way better than in the RV parks. And some of the NP even have "full hook-ups" which if they do one thing right camping over here this is it!
The view from the Banff NP RV campground
From Banff we went to Lake Louise, which was really busy as you would expect and it took us two goes at getting there. The first time there the traffic was so bad for the last km that we couldn't get our beast anywhere near the car park and we had to turn around. We came back earlier the next day so we could at least park in the lower car park and hike the last km there.
Lake Louise
The crowds at Lake Louise
A "Bear-Proof Bin", some humans can't even open them!
Drinks in Banff while Jayne does some shopping
"Greasy Fries" a meal for two, and healthy, look at all the vegies on it!
Athabasca Falls Jasper National Park. Second best falls we've seen
Bow Lake - Banff NP
Jayne trying to hide against Bow Lake with her matching shirt
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What you see over here leaves your mind spinning
Look at the size of those melons, I mean onions
Elk in Banff NP
Jasper National Park
The drive from Banff to Jasper took us along the Icefields Parkway, so nice we drove it twice!
A glacier valley, Jasper NP
Homemade Hamburgers for dinner, Jasper NP
Jasper NP Campground
Some of the tricks I used to get our sewerage "flow" correct! And yes, you can't push it uphill!
4 lane "Dump Point" as provided by the Jasper National Park for those plebs who didn't have a "Full hook-up" site
Vancouver & RV Drop-off
After 4 weeks of living in the RV it was time to return to Vancouver. This was quite sad as we really enjoyed travelling around meeting the locals. It's certainly a nice way to do it, but the longer we spent in the Motorhome the more we were convinced that a "Trailer" as they call caravans here is the much better option. We can't wait for our new Bushtracker!
The Winnebago had some really good points, but also was lacking on several major things. The Ford E-450 was a beast, which had no leg room for the front passenger. Quite silly in something this size. But I guess they have to put the 6.8L V10 engine somewhere.
On the way down the mountains we found a really nice place to camp for a night at Lac Le Jeune Provincial Park. The biggest site we've had all trip.
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Lake Le Jeune was a lovely spot
Our Walmart $80.00 bikes served us well, and even though they weren't the most comfortable bikes around they were ok. The bikes to rent here are around $20/hour so for $80 we got a bargain. We donated them to the local Op Shop and they were very appreciative of them. As Jayne was wheeling them in a lady from the shop next door shop came running out saying she would take them! The lady from the Op Shop said to Jayne "Don't give them to her!".
Bikes all nice and clean ready to be taken to their new owners
The camp ground in Vancouver, packed in like sardines! No room to even put the awning out. Our slide-out was hard up against the hedge
We enjoyed a nice Vietnamese Phỏ for lunch in Vancouver
We did 6,500 kms in our beast. It averaged 40 litres/100kms (around 10mpg).
Rocky Mountaineer
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Outside the Heritage Observation Car in the middle of the train
After a night in Vancouver it was an early morning start to catch the Rocky Mountaineer Train to Whistler. But not before the bus broke down in front of the Sheraton Hotel while we were waiting to pick up more guests. We managed to get to the train as they delayed its departure waiting for our replacement bus.
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The train took 3.5 hours to get to Whistler, a nice way to travel. It slowed right down at all the sights.
