August 2 and 3, 2013: Fairmont Hot Springs, BC to Challis, ID via Missoula, MT

Gloomy weather, chilly and raining.  We got on the road heading south on Route 93, leaving the dramatic Rockies behind and driving through a pretty valley.  We crossed the border after waiting in line about 20 minutes with no inspections or issues.

We continued driving on US 93 south through the ski resort town of Whitefish, MT and Kalispell, the only decent sized town in this part of the world.  The road was scenic south of Kalispell as we drove along the huge Flathead Lake, but things changed as we drove through an Indian Reservations with folks living in derelict mobile homes and broken down campers.

We got a campsite just north of Missoula where the skies were starting to clear and the forecast is for clear skies tomorrow.

Saturday morning we had a nice pancake and sausage breakfast and I did the laundry.  Afterwards, we headed into Missoula to run some errands and hit McDonald's for my monthly (approx.) Big Mac fix.

Then we continued south on route 93 along the Bitterroot River and over the 7,000 foot Lost Trail Pass into Idaho, the same route that Lewis and Clark used to head north after discovering that the Snake River would not get them to the Pacific.  We drove through the ski resort town of Salmon and an hour south, stopped in Challis for the night.  The scenery was impressive, but everything was hazy due to smoke from fires in the area as we drove along the Salmon River bordered by rocky cliffs.

How did they get that flag up there?

The owner of the campground said there were three large fires in the area and the closest and largest one, The Lodgepole Fire, had 400 firefights working to contain it and expected this to continue til November.

Smoke, not clouds as seen from the RV Park.

Walked into town to grab and pizza and Jack got to enjoy USA major network news.

August 1, 2013: Banff to Fairmont Hot Springs via Kootenay National Park

We woke to threatening skies and a cool morning in the high 50's--much better than yesterday when we woke to temps in the 30's and no electricity to run the fan on the furnace.

We stopped at a Canadian Tire, a large chain store that carries that strangest mix of merchandise.  Tires, of course, and other automotive stuff, but also a large garden center, lots of kitchen stuff, including some nice high-end kitchen appliances along with picnic stuff, camping gear and even an small assortment of clothing.  Anyway.....we wanted to get a battery meter to check our batteries and the salesman was an expert in deep cycle batteries that RVs and boats use and we learned a lot, so hopefully we will not have to experience dead batteries again.

 We eventually got on the road making the short trip from Canmore to Banff to explore the town and the Banff Springs Hotel.  It is more like a castle and one of the early hotels built to attract tourists on the new trains that were crisscrossing Canada (same thing in America with historic lodges at Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, etc.)  We walked through the shops and checked out the terraces overlooking the valley, ringed by mountains and imagined ourselves to be one of those folks in the 20's who arrived with a letter of credit for $50,000 to spend the season.  Today you can get a bargain package of one night hotel stay plus one round of afternoon golf for $499 each.  Guess I need to start thinking about the lottery again.

As we looked around Banff, mainly just a tourist town with lots of shops and restaurants, we saw a pretty little chapel.  Next to the door was the services information about topic, times, etc.  What was really interesting is at the bottom, they had an scancode for smart phones and tablets (you can see it if you can blow up the photo).  Hmmm, anyone have any idea why?

Leaving Banff, we drove north on the Bowman Parkway from Banff north to our Route 93 turnoff to head west over the Rockies Continental Divide to Kootenay National Park.  The Parkway is supposed to be good for wildlife viewing; in fact, it is closed at night to protect the animals.  We did get to see a couple of huge bull elk, but traveling mid-day is not a good time because most creatures are napping.

I was hoping to make a couple of stops in Kootenay, but it was raining and the low hanging clouds obscured our views of the mountains, so we continued through the park to Fairmont Hot Springs to our campground for the night - with electricity.

July 31, 2013: Icefields Parkway to Canmore, AB

Still worried about the batteries, we decided to try to get a campsite a few miles away in Lake Louise where there are electric sites so we could recharge the batteries.   The electric sites are usually reserved months in advance, but we wanted to try anyway.  We stopped at the check-in, and they said they expected four sites to open up and to return in a half hour. 

 We drove a few miles up to Lake Louise, one of the postcard places that IS the Canadian Rockies for many people.  The place was mobbed with folks, many from the multitude of bus tours trying to capture the morning sun on the mountain behind the lake.  We had been here before and the crowds were oppressive, so we did a short stroll around the base of the lake, took a couple of photos and returned to the campground to see if a spot had opened. No luck.  He said return in another half hour.  We drove down to the tiny shopping center, walked around a bit and returned to the check in.  Still nothing and return in 15 minutes.  We simply turned around and got at the back of the line of RVs waiting to check in.  Again, nothing.  Did it again, but nothing available yet, but the ranger was going out to do a spot check to see if there were any open sites.  Jack had enough, so we decided to drive south about an hour out of the park to get a site at a commercial campground in Canmore. 

We relaxed in the campground, letting the batteries recharge.  Late in the afternoon, we did some grocery shopping in the downtown and back to the campground for the evening.

July 30, 2013: Icefields Parkway

 We left our campground just south of Jasper and headed south on the Icefields Parkway, route 93.  We took a byway up to Mt. Edith Cavell and Angel Glacier.  The drive up to the mountain was spectacular as it took us right to the north face of the mountain.

Mt. Edith Cavell

 

  

We made the short, very steep hike up to Angel Glacier, named because of the "wings."

Base of Angel Glacier with mini-icebergs 

 We returned to the RV and drove a few miles south to Athabasca Falls.  Incredibly powerful waterfall.

 We stopped at a turnout to have lunch and continued south, stopping at viewpoints along the way to get photos of the magnificent scenery.  Where there was no place to stop, we resorted to taking photos out the window or even through the windshield.

 

 

 

We did another short, extremely steep hike to Emerald Lake with the most beautiful color water I have ever seen.

 

 

We saw three black bears and got a photo of one, but missed the shot of a bear and her cub.



Columbia Icefield.  The size of cars and people walking on
the path illustrate the immense size of the glacier.

Next stop was the Columbia Icefield glacier for a quick photo.  We did not make the steep walk up to the glacier or take the specialized icebus ride ON the glacier because we had done it last time we were here.

We stopped at a small campground with no electricity, water, internet, phone or TV, but we got a site right next to a babbling brook.  We sat in the warm sunshine, had appetizers and enjoyed the setting sun lighting up the mountains in orangesand pinks.

Just as we were getting ready for bed, we couldn't get the water pump to work because the deep cycle batteries died with no warning.  Our panel just an hour earlier said the batteries were fully charged. 

A sleepless night worrying that the refrigerator would quit or that the temps would go below freezing, jeopardizing the plumbing with no way to get any heat without battery power. 

July 29, 2013: Jasper, AB

It got down into the low 40's last night and the clouds are breaking up with small bits of blue sky peaking through.  We turned on the furnace when we got up and had a nice omelet breakfast. 



Clearing skies

View while driving

Maligne Lake

We headed back west into the heart of Jasper National Park and stopped at Maligne Canyon and Maligne Lake, a beautiful glacier lake surrounded by mountains.

 Maligne Canyon is a series of narrow crevices with the beautiful blue/green water roaring through.

The one-way drive to Maligne Lake is known for wildlife, but all we saw were a couple of deer.

We started a short walk around the Lake, but Jack was extremely tired, so we cut it short and returned to the RV for a nap.

We returned to the Jasper area to get a campsite and relax for the afternoon.  We do have phone service as we were close to Jasper, but no internet, TV or electricity.

July 28, 2013: Valmount, BC to Jasper, AB

View from the "Dining Room".
Note my African Violet, hybridized by my grandfather
and named for my dauther, Tina.  It has survived
the bouncing journey quite well lodged
in a tissue box.

We drove east on the Yellowhead Highway to Jasper, stopping for lunch at a pullout overlooking a fast moving creek.

Threatening skies hide the larger mountains

Jasper is a nice small resort town in Jasper National Park in the northern Canadian Rockies.

 

For the first time in many, many weeks, we ran into rain.  Skies are overcast and sprinkling off and on, not good weather for appreciating mountain scenery. 

So, we (this "we" means me) washed clothes at a laundromat in town and walked around downtown Jasper, checking out the shops. 



We drove east to the northeast corner of the park where we stopped to register for a campsite, then drove a little further to Milliete Hot Springs for a dip in the 104 degree mineral pool.  

The scenery was spectacular, but it was strange to be in our bathing suits in the hot, steaming pool with lifeguards standing around dressed in parkas, ski hats and goves. Great relaxing way to end a chilly, nasty day.

We returned to the RV for a light dinner.  With no electricity, internet or phone, we played some cards and went to sleep early.






July 27, 2013: Cache Creek, BC to Valmount, BC

We drove east from our campground in Cache Creek on route 97 to Kamloops, the only city for hundreds of miles and stopped for groceries. 

Forest fire
 

We saw a forest fire across the lake and watched for a while.  We could see helicopters scooping water from the lake and dropping it on the fire.  The smoke had drifted all the way into Kamloops.


It was a pretty drive starting with dry arid hills and climbing into the lush green hills of the Canadian Rockies foothills.

We continued north on scenic route 5 to Valmount, a small town that serves as the eastern gateway to Jasper National Park.