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Alpine Lake Beauty
Peyto Lake, Banff National Park This entry is dedicated to our wonderful host and friend, Phil, who sadly left us in September. May you have a wonderful view for eternity. I've always had a bit of a urge to fully explore the Rockies. What better way than to live there? Well, unfortunately, that was far out of our budget, so I'll have to place that back on the dream list. No check-marks here.
We left Vancouver ages ago. Ok, it was only at the beginning of the month. We met up with Dave's sister Catherine in Vancouver, got a wonderful tour of North Vancouver thanks to Jayme, took a train through the Rockies, hired a car (yes, this Aussie expression is still slipping in), climbed some mountains, oohed and awwed over the amazing scenery, and became a bit depressed over the severe lack of affordable rentals anywhere so amazing in B.C. or Alberta.
Still, it has been an amazing month. And besides, this posting is on Travelblog, and the little motto says "Free Inspiration", so I won't dwell on my mountain blues. Here's an update on what we've been doing.
We flew back west at the end of May to spend a
Mountain Climbing
Up on Ha Ling peak in Canmore day in Seattle picking out tents at the hugest outdoor shop in the world (ok, I don't know if it's a fact, but the Seattle branch of R.E.I. is massive!). We had great fun, and so did our bubbly sales staff! We then took a ferry over to Vashon Island to sleep in a teepee (unfortunately, the cowboys and indians-themed hostel will be sold at the end of the season, otherwise I'd highly advise staying there!). After a early morning ferry back to Seattle and a bus ride back to Vancouver, I hopped on a tour with Dave's sister for the afternoon, with Jayme at the wheel. She took us to North Vancouver, with the highlights including the fish hatchery, the
Capilano Suspension Bridge and a tree-top walk, meeting
Grinder and Coola on top of Grouse Mountain, catching a bird-of-prey show just down the path, and taking a ferry back.
Next on the agenda was the train to Jasper. We didn't have luck with the weather, but that didn't stop Dave from spotting a bear in the mountains! And as we got to Jasper, the sun welcomed us to the beautiful scenery.
The next two weeks flew by, as we hired a car
Is that colour real?
Grassi Lakes, near Canmore and spent our days exploring Japser, Lake Louise, Banff, and even made it out to Dinosaur Provincial Park (which was rather by accident as I didn't realize just how far it was from Calgary). We spent time with rafting guides, hiked up a few mountains, hiked down into canyons, spotted lots of elk, bighorn sheep and even bears (total's up to 6 for me!), and spent plenty of time cursing the tourists who drove as if their licenses were fake. Our hosts in Jasper made us feel right at home despite the fact we were camping in their back yard!
Seeing how busy Banff got on a nice day on a weekend convinced me that perhaps our bad luck with housing was actually a blessing. Both Banff and Japser National Parks are fantastic in that remote wilderness is at anyone's fingertips, within short hikes of parking lots and small towns. Of course that means that during the busy season, massive amounts of tourists want to see that wilderness...and if we couldn't stand the drivers during early June, imagine the circus and road rage in July and August! We quickly discovered that the best way to see wildlife was to
Grinder & Coola
The grizzlies on Grouse Mountain, North Vancouver look for drivers pulled over on the side of the road or blocking traffic!
The brief glimpse that we got of the Rockies left me wanting more! Perhaps in September, when the crowds have come and gone, and the snow still hasn't arrived, then we'll return to explore some more. I have a feeling, however, that no matter how many times I visit the mountains, I will never cross it off my list. There's too much to explore!
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