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Dougie and Carina
Day trip with Uncle Dougie to Stanley Park and the Lions Gate Bridge in Vancouver Since Russ and I separated after we saw his parent in Las Vegas I travelled north to Seattle. Managed to finally do washing and see the sights of Seattle in about 4 hours. Not much to do, so got the bus up to Vancouver.
I spent a week with my Dad's brother and his wife who looked after me well. Spent time downtown, shoping for jumpers as its cold there! No longer 30 degrees, more like 15 with rain! From there I went on a bus trip in to the Rockies.
Our first night was spent at Shuswap lake, after driving an eternity from vancouver to get there. The scenery on the way was stunning. I saw on the floor at the front of the bus taking photos out the door and the windscreen. Arent u lucky ppl who get to see hundreds of photos of snow capped mountains when i get home!
Next day we made our way to Banff. On the way we stopped to go canoeing on Revelstoke lake. Again, stunning as the beautiful Revelstole mountain was our backdrop. We canoed to see a beavers dam, and eagles nests. Back in the bus and
GRIZZLY BEAR
Zoom in and u will see the bear standing on its rear legs! Next time i need a better camera...ok Dad??? just as were all falling asleep i shout bear. Driver did an emergency stop and we all jump out for photos. The guide/driver ambles out behind, and says its a baby bear and hurries us back in to the van as its mother could be around! Sure enough about 1km down the road there is mama bear eating grass at the side of the road! wow.
Then we stop as a whole group of cars had pulled over at the side of the road. Sure enough there was a grizzly bear on the railway tracks 200m away. We all jump out and get great photos as the bear rears up on its hind legs....!
Banff was a nice little town, but from there we drove up the Icefields pathway to Jasper. More amazing mountains, as the road is built in the middle of a old glaciated valley with huge mountains of either side. Each twist and turn of the road led to more beautiful mountains. Needless to say i was of course sitting on the floor again almost hanging out of the door for photos! We stopped at Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, both which were still frozen.
Lake Louise
My goodness it was cold They were beautiful surrounded by the ever present snowy mountains.
We stopped at the Athabasca glacier and i walked to the base where it began to snow, and then onwards to Jasper. That night we spent in a 'rustic lodge' i.e. pit toilets and no running water. We had a campfire after dinner, which i managed to cook spagetti bolognaise for 16 ppl. Luckily i didnt have to wash up, as the pan was so big i couldnt see in and managed to burn the pasta to the pan....opps.
It was freezing cold that night, so glad to get hot coffee the next morning. The boys that didnt make it up in time for the coffee run were awoken to find a black bear outside the hut!!!
Not much in Jasper, drove back to Banff stopping at all the places we didnt onthe run up. The most exciting of which was Peyto Lake. We got slightly concerned when the guide put on his walking boots as he had been wearing sandles the whole time, but off we went. We followed him through a icy path surrounded by snow to a lookout of the lake which was just thawing. It
was so blue in colour with the mountains relected in it, stunning. The he said we could walk to another lookout, he pointed the way and off we went. We made our own path through the snow which was about thigh high. Wearing trainer and jeans didnt help. It was so much fun slipping and sliding and having to pull each other out as the hardy boys overtook us. The view was well worth getting soaked through. By the time we got back on the bus, i had to wring my socks out they were so wet.
Drove to Banff and dried off and had a much needed decent sleep. The next day we went to the hot springs. They were 39 degrees and it was snowing on our heads! Very bizzare situation. From there i left the bus and got a gryhound to Calgary. Nothing in Calgary and also freezing cold, so spent lots of time reading on a cosy sofa in the hostel. Then i caught a flight to Toronto which is much warmer, but i seem to have brought the rain from Vancouver. Staying with family again and seeing the sights of Ontario.
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