Banff National Park

I said goodbye to the hot springs, and started up into the Canadian Rockies. The road up from Radium was a nice drive, quite a bit uphill, as you’d imagine.

  

Along the way, I pulled off to hike back into the Paint Pots. This is an area where ochre pigment occurs naturally. Native peoples used it for body paint and stain for goods. Then, the area was briefly mined around a century ago and the pigment was used to make paint. The trail is still mostly packed snow, but the day is warm, a sweatshirt is plenty. Looks like I get to try out my brandy-new hiking boots!

 

Across the river, there’s this amazing foot bridge, obviously newly constructed. I snap some pix of the river from the top of the arch.

        

The trail starts to get muddy, and then, all around me is this orange landscape. These are the ochre beds, where the runoff from the pots above flows and pools .

     

Further up the trail, the color deepens…

  

At last, I come to the source, the paint pots themselves. These are actually iron rich springs that slowly bring up and deposit the ochre all over the landscape. Pretty cool!

        

Well, my boots aren’t new anymore! That’s actually a good thing: nothing looks more lame on the trail than a pair of shiny new hiking boots! Ha! When I return to the parking area, it looks like my RV made a new friend while I was gone!

  

Banff is a typical tourist town (trap?), the kind that grows up to service the summer visitors to the parks. It’s quaint in a 21st century kind of way, but is primarily shops, eateries, and tour places. Reminds me of Skagway. It is set in a beautiful place, with mountains all around.

     

There’s like a dozen different campgrounds in the area, but the only one that’s open this early is the Tunnel Mountain trailer village, the same place where Dennis and Carol stayed a few weeks ago. When they were here, the place was full of elk, now, it’s full of RVs! There’s elk poop everywhere, but the herd seems to have moved on. It’s a huge place, many hundred sites, but isn’t my style, I like my campgrounds more rustic and remote, this is like street parking. Each site has about 20 sq. ft. of picnic table and fire ring, and that’s about it. Good for a one-night stand, but I’ll move on tomorrow.

  

I’ll swing by the visitor center tomorrow and make sure the road to Jasper is open. For now, I think I’ll take a walk around the park, then call it a night.

First Fun in Canada

Friday morning found me rolling north through Idaho, headed for the semi-dreaded border crossing into Canada at Eastport. I arrived in the late afternoon, drove right up to the customs booth, answered about 15 questions (most of the answers were “no”, but if I tell you which ones, that’d be cheating!) and was waved through into the great white North. That’s it? Hey, I can do this! So now it’s late in the day, and I’m looking for a place to roost for the night. There are a number of provincial parks along the road between the Border, and Cranbrook, where I plan to stop and refuel/restock. Unfortunately, many aren’t open yet. I don’t see any good boondock spots along the way and have almost resigned myself to a night at the Cranbrook Walmart, when I see a sign for Jimsmith Lake, and there’s a campground icon on it. OK, let’s try it! About 6 KM down a windy road, and I find the park, and the campground is closed.. dang! I pulled off in a wide spot on the road and consulted the Mapping Gods (the GPS) for a better idea. Right about then, a storm which had been building on the horizon broke right overhead, and I was treated to wind, hail, thunder, and heavy rain. OK, I can take a hint; I’m parking right here for the night! After the rain stopped, I took a pic for posterity.

The next morning, I headed into Cranbrook for a Walmart fix, and I got my first chance at a Canadian Tire store, which is Canada’s everything superstore. Better than wally world, it’s a sporting goods, tractor supply, walmart, and Kroger all combined under one roof. Also hit a bank for funny money, and hit the Visitor Center for lots of free goodies. OK, I feel the love, let’s head somewhere!
Somewhere turned out to be Kootenay Nat. park, right next to the town of Radium Hot Springs. On the way into the park, I drove through a big herd of Rocky Mountain Bighorn sheep, all just lounging along the road… There’s a huge herd that calls the park home, and you see them everywhere! In town, in the campground, on the roads.

This is a huge park, and almost deserted, in fact, I have a whole campground loop to myself! No hookups, but water, dump station, and really nice (and HOT) free showers.
  
Some scenery from the area.
        
Radium Springs is a nice little town, and just up the road is the hot springs. A great place for a soak, perhaps a bit upscale for me, but there’s a big hot pool, dressing rooms, and all the amenities. I spend a couple afternoons soaking it up. Literally.
    
I stopped by the Visitor’s Center in town, and they tell me all roads up into and thru Banf and Jasper are open, so I’m heading up tomorrow. The drive up 93 promises to be spectacular, and I can’t wait to see a couple of the most famous Canadian national parks. Next post when I find some internet…

Welcome to the Blog!

Hi all! I’m finally getting the blog back on the air, and I’ll be sharing my travels with you from here on. I’m currently sitting in a nice (and fairly deserted) state park on a lake in Idaho.

The weather looks good, so I think I’ll hang out here a couple days, and try to get my act together for the border crossing into Canada. That’s really no big deal, but I need to off any prohibited fruits and veggies, and be sure I’m not carrying anything verboten. Plus, I need to find my passport…. it’s in here somewhere!

Since I left Tucson at the end of March, I’ve been visiting friends and family all through California, Oregon and Washington. It has been a hoot hooking up with folks, some who I haven’t seen in a few years. I’ve been parking in driveways and in front of houses, which in my opinion is the best way to visit someone: I’ve got my own place, and I can sleep as late as I like, without inconveniencing my hosts. LOL There’s been a lot of that, having retired my alarm clock. Anyway, a Huge Thank You to all the folks who kindly invited me into their homes and yards, fed me, beered me, wined me, and let me do laundry. I’m looking forward to dropping by on the return trip sometime this fall.

Once I slip into Canada, I’ll lose all cell phone access, and will be limited to finding WiFi hotspots for communication. That will last for a few weeks, until I get to Alaska (Skagway) around the end of May. So, if you email me and don’t get a response right away, worry not, I’m probably OK, just out in the wilds of BC or the Yukon. Don’t even try a call or a text, it just ain’t happening.

So, how does it feel to be out here? Pretty darn good! Aside from a serious lack of decent Mexican food, it’s been a great trip so far. Been a few bumps, but nothing that couldn’t be handled. Sometimes the weather is great and sometimes it sucks, nothing new there! I meet new people almost every day, and see something new out the window on a regular basis. Each day gets a little more unscheduled and unplanned. I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be right now, except maybe in Alaska catching a salmon, but that’s coming soon.

Dennis and Carol are already in Alaska (Ketchikan), and are making their way up the inside passage via ferry. Check out their bog at http://rvdrivingschool.blogspot.com/. And check back here from time to time, I hope to have some great pictures and thots for you. Notes from the road, yeah! That’s it!

Just a few pix.

Here are some highlights from my travels out west.
Flower fields and waterfalls near Paradise, CA
   
On the river’s shore in Smith River, CA
     
Ocean views from the Pacific Coast trail in Oregon.
     
Canada geese in the Columbia river gorge.
 
Wine Tasting on a sunny afternoon in Walla Walla, WA.
 
Trees a-bloom in Washington.
 
And for no particular reason, an eagle. With a salmon. I guess it makes me think of Alaska!