Farewell, Canada, and billions of mosquitoes.

Packing up today to head back to the States.  We will stop at Fernie BC for one night and then cross the border on Friday.

Another whimsical photo for my collection:  saw this in a gas station in Canmore.

We spent yesterday in Banff having lunch at the luxurious Banff Springs Hotel.  There is a statue of William Cornelius Van Horn (see below) with a great quote:  "We can't export the scenery so we will have to import the tourists."  

This is a drop-dead spectacular hotel.  The grounds are manicured, planted, mowed, whatever you can imagine and it's all beautiful. Inside it is just as impressive.  

There is an open air area just outside one of the hotel's bars where you can order lunch and enjoy the scenery Van Horn admired.  Oddly enough, the food we ordered was excellent.  Usually when you have a view as good as this one, the food stinks. 

Out of curiosity, I checked the hotel's website to see what the going rate is:  the "cheapest" room is $569 Canadian and the suite is $3,500 Canadian PER DAY.   I wondered if I could book a maid's closet.

We stopped at a pull-out on the way back to Golden where there is a model and explanation of the wildlife overpasses.  

A few final thoughts on this part of British Columbia:  

• If you are considering a visit here during the summer, a word of advice:  DON'T.  As you can probably see in the photos, traffic and crowds are nearly unbearable.  We tried three times to go to Lake Louise and could never get a place to park.  Locals said the time to come is September, while the weather is still good and most of the crowds are gone.
• The local mosquitoes are large, voracious, and very numerous.  Bring DEET, a lot of DEET.
• We kept seeing signs by the highway/street for TEXAS GATE.  Finally figured out that a Texas Gate is what Texans call a cattle guard.  There are everywhere and very rough.  Serve to keep the deer/elk/moose populations out of the towns and off the roads.

Kansas Girl Meets Glacier Ice

Sunday, July 24

In Jasper National Park, south of the town of Jasper, lies the 
Columbia Icefield.  As we drove north on Highway 93, we saw one glacier after another, but these didn't prepare me for the Athabaskan Glacier, formed by the Columbia Icefield.  

Mike had already taken the tour of the glacier years ago when he was here so he hung out in the parking lot while I bought my ticket for the glacier tour and the Skywalk.  (We met a guy in the park in Golden who knows the engineer who designed the Skywalk.)  The parking lot and the center were absolutely packed with visitors.

A bus takes you up to the area where the snow cats are waiting to take you to the glacier.  My guide was a very handsome young man from France who seems to drift around the world.  He speaks perfect English and, of course, perfect French, so being a guide in Canada is a natural fit. 

The Icefield

Tourists on the glacier.

Snow Cat

It was partly sunny when we arrived on the glacier but in the next few minutes, sleet started to pelt everyone.  Going back to the snow cat was popular.

Thomas, the guide, told us that the snow cats are custom made at an average cost of $1.2 million (Canadian).  Each tire weighs 400 pounds and costs about $5,000.  No wonder they charge so much for the tours, about $65 USD in my case.

Keeping the road safe for the snow cats is a major undertaking, as the glacier is constantly changing and re-arranging itself.  Thomas said a crew goes up every morning and several times a day to inspect the route and, if necessary, make changes with dozers.  Cracks can open up in the course of one day.  Bad for business to lose a snow cat with 30 people on it in a crevasse. 

There were four or five loads of tourists on the glacier at one time.  Many appeared to be on tours from China, Japan, and India.  In my group were three young ladies from China (I presume) who clearly didn't understand "glacier."  They were dressed in flimsy light clothes with sandals.  On the way to the snow cats they chit chatted with each other, and they stayed together on the glacier.  

The snow cat took us back down to where the bus picked us up for the ride to the Skywalk.  The bus route goes past the visitor center and down the highway a mile or two. As the bus passed the visitor center, the young ladies, seated up front, all jumped up and started yelling at the driver.  Bless her heart, she tried to calm them down and continue with her presentation about the Skywalk.  She finally gave up and said "I think I will sing a song."  And she did, one with about 10 verses.  As soon as the bus arrived at the Skywalk, the three young ladies stormed off the bus and stomped to another bus waiting to take people back to the visitor center.  So...they either got on the wrong bus (unlikely, as guides check the tickets at a couple of places) or they didn't understand there were two stops.  I stopped to talk with the driver and told her she handled it beautifully.  She was frazzled!

The Skywalk is a new addition to the park, built after Mike was here.  I did notice there were a few people clinging to the railing on the part with the "invisible" floor.  The Skywalk is about 800 feet above the canyon floor but my photo through the floor doesn't give you the same effect as standing there staring down...and down...and down.

View from the Skywalk.

View through the floor.

O Canada!

Our miserable weather has preceded us into Canada.  We crossed the border and stayed the first night in Cranbrook BC.  Overcast, gloomy, but not raining.  On to Golden BC the next morning.  More clouds, but no rain.  (Deming NM gets 350 days of sunshine a year.  I wonder how much this area gets.)

Columbia Lake

Found the park in Golden. It ties for the most dilapidated, unmaintained mess I've stayed in.  The guy at the front desk said he took over in April, found that someone had broken into the office, stolen everything, including the computer reservations system, and there you are.  Someone has used this place as a cash cow for decades, putting $0 into maintenance.  On the plus side, however, the WiFi works well and the laundry equipment is new. 

Front office guy said there is new management and things will improve.  I hope new management has a bunch of cash and a lot of patience.  There is so much wrong (including a surly, rude employee, not front office guy) that it will take a couple of years of very hard work to put things right.  

We tried to go to Lake Louise our first full day in Golden.  Since we got a late start, it was after noon before we arrived.  All we could see was cars, cars, cars, tourists.  There were cars parked along the road for probably over a mile from the lake.  When we finally got to the there, we turned around and left.  

Flags of Canada and Alberta

Years ago on a trip to this area, Mike found a pair of duck shoes (rubber waterproof slip-ons) at Canadian Tire.  Since there was a Canadian Tire in the next town, Cranmore, across the provincial line, we headed over there.  As our luck would have it, the inexpensive ones have been discontinued;  BUT there was one pair left in a sales bin, in Mike's size!  Mission accomplished. 

The TransCanada Highway is the main (only?) road traversing the country.  There are parts of it, especially locally, that look like the interstate in the US.  Canada is going to great lengths to protect wildlife in the vicinity of the highway, such as very high fencing, cattle guards, and wildlife overpasses. It gives the wildlife a way to safely cross the highway and makes the highway much safer for humans, as deer-elk-bear-car collisions are common and deadly.

Wildlife overpass on Canada Highway 1,

We started out to Glacier Park on Saturday,  As we went west, the clouds got thicker and thicker and thicker.  By the time we reached the park, the area was completely socked in and raining.  

The roof of the visitor center is planted with local flora.  Interesting and very attractive.  But that was all we could see, so we turned around and went back to the park.

Years ago, Mike traveled through this area so he has already seen all the sights and knows what is worth the time.  On Sunday, a decent day in the a.m., we tried Lake Louise again, as a neighbor said he had been there early and the traffic was low.  Off we went.  On the way, we stopped at a roadside pull-off to learn about the spiral tunnels.

Spiral Tunnels

Entrance/Exit to one of the tunnels. 

Lake Louise

Got to the lake the second time but still had problems with cars and parking.  Mike dropped me off at the entrance to the hotel while he drove around.  I wandered off to take the photos below.  And photos don't do justice to the magical color of this lake, a silvery turquoise blue.   A VERY EXPENSIVE HOTEL sits at the edge of the lake and the grounds are beautifully planted.

Fairmont Hotel

Lupines

Lake Louise

We still had the afternoon so we headed up to Jasper National Park.  Will write a new post, as this was a great adventure.  Have lots of photos.

The Downeys Assemble! And on to the great North.

We continued around the western edge of the Olympic peninula, staying two nights at Sequim WA.  Those of you who have followed the blog since the beginning may recognize the next stop:  Hurricane Ridge, above Port Angeles WA.  We had planned to take the ferry to Victoria BC but the weather still was crummy.  We figured that the worst that would happen is we would see more clouds at the top of the park.  We got a surprise.  Although the coast was overcast and drizzly, we broke through the clouds and got clear weather.

Above the clouds,

View from halfway up Hurricane Ridge, across the Straits of Juan de Fuca.

Mike at Hurricane Ridge.

For the past 20-some years, every two years,  my brothers, their wives, and I have met someplace for a few days.  We usually have some of our offspring joining us, depending on where we meet.  We have done Kansas City, Kent WA, Elephant Butte NM, Ireland.

This was our year to gather.  Brother Dick and his wife Marge met us in Kent WA where brother Mike and his wife Kathy have lived for years.  Our late oldest brother Larry's daughter, Dana, joined us this year, to our great surprise and enjoyment.  

Left Kent heading north to Northern Cascades National Park.  Our bad weather followed us.  We had no more passed the sign indicating the beginning of the park than the rain started.Gloomy and dismal for probably 20 miles.  

We noticed how little water was in the river which the road followed and wondered why, as there was still enough snow to generate snowmelt.  Then we saw why:  a big hydroelectric dam. 

Must look like a tsunami when they open the gates.

So it's a pretty drive if you don't have to avoid the bike event jerks who feel entitled to ride down the middle of the vehicle lane and REFUSE to move over.  Darwin Award candidates, all of them.

Next post:  CANADA!

Mt Rainier National Park

7 July

Arrived here yesterday in beautiful, sunny weather.  Today, not so much.  Overcast, drizzling, generally crummy but we went ahead with the first trip through the park.  Drove up to Paradise Lodge on the west side of the park and today (July 8) drove to Sunrise Visitor Center on the north.  See photos below.

Mount Rainier National Park

Even with cloudy, drizzly weather, this park is breath-taking.

As you can tell by the photos, there is still a lot of snow in the high country.  We drove through a campground and saw big patches of snow everywhere.  The road to this campground (and Sunrise Visitor Center) just opened July 1.

Mike at Chinook Pass with the dogs.  That's SNOW!

 The wildflowers are incredibly beautiful and appear to be quite delicate.  Obviously, they are not if they can survive in this climate.

Independence Day in Midvale ID

We encountered another Lewis & Clark stop, Lolo Summit, on our way from Hamilton, MT to Kamiah, ID where we spent one night before going on to Midvale, ID.

We visited my long-time friends, Kathy and Bosco Bosler, at their ranch in Midvale.  Been planning to see them for some time, and it worked out that we arrived on the 4th of July weekend. Commercial or state parks are overrun on this holiday weekend with lots of rigs and lots of families with kids.  And, of course, some idiot has fireworks.   

Kathy and Bosco have been breeding and selling quarter horses and paints for decades.  Here are a few pictures, one of which is the new baby born in April.  (Note to Wyatt:  these are all descendants of Kathy's mare, Lady.  You may remember her from Kansas City.) 

The highlight of the weekend was attending the parade in downtown Midvale (pop. 187).  See photos.  
  

Note the flashy paint job.

 

The festivities wrapped up with a barbecue in the school gymnasium.

All of this reminded me of Fair & Rodeo Week in Coffeyville 60 years ago.