Not Lost, Just Wandering: 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.