June 30 -July 1, 2007

M.Our last night east of Calgary was again punctuated with lightning and thunder. Wayne can sleep through anything. I keep the night.

We got an early start. It gets light before five, and daylight means breakfast if you’re a cat. But the rain had past, Wayne dug out the supports for the stabilizers out of the muck leaving one as it was firmly affixed to terra firma, and off we went. We said good-bye to the prairie and hello, mountains.

The traffic was terrible. Saturday was the first day of a three day weekend in celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday, schools are out for the summer, and everyone was on the road for a long holiday. Wayne negotiated the road through Calgary with the traffic complicated with road work. We passed the Calgary Winter Olympic (1988) Games site with its ski jumps, ice rinks, etc. Taking off from those long jumps looked even crazier without the blanket of snow at the bottom. The lifts were running and the rinks open. Everyone was out enjoying the fine weather.

As we cleared Calgary, the mountains went from groups of sharp purple peaks, which looked like teepees of some nomadic tribe on the horizon to massive walls of vertical gray granite. Ice fields filled the crevices and waterfalls streaked the cliffs. It was getting chilly, 61 F at 3:00 with a stiff wind.

Still traffic zipped past and we discovered we could not get a campsite in Banff – anywhere in the park. We left the unit to explore possibilities and found an overflow site just outside of Banff. We had a lovely spot with a spectacular view of the mountains, a field of wild flowers and even wild strawberries which were about the size of a small pea. I counted 38 units at 7:00 pm and they were still coming in. Tents filled the grassy areas. It was a bumper weekend for camping and even the rangers were surprised. We had a little “tear drop” camper next to us, so cute! The kitchen is outdoors in the back, very utilitarian.

We parked and set out to explore a lake. Beautiful, island in the middle, arched wooden bridges, and water that was so clear one could count the rocks and so aqua it looked unreal, Tidy Bowl gone neon.
The was a warren of ground squirrels who are so much fun to watch as they pop in and out of their burrows.

W. There was a new surprise in store when we pulled out of the campground – the “Low Fuel” light came on. I haven’t mentioned in the blogs that our fuel gauge has been intermittent almost the entire trip. I think I must have loosened a wire when I had the dash off fixing the a/c ducting. Anyway, some days it works and some days it doesn’t. This hasn’t been an insurmountable problem since we need to merely keep track of the miles since the last fill-up. At 400 miles, it normally needs about ½ a tank – 35 gallons. But it had been nearly 500 miles since the previous – but we made it to the gas station. Obviously, the gas gauge is non-linear! One of travel’s little crisis.

When we parked in the overflow last night, the park ranger said we had to be out by 10:30 this morning. But since it is a three-day weekend, none of the local campsites held out much hope for getting a spot this a.m. (folks don’t head back to work until tomorrow, Monday). So we had a leisurely breakfast, had a nice chat with a Calgary lady next door (in the overflow), and some folks from Kamloops. Around 10:15, the park ranger came by and told me there were spots, with hook-ups at the Banff Tunnel Mountain campground, and if we hurried we might get one.

To make a long story short, we ended up at the end of a row of campers with nothing but woods to see out the front window. We are surrounded by the Banff National Park mountains. What an idyllic setting! And we have the spot for 8 nights! We have elected to make this our center of operation while we explore the Banff National Park and take in the sights we missed last year. We hope to make it up to Lake Louise for one night in the hotel, maybe even up to the glacier, this time with proper attire!

This afternoon we’re going into Banff downtown to find an Internet café, do some grocery shopping, and see the Independence Day festivities planned. So for the moment, we’re probably going to do blogs every other day since events tend to overlap the evening into the next morning.

Our neighbor last night in the overflow is a Calgary native and comes to Banff several times per year. She said this was the first time they’ve come that they couldn’t get a campsite. Guess it’s a combination of the Independence day, last day of school was Friday, a long three-day weekend and close to Calgary (2 hour drive max).

I found it interesting, what with all the talk about high gas prices and folks not driving, how busy the road was yesterday morning and how many folks were traveling to the mountains for a long week-end and general sight seeing. Gas prices don’t seem to have much effect that I can see. By the way, gas prices in Canada are pretty much on a par with the USA. I paid $3.54 cents/gallon (US equivalent) in Moose Jaw. I’ve seen it cheaper (and more) as we travel. The good news is that diesel prices are significantly lower than gas, unlike last year.

Today’s photos are from the overflow campsite and nearby lake from yesterday. We’ve never camped this close to the base of a large mountain – it was impressive to see this when looking out the window (as opposed to someone else’s RV!).

As you might expect, when you’re standing in the midst of spectacular scenery, you just want to photograph everything. Then when you’re back in the camper looking at the photos, it’s hard to choose which ones to use. These three aren’t necessarily the best, but they are representative. One photo with the campers in the foreground is the overflow. (Our unit is in the middle, with the white Saturn Vue – our motor-home is white with blue trim.) One photo is a close-up of the mountain tops we were viewing. The last is a stream running into the lake. I wish you see the rest.

wayne