Oh CANADA! Golden, Jasper, Banff and more....

Saturday, we crossed the border into Canada.  Everyone hears horror stories of being stopped at the border and delayed there by some authority obsessed young guy who takes delight in searching through all your personal belongings.  We had originally hoped to take the RV up into Canada, but no guns are allowed across the border and they are VERY strict about that. We had gotten advice from numerous people ranging from “just do it – it’s unlikely you’ll get caught” to “don’t even think about it. They find a gun, you will go to jail immediately and could be held up for 2-3 days!” So we didn’t want to risk it, although it bugged us.  However it could not have been a smoother process.  He looked at our passports, asked if we had any firewood or firearms, how long we’d be in Canada, etc. and breezed us on through. It was a cool rainy day. It never got above 46 today and drizzled rain ALL DAY LONG!!!  I’m not used to that.  I like the Florida rain that lasts about 15 min and the sun can shine all the while!  We got to our hotel and checked in, rested a little while and then went to dinner.

We checked out Trip Advisor and on their recommendation, went to The Turning Point. Just excellent!  We had the Canadian Trio, which was bison short ribs, beef tenderloin and maple glazed bacon wrapped scallop.  Fresh veggies and a yummy Caesar salad.  Just delicious!!! Rather shocking though to get your bill of $60 and we shared the meal! And had water to drink! So lucky we weren’t ravenously hungry and each got our dinner.  We eat out a lot, but not used to paying quite this much even in very nice restaurants. It was perfectly prepared though, and thoroughly enjoyable.

 Sunday, Sept 6^th – Jasper!!!   We woke up to a cold crisp morning but so thankful there was absolutely no wind!  The wind is what makes me hate cold weather.  I could handle today anytime, even though it was only in the mid 30’s.  Really crisp and invigorating and lovely.  Started out a slight rainy drizzle, but soon cleared up and oh the sights we saw!  If any of our friends are planning trips to the Canadian Rockies, prepare to be awed!  I took 160 pictures today!! In Canada, it takes some getting used to when you see everything is measured in kilometers and liters, etc.  Shortly after crossing the border, I saw the speed limit sign at 100 km and I was thinking whoa, that’s awesome, when Earl said that’s actually a little over 62 MPH.  

 Again, we pulled up to get gas and it’s $1.29 per liter, which means almost $5 a gallon in Amerian gallons - and you fill up when we’re only half empty (as we didn’t know if there’d be gas available in the national parks) – half a tank was over $50!!  So imagine it costing $100 every time you fill your car!  Food is also outrageous here!  It’s average to pay $16-$20 for a hamburger!  A side salad is about $16,entrees from $25 on up -  that gives you an idea.  So I hope salaries are much higher up here as just like in America, restaurants are always full so people adjust to those prices I guess.

As soon as we got gas, we went straight to Tim Horton's - in Canada, that's like Starbucks in the states. I'm not a coffee drinker, so it didn't mean anything to me, but Earl couldn't wait for his Tim Horton coffee.  We had been told by several people to be sure and get their famous donuts, so we got our coffee and hot chocolate and ordered 2 donuts to go.  Hmmmm I think Tim Horton should go take lessons from Krispy Kreme on how to make donuts.  Ok, I guess, but not worth the calories.  We won't be getting donuts again while we're here.  haha

And get a load of this money!  Wow, it feels weird, silky like and it's so pretty! And notice there are parts of it that are clear.  Interesting! Wonder if America will ever go to colored money? And EVERYthing is is both English and French up here!  Every grocery item, every road sign, everything, feels like we're back in Europe, almost.

The Columbia Icefields are really something to see too! You drive through the heart of the Canadian Rockies and the parkway winds through ancient glaciers, dramatic rock spires, emerald lakes and broad sweeping valleys. We drove past 100 glaciers, sparkling waterfalls and turquoise lakes on the way to Jasper.  Athabasca Glacier was a magical area, but we were told not to walk on the glacier, as crevasses and other hazards can be deadly. A total area of 200 km, the Columbia Icefield is the largest mass of glacial ice in the Canadian Rockies. It feeds several large glaciers, including the Athabasca, the Columbia and the Saskatchewan.  Glaciers form where more snow falls in winter than melts each summer. As the snow gets thicker and heavier, it compacts into dense glacial ice that slowly flows downhill, like a river of taffy.

We were incredibly excited to see snow!!!!  Just beautiful!!!  Light snow covering the magnificent fir treese and probably 4-6 inches on the ground in certain parts!

You know you're in the far north when you see these kinds of signs.  LOL

We stayed in the quaint little town of Golden, which was the perfect hub for us to visit all the National Parks and see the sights.

If we don't stop eating all this wonderful food, this is going to be Earl and me when we get home.  LOL  I unobtrusively took this photo in a restaurant and told Earl we'd better start watching our weight.

Monday, Sept. 7^th – Banff! 

We drove through Yoho National Park to go to Banff today.  What beauty all around us! I wonder if people who live here get complacent about the beauty or does it just astound them every day like it does us? The grandeur of the Rockies must be seen to be believed!  I am continually frustrated that the photos don’t do it justice, you just don’t get the depth and details that your eyesight gives you, and then we start talking again about what a GIFT our eyesight is!  Oh I’m so grateful to be able to have seen this incredible place! The natural beauty of Banff and Lake Louise and the surrounding lakes are just staggering.

Downtown Banff.... 

 The weather was cold and very cloudy so the photos don't show as well as I'd have liked.  I hope you can still see what beautiful sights these were!

It’s interesting to learn that water flows to three different oceans from this area, known as a hydrological apex.  On the British Columbia side, meltwater flows into the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean.  On the Alberta side, the North Sascatchewan and Athabasca rivers feed into the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, respectively. These rivers provide fresh drinking water to millions of people and provide crucial watering of agriculture. That’s why they are protected in a national park.

We were continually told to watch out for grizzly bears, but unfortunately we didn’t see a single one! We were startled to see an elk just grazing right out in someones yard in a condominium type building….he seemed totally unintimidated by our presence, not at all skittish, just looked at us, like we were looking at him and continued to amble across the road into another wooded area.

On another ride, we noticed traffic in the oncoming lane just backed up and we wondered if there had been an accident, but as we got there, we saw 3-4 large big horn sheep on the side of the road.  We were unable to even snap a photo as we were already going by and the traffic was pretty solid on the other side of the road, but at least we glimpsed these magnificent animals. 

Four of the mountain national parks – Banff, Jasper, Yoho and Kootenay are recognized as part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site, for the benefit and enjoyment of all nations. There is just outstanding natural beauty in the snow capped mountains, the beautiful waters of Lake Louise, Morraine Lake, the Columbia Icefield and the Burgess Shale.

We did go on to Two Jacks lake and lo and behold we found swimmers in the water!  Whaaaat?  Are they crazy??? I got out just to take a picture of these crazy people swimming in bitter cold waters, and we struck up conversations with these guys – all in wet suits of course, but still teeth chattering and body shaking almost uncontrollably as they got out! They’re training for a triathlon event there next weekend!  Yikes, now that takes some commitment.  Nicest guys though – we talked a lot about the Clermont, FL triathlete events as my nephew is involved in those on occasion.

This guy was shivering and shaking, and easy to see why!

Lake Louise is just breathtaking – the emerald waters with the mountain backdrop is just lovely. It is probably the most photographed location in the Rockies. This spectacular alpine setting is the hub for iconic hikes, canoeing, horseback riding, climbing and just awe-inspiring scenery.

 Our friends, Lloyd Heilman and Nancy Hays had urged us to not miss seeing Moraine Lake, so we got there only to find cars lined up for literally miles! We decided to drive on up to the entrance to see what was happening, and the road was completely blocked and a policeman was there stopping everyone and giving passes to go up 3 miles to get on a shuttle bus to come back – no more cars were allowed in at all!  Our time was limited so we decided to pass on that, which was disappointing.  I’ll have to enjoy Lloyd’s photos of this place.

Lake Minnewanka and Johnson Lakes are 2 more beautiful lakes, all of which have that mesmerizing green water.  We discovered the color is due to mineral particles washing down from the glaciers, and the water is incredibly clear!  

Then we went over to Natural Bridge - oh my, this was one of my favorites~

On our way back to Idaho, we passed the most beautiful valley....

Approaching the border.....

Home sweet home, but still dreaming about the Canadian Rockies.....

Beautiful IDAHO! Coeur d'Alene - Bonner's Ferry

 Aug 31st-Sept 4^th – We really enjoyed our stay in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho!  What a great town, full of interesting things and beauty on every hand!  

Arriving in Coeur d'Alene....

 Shortly after arriving in town, we saw this sticker on the back of a truck.... pretty funny.

 Our RV park this time was Blackwell RV Resort ($60 a night for waterview) with nice spacious lots and the friendliest people.  Earl’s adopted description of the places we go is so apt – “the new front porch of America!” Here’s some pictures of the RV park...

We had hoped to have our car fixed while we were here, but no luck.  It would take 3-4 days to get the parts in and then 5-6 days for repairs, and we already have reservations in Canada so we’re on a time limit or we’d have likely stayed, as we really really like it here.  The combination of mountains and lakes provide scenic drives and the mild weather was wonderful.  Colors are already starting to change and by the time we left it had been low 40s at night!  Brrr, that’s cold for us Floridians!  The days warmed up to mid 70’s most of the time, one day was only mid 60’s so we definitely decided it was time to put away our flip flops and sandals, and bring out the sweaters, jeans and jackets. I don’t like really hot weather, but I sure don’t like really cold weather either.  This is about my limit, ha…. 

We rode around Hayden Lake one afternoon, and in someone's yard, this deer was just playing around.... how cute!

We went into town to go to see the movie War Room (LOVED it, by the way!  Powerful movie!!) and it reminded us a lot of the shopping center there where the theater is in Lake Mary at home....Condos above and around the shopping areas, and beautiful shops and landscaping everywhere!  We enjoyed walking around and eating at one of the little restaurants right there after the movie.

The Coeur d’Alene lake is just  spectacular, supposedly one of the top 5 most beautiful lakes in the world! I was curious about the name, obviously French so we asked around – in 1805, the first recorded penetration into north Idaho was by people of European descent. Early French speaking traders name the area and the Coeur d’Alene Indian tribe. The most prevalent theory is that trappers considered the Indians sharp traders with pointed hearts the size of an awl’s point, so they called them Coeur d’Alene which means “heart of an awl.” Many settlers arrived in this area in 1883 with the discovery of gold. After the turn of the century, logging became an important industry here. Huge log jams were moved on the lakes and rivers to mills in the area. During the early part of the century, the area became a popular tourist spot as trains brought people from Spokane, WA to enjoy the parks and beaches here. To this day, tourism supports the growth of this area. We enjoyed a 90 minute boat ride around the lake.  It is truly beautiful as you can see from the photos.

 Talk about building your house on a rock! 

 We were told these condos range from 3,000 sq. ft. to over 8,000 sq. ft.  Wonder what the price tag on one of these would be?

One night while we were there, we went to this awesome restaurant just walking distance from our RV park. It's a FLOATING restaurant - so cool and great food!

Friday, Sept 6^th, we drove to Bonner’s Ferry, a town pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Leaving there, we still drove another 25 miles to our RV park, Idyl Acres and it is the most serene peaceful place ever.  An elderly couple own this land and they made a large space for only 10 RV spots….we’re the only ones here, and it’s like we’re in the middle of a forest.  So pretty. We’re only 4 miles from the Canadian border, which is the reason Earl chose this park. They’ve been having trouble with bears so told us to keep a look out!  

 This is the couple's house who own the park...sweetest elderly couple. I can't imagine how they maintain all this acreage, but from what they said, they do it all by themselves!

We were the only occupants of the 10-site park.  They said the most common people who stay are just like us - using it as a place to leave the RV while they go into Canada.

 We had NO service of ANY kind – no cell service, no internet, nothing at all!  Felt kind of weird, but strangely kind of to be totally unplugged.   Earl purchased an international plan for this time so that when we get to Canada that he’ll have GPS but I’m putting my phone on airplane mode to avoid those horrendous international charges.  Hopefully our hotel will have wifi! On to Canada.....