Columbia Ice Fields and Jasper

6/7/13

We were off rather early this morning up the Ice-fields Parkway about 70 miles to Columbia Ice-fields where we boarded a bus that took us up near the Athabasca glacier where we boarded an ice crawler that took us out onto the glacier.  It was cold but magnificent viewing.  This is the only glacier known to flow into the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic Oceans.  It is approximately 1,000 feet thick.

We continued up the Highway 93 toward Jasper this afternoon in moderate rain until arriving at the Whistler’s Campground.  High spruce forest punctuated with White Birch trees.  After dinner we were entertained by a hear of Elk moving through the campground right through our campsite.  We will remain in Jasper tomorrow to visit Lake Maligne and Jasper, Alberta.

RV Travel Report:

We left Trans Canada 1 this morning on Highway 93 at Lake Louise today.   Two lane road with good shoulders and turn-outs in most places.  Roadway was smooth until about 30 miles southeast of Columbia Ice-fields where we slowed a bit on some rough patches during a climb of about 2,000 feet.  After Columbia Ice-fields we were on a gradual downward slope all the way to Jasper with much better highway surface.  No fuel report today.

Lake Louise and Banff

6/6/13

Today broke with beautiful sunshine at about 6,000 ft. elevation where we are today at the Lake Louise Campground, site 158.  Drove 3 miles up the mountain to visit world famous Lake Louise.  The emerald water reflecting snow-covered peaks was truly gorgeous.  Our next stop was at  Moraine Lake with another breath-taking vista across the lake.

Following lunch we drove to Johnston’s Canyon where we walked along narrow canyon walls on walkways overhanging the canyon.  It brought us to a spectacular falls complete with a cave that permitted access to almost the cascading river falls.

This took us on to Banff.  While quite nice it is reminiscent of many “yuppie” towns in Colorado, Utah, and California.

Tomorrow we head further northwest into Jasper National Park after a mid-day visit to the Columbia Ice Fields for some glacier viewing.

Banff National Park

6/5/13

We departed Calgary late morning for a short drive west on Trans Canada 1 to Banff and Lake Louise Village where we are camped this evening in the Trailer campground (hard-side camping only, no tents due to bears in the area).  Just before Banff the road narrowed briefly to accommodate the Banff Park gates.  A four-day pass for two adults was $78.40.  Canadian dollar vs. US Dollar is almost at parity at 1.03/1.  Stopped for fuel in Canmore at Petro-Canada and later fueled the Jeep in Lake Louise.  We will be touring Lake Louise and Banff areas tomorrow.

RV Travel Report:

Divided highway all the way to Lake Louise today.   Expected a climb most of the way but here the highways follow two things: the rivers, and the railroads.

Average fuel costs today:             $4.48 Gallon (USD) / $117.9 (C$)Liter for diesel

                                                     $5.58 Gallon (USD) / $ 1.47 (C$) Liter for gasoline

Gasoline was a bit high here but this is a tourist area without much competition.  Back in Calgary gas seems to be universally priced at $1.17.9 per liter.

Calgary, Alberta

6/4/13           

The four of us toured the Heritage Village Historical Park today under beautiful blue skies and mild weather.  This park allows you to walk thorough Canadian history in farms, villages, and early towns talking to period dressed actors learning about early life in Canada.  Churches, newspapers, and the railroad created the cohesiveness to settle the western lands much like our history in the United States.

Next we ventured downtown to see a very modern city on the plains and foothills of Alberta.  We provide below a few pictures from the Calgary Tower sitting about 525 feet about the city.  After an early dinner we toured the Olympic Park just west of town and headed back to our camp at Calaway Park RV on Canadian Highway 1.

Tomorrow we head west into Banff National Park for a few days.

Crossing the Border

6/3/13

We departed Great Falls in moderate to heavy rain that continued all the way to Calgary today.  Gusty winds made driving interesting in spots.  Stopped in Shelby, MT for final fuel at Flying J on east side of Shelby exit.  We passed through Canadian Customs at Coutts, Alberta without fanfare in about 10 minutes and continued north.

Arrived in rush hour traffic here in Calgary parking at Calaway RV Park on Canadian Route 1 about 8 miles west of the city.  We will do some touring in Calgary tomorrow.

RV Travel Report:

Divided highway all the way to Calgary generally smooth with some minor road construction underway just north of Great Falls for about 25 miles.  Highway signage is good on major highways.

Wide lanes at US/Canadian Customs crossing made RV travel through easy.

Average fuel costs today:             $4.48 Gallon (USD) / $117.9 Liter for diesel

                                                $3.85 Gallon (USD) / $ 1.03 Liter for gasoline

Finally, back on wifi

Sorry for not posting for a few days.  We hope to now finally have those issues worked out and will post again almost daily.

6/2/13

The morning started out quite sunny as we traveled north of Great Falls to visit the Great Falls.  Lewis & Clark faced one of their toughest challenges here as they had to build wagons for their three boats, pull them up the bluffs surrounding the Missouri River here and portage them about 18 miles overland before being able to return to the river in June, 1805.  Today the falls remain just below a modern dam and power station supply much of the electrical needs of northern Montana.

In the afternoon we visited the Charles M. Russell Museum.  If are an Old West aficionado you will recognize him as painter, photographer and sculptor of numerous famous art works detailing life in those times of westward expansion.  His expansive museum, home and studio are well worth the visit located in a quiet residential neighborhood on 5^th Street.

Great Falls, Montana

We traveled today from Livingston, MT about 175 miles to Great Falls, MT.  Weather was finally clear and cool today.  We met us with our friends Bob and Sharon who departed Dallas last week to meet up with us for the trip to Alaska.

We will be here tomorrow doing some last minute shopping and maintenance in preparation for moving farther north into Canada.  Still trying to decide whether a side trip to Glacier National Park will happen as the forecast is for snow and temps in the 30's.  Right now, we plan to cross the border in the next day or so.

We will be providing current info for our motorhome friends when we cross the border.  Just a couple pictures today as we approached Bozeman, MT and a shot of the Missouri River here in Montana.  We passed the Missouri Headwaters Park today where the Jefferson and Gallatin join their flow headed to the Missouri, eventually the Mississippi and the Gulf.  Many fishermen observed to on the river both wading and boating.