Superlitives....

Just had to put up TLE's panorama shot of Lake Louise

Forest and I agree…..there are insufficient superlatives in the English language to describe the scenery we have witnessed since we left Beaver Dam Golf and RV Resort last Wednesday.  And let us be clear….the scenery at Beaver Dam was not to be sneezed at.

Some may think I have been negligent in only spending 1 day in the Lake Louise/Banff area.  If I had not seen everything north of Lake Louise on PH-93 first I would agree….but that is the rub…..we did see everything north of Lake Louise and Banff…..in reality these two touristy areas are well worth the trip all by themselves…..if you saw nothing else……..but if you stop there, and go no farther, you will have sold yourself way, way short.  Frankly, if we had been by ourselves we might have spent several more days at the Columbia Icefields parking lot…..it is one of the trade offs when you travel in a caravan….a nice trade off to be sure, but a trade off nevertheless.

We departed Lake Louise Campground around 10 am heading southeast on Canada #1…..someday….maybe two summers distant….we will drive the width of Canada on this highway from British Columbia to the Maritime Provinces over the course of a summer finishing in Maine just as the leaves begin to turn……of course, that is another story yet to be told.

 Rolling along through the Banff area

 Saturday we cruised along Canada #1 just enjoying the beautiful, extravagant, delicious scenery along the way.  Our goal was Cardston, Alberta about 266 miles distant….a long day for us to be sure, but with several rest stops thrown in an easy day overall.   Alberta utilizes “TURNOUTS” for the weary driver…..very informal…..a couple of trash cans…..no structures…….and about 300 feet long…..just far enough off the highway to be comfortable, but easy enough to merge back into traffic quickly when you are ready to move again.

A little down hill into Fort MacLeod

Somewhere between the second and third rest stop after we merged on to PH-2 southbound I lost track of Forest and Cindy’s coach…..one minute they were there a few hundred yards back, and then gone from sight.  We continued on for about 30 miles to the city of Fort MacLeod, where we found a good place to park along the road and wait for them to catch up.  We parked adjacent to the court building just idling for a while to let the turbo cool down before shutting down the DD.  Within just a few minutes Forest and Cindy appeared in our rearview mirrors…..apparently about 30 miles back their “check engine” light had come on, so Forest quickly pulled over to check things out……he tried to hail me on the CB, but I must have been out of range when he tried, because I never hear him.  All’s well that ends well, and as it turns out there was nothing wrong…..maybe a loose connection somewhere…..where have I heard that before?

From Fort MacLeod it was only another 40 miles to Cardston, and we made that distance in about 50 minutes.  We are staying in a city park called Lee Creek RV Park….a very nice park with enormous pull sites…..we are in the “overflow” area, but still have full hookups (water, sewer and electric) for $30 per day.  We’ll spend three days in this area……just 10 miles from the U.S. border, before crossing back into the USA.  We all agree…..we are ready to be back in the USA.  This is not to say we haven’t had a marvelous 3 weeks here….Sunday will mark the 21^st day we have been in Canada.  When we cross back into the USA just east of Glacier National park we will have been in Alberta for 23 days in total.

Lee Creek RV Park - Overflow

Around 8:30 we got together with the Olivier's for a steak dinner…..I did the honors on the BBQ once again, and once again the steaks came out perfect…....how does “he” do it time after time, day after day?  We sat talking until 10 pm…..it was still light outside, and the moon came up….almost full….maybe one more day until it hits its zenith.

Sunday will be the final round of the British Open Golf Tournament, and you can bet I will be ensconced in front of the TV watching the final round tomorrow morning.

Life is good…..and we love our friends.  In just a few more days we will part company after almost a month traveling together.  We will miss our communal dinners, and chatting on the CB radio during the day.  In just a little less than a month my brother’s daughter, Ingrid, will have her wedding day, and we will be there.

Thanks for stopping by!