Ice Fields – We Finally Get to See Some Glaciers

Hinton, Alberta, CA – Thursday, July 7, 2011

The main event today was the Ice Field Centre in Banff National Park.  The Centre has an interesting museum and on the upper decks fantastic views of the Ice Fields. We also saw the last bit of an avalanche as we stood on the observation deck.

The Centre is a very popular destination.  There were so many here today, a Thursday, we’d hate to see it on the weekend. Maybe they’re retired or it’s just summer vacation time.  A majority of the visitors seemed to be oriental. EJ has been wanting to see a RCMP in full dress, so while at the center we came across this guy.

Glacier Buses that you could ride out onto the ice fields were also available (for $50 pp).  Or for free, you could park within a quarter mile of the glacier toe and walk right up to it. 

We stopped at several more vistas including a walk to the Athabasca Falls.  The roar and power of these falls was mesmerizing.

We were trying to make it to Grande Cache tonight, but the clouds in that direction were starting to look very ominous.  After some discussion, we alter our destination to Hinton.  Good thing we did, because shortly afterwards it began to rain.  We found out later, that 200 mm of rain was predicted in the area we were originally headed. For the non-metric folks, that’s just shy of 8 inches. Walmart parking lot, here we come.

As the evening progressed the RV population at Walmart increased from 8 to about 30.  Popular place.  The two local commercial campgrounds looked like they were full, so maybe this is just overflow.  Or, maybe they’re trying to stretch their loonies, just  like us.

BG Miles Today	138	BG Total Miles	3888
Eat Out total $	290.41	BG Total Fuel $	2033.41
Entertainment total $	104.1	Total Camping $	541.88
E Miles Today	.15	E Total Miles	1515.15
E Total Fuel $	303.59	Day # of Trip	37

Banff National Park

Rampart Creek Campground, Banff National Park, Alberta, CA – Wednesday, July 6, 2011

We debated over whether or not to include Calgary in our travel plans.  Several folks have said it’s a “must see” destination.  After all, the Calgary Stampede starts this week and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are coming to town. Given Frank’s crowd phobia, combined with the 100’s of thousands of people said to be in town for the events, seemed like a good reason to give it a pass. We were able to see Calgary as we drove by and it seemed to go on and on as far as you could see.

On to Banff NP.  Arrived around 4 pm and began our drive through the park. We made several stops at viewpoints along the way. Incredible scenery. The overpasses on the road are for the animals to cross over. They actually keep track of the numbers.

We decided to hike to the Peyto (pee-toe) Lake overlook.  It was a steep climb to the viewpoint, but it had great views of the lake, glaciers and the melt field feeding into the lake.

We pressed on wanting to make some more miles before we shut it down for the evening.  Our proposed destination was Rampart Creek.  What we didn’t know was that there was Rampart Creek Hostel and Campground and there was a Rampart Creek Campground.  Sounds pretty similar to me.  Well, Unfortunately the Hostel/Campground came first and Frank turned into it only to find the road barricaded and no turnaround.  So off comes the Element again so Frank can maneuver Big Guy out of this tight spot. It sounds like we do this a lot, but this is only the second time in about 14,000 miles.  Less than half a mile down the road is the second Rampart Creek turn off.  This one was the right one.

We squeezed into a spot, brought out the chairs and relaxed with a good bottle of wine and 3 citronella candles.  Yes, there were mosquitoes.  All in all, another great day. 

BG Miles Today	284	BG Total Miles	3750
Eat Out total $	290.41	BG Total Fuel $	1909.11
Entertainment total $	104.1	Total Camping $	541.88
E Miles Today	3	E Total Miles	1515
E Total Fuel $	303.59	Day # of Trip	36

Gun Tot’n Americans

Fort Macleod, Alberta, CA – Tuesday, July 5, 2011

No room left in the dirty clothes hamper so it’s time for drastic measures. That’s right, time to head to the laundry. It’s $4 a load here at Buffalo Plains RV Park. So we figure we’ll wander back into town to check out the local Laundromat.

EJ has also been grumbling about her hair, so while we’re there, a stop by the local hair salon is in order. We found an acceptable hair cuttin’ place but they didn’t have an opening until 4:15PM. The local Laundromat had a certain patina of grime that helped us decide to head back to the RV Park. Also, it wasn’t that much cheaper than the one at the Park. We had a few hours to kill so EJ cleaned inside Big Guy and I cleaned outside.

Back into town for the hairdo and dinner. There were two restaurants downtown. One advertised Oriental and Western Cuisine and the other was named the Silver Grill. Grill, that sounds like steaks, burgers, and other cooked meats. My appetite is ready. Once seated, we opened the menus only to find…yup…Oriental and Western style cuisine with heavy emphasis on the Oriental. Oh well.

After dinner we had a lengthy conversation with our waiter. He appeared to be in his 20’s. We asked him how folks afforded life in Canada since everything seemed so expensive. He didn’t seem to think things were that bad and was rather proud of the fact that Canadians spent their money where they earned it. This meant, I think, that they didn’t spend money on overseas products. Then he commented on how the US was going to run out of money by September when the Treasury was going to have to shut down. He then asked if it was true that all Americans carried guns because it is so dangerous to live there? Wow! Is that how foreign countries really view us? As broke, gun tot’n Americans, living in crime ridden neighborhoods? This from a guy who lives in a town whose main world famous attraction is . . . .

Back to the RV and laundry duties.

BG Miles Today	0	BG Total Miles	3466
Eat Out total $	288.91	BG Total Fuel $	1810.61
Entertainment total $	84.50	Total Camping $	526.13
E Miles Today	56.5	E Total Miles	1512
E Total Fuel $	272.09	Day # of Trip	35

Happy Birthday USA or Stuck at the Gas Bar

Macleod, Alberta , Canada– Monday, July 4, 2011

Up early and ready to hit the road.  The dump station to the St. Mary campground is at the entry station.  We dumped two days ago when we had to move to a different campsite, and we were going to dump again this morning.  But no, the line is too long, so off we go.

We’re headed for the Canadian border on US 89.  Having talked to the Canadian border agents last Thursday, we had pretty much cleared the cupboards in anticipation of a search.  When we arrived, there were 7 vehicles in front of us and 22 minutes later we were in Canada.  No search, no inspection, just a couple of questions and we were cleared.  Crap!  We left our firewood behind, didn’t stock up on booze, vegetables, we even emptied the cooler.  They didn’t even ask about the cats even though we have cat stickers in the windows.

We also saw lots of fields of yellow.  We’re not sure what they are, but there’s sure lots of them. 

One thing we learned here in Canada is that they don’t design filling stations (Gas Bars) with big vehicles in mind.  As we neared Macleod we wanted to fill up Big Guy at the first opportunity.  Well, the only Gas Bar we found had no maneuvering room for an RV.  Frank took a chance and went for the pump on the outside end.   After filling up, we attempted to extract ourselves from the pump islands and couldn’t make the turn.  A large concrete block prevented us from completing our escape.  We couldn’t back up because of the Element in tow and we were now blocking the only exit from the gas pumps. Welcome to Canada!

After several offers of help, we unhooked the Element, backed up and off we went to the big parking lot to hook up the Element again and calm our frazzled nerves.  This on top of filling up in liters and having to convert that and the price (1.109) to gallons. After several deep breaths we were off for the Buffalo Plains RV Park.

Upon arriving at the RV Park, they asked us if we had reservations and we explained how we had called and were told no reservations were necessary as “There was plenty of room”.  That was the case yesterday when we called.  Today they didn’t have any  more pull thru spaces, but found us a nice shaded spot that we could back into.  Which was fine with us, because we planned on using the Element to run errands anyway.

This was the least expensive RV Park we could find that had all the amenities we needed for this stay.  However, there were still more surprises to come.  Want to wash your clothes?  That’ll be four dollars a load please.  Want to use the internet? Too bad.  It’s down and we don’t know when it’ll be fixed.  But at least we had a really nice spot under the trees with water and electric hook ups.

We needed to resupply since we had not stocked the pantry in anticipation of our border crossing. We set off to Lethbridge, a fair sized town about 45 miles away.  Also Frank wanted to check out pre-paid cell phones and go see the Japanese Garden.

But first we had to get to a bank and convert some US dollars to Canadian “funny money”. No dollar bills, only dollar coins called loonies and two dollar coins called toonies! Went to a bank in Macleod but only got 93 cents per dollar. That was the rate for the day. Things are already more expensive.

On our way to Lethbridge we saw the High Level Bridge that the Canadian Pacific RR built. It is a mile long and 300 ft high and is the longest and highest bridge of it’s kind.

We made it to the Nikka Yuko Japanese Gardens.Nice peaceful place.

Next stop was Walmart. Didn’t have a lot of items we’re used to and things were more expensive, but we stocked up. Frank decided against the pre-paid cell because it really wasn’t that good of a deal. Oh, and they don’t sell beer there. We had to go find a liquor store. Wow another shock on prices. We may have to become teetotalers at this rate. They also have a 10 cent deposit per bottle/can AND they charge 5 cents for the plastic bags. 

Once again we raced the sunset back to the RV. Didn’t get back until 10 pm and it was just getting dark.

BG Miles Today	85	BG Total Miles	3466
Eat Out total $	296.16	BG Total Fuel $	1810.61
Entertainment total $	84.50	Total Camping $	499.67
E Miles Today	95	E Total Miles	1455.5
E Total Fuel $	272.09	Day # of Trip	34

It wasn’t this crowded in the Big City!

Glacier National Park, MT – Sunday, July 3, 2011

We decided to do a hike near our home base today.  Since it was our last day in the park, we wanted to take another hike to see some falls.  We chose the Sun Point Nature Trail which led to Bearing Falls.  Along the way, the first vista is a view of St. Mary Lake.  The pictures show the beautiful blue color that’s a result of the glaciers grinding up rock and the material being suspended in the runoff. The material suspended in the water absorbs all light wave lengths but blue and green.

The next stop is at Bearing Falls.  When we first arrived there were maybe half a dozen other people not counting us.  By the time we left, there were so many people, it was difficult to see the falls.  But we used our time wisely, and got some good pictures before the masses descended.  On the hike back, we noticed several people that were struggling to make it back up to the top. It’s good though, that at least they’re out there trying.

 

On the way back to the campground we took our last pictures of St. Mary Lake.  This is Wild Goose Island and a mountain view.

Back at the Visitor Center, we called ahead to Buffalo Plains RV Park in MCleod, Alberta to make reservations. They said no reservations needed we have plenty of room.  One thing we have already noticed is that campgrounds in Canada are more expensive than those in the US. High $30s versus mid $20s.  It’s going to be a challenge to keep camping costs down.

On the way back into the campground we asked the Ranger about the buses we had seen going back and forth with the Logan’s Pass marquee on them.  Was the Going To The Sun Road now open?  No, he said, they’re just too lazy to change the sign.  Guess we’ll just have to wait until next time to see the other side of the park.

Back to the RV to pack up and get ready for our border crossing. Fixed spaghetti dinner and of course a bottle of wine. We needed to drink it so we wouldn’t be over our liquor limit at the border!

BG Miles Today	0	BG Total Miles	3381
Eat Out total $	249.27	BG Total Fuel $	1694.53
Entertainment total $	74.50	Total Camping $	473.21
E Miles Today	24	E Total Miles	1360.5
E Total Fuel $	272.09	Day # of Trip	33

Hang’n Out

Glacier National Park, MT – Saturday, July 2, 2011

We originally signed up for a four day stay and then on Thursday decided to add two more. The effort wasn’t seamless though. The Park Ranger we dealt with referred to this weekend as the “Perfect Storm”. Canada Day was Friday July 1 when all the Canadians would swarm the park, followed by all the Americans converging on the park Saturday for the 4th of July weekend. But our Ranger came through for us and found a spot where we could stay 2 more nights.

So, today is moving day. After a banana/walnut pancake & sausage breakfast, we got everything ready to pull up stakes. We were pretty settled after 4 nights.

Since we had to move anyway, we took the opportunity to dump the waste tanks and fill up with water. We have found that the design of the capacity of the tanks are a little weird. The black water tank holds 48 gal, the grey 52 gal and fresh water only 33 gal. Hmmm, no wonder Frank had to add 6 gal of water by bucket yesterday. We’re learning how it all works.

Got over to our new site and had a little trouble leveling up. Finally got it where we wanted. By then it was mid afternoon and we agreed to get a few things done at the RV. EJ worked inside catching up on stuff and Frank did outside maintenance . Took a trail over to the visitors center to check the weather report and stretch our legs. Took a drive to Rising Sun.

No cell service and no internet for the last several days. We’ve made a few phone calls using, gasp, a land line and prepaid phone card. Verizon is the only cell provider we’ve found that works in these remote areas. We’ve been AT&T customers since the bag phone days. Who says change isn’t hard?

Frank got the grill out and cooked a pork loin. We sat out and had a nice relaxing finish to the day. And the cats??

BG Miles Today	0	BG Total Miles	3381
Eat Out total $	247.22	BG Total Fuel $	1694.53
Entertainment total $	74.50	Total Camping $	461.71
E Miles Today	14	E Total Miles	1336.5
E Total Fuel $	227.41	Day # of Trip	32

Moose Jam

Glacier National Park – Friday, July 1, 2011

Off to Many Glaciers today.  Maybe we’ll get to see some.  It’s kinda misleading because even though there are glaciers, they’re covered in snow.  So, it just looks like a bunch of snow. But I digress.

We drive to the end of Many Glaciers road looking for the Swift Current Nature Trail head.  As we begin our hike, we pass another couple who tell us to go around them.  Frank remarks “That sounds like a southern accent” to them and this begins a whole conversation about our respective travels.  They were from the NE corner of Texas and it turns out they too are headed to Alaska. Also along the trail we encountered “white stuff” and had to climb over it in some cases.

 

A little more than half way around the lake we stopped at Many Glaciers lodge for a relief break and snack.  We sat inside, out of the wind, and gazed out over the lake from seats located in front of large windows.  Now that the wind has been mentioned, we were amazed at how the younger folks seem oblivious to the cold temperatures and the winds. As we were ensconced in our toasty and comfy surroundings eating, outside we could see two younger ladies seated in shorts and long sleeve t-shirts, hair blowing in the wind, seemingly not caring about the cold temperatures.

On our way back down Many Glacier road we ran into a traffic jam.  We could see cars on both sides of the road off on the shoulders and cars stopped in the travel lanes.  It looked like an accident had just happened. Once we worked our way through the mess, we saw no accident but did see a lone moose down by the lake. Yep, you guessed it – Moose Jam! He began to move quickly in our direction. Wow, this was a first for both of us.

As you probably know, National Parks are a little rustic when it comes to camping, not that this is a bad thing.  But it does mean you have to be self sufficient as there are no hookups at the campsites. This evening we needed to get back to the RV early to charge up the batteries as there are only certain hours you can run generators.  Tomorrow we move to a new site.

BG Miles Today	0	BG Total Miles	3381
Eat Out total $	247.22	BG Total Fuel $	1694.53
Entertainment total $	74.5	Total Camping $	450.21
E Miles Today	51	E Total Miles	1322.5
E Total Fuel $	227.41	Day # of Trip	31