A Happy Birthday shout-out to our grandson, Corey, who is 17 today. He didn’t get a phone call from us but we sent his card and gift and hope it arrived in time. Hard to believe he’s 17 already – I still think of him as he 3rd-grader he was when I met Burl but he’s now starting his junior year of high school. I’m sure his mom, Cindy, is also trying to figure out how he grew up so quickly.
We had another travel day but today was a bit shorter – only about 320K (I’m getting into the metric system in Canada!). We slept in, had breakfast at our hotel – then I walked to the local Safeway and got picnic supplies and we donned our rain gear and took off in a light rain.
The sun played hide and seek with us all day and never was fully out until late afternoon. Our first stop today was at Lake Louise in Banff National Park.
Lake Louise - Banff National Park
We walked along the boardwalk and were just about ready to rent a canoe for a ride on the lake when it started raining again. Next time…
The other thing we’ll do “next time” is stay at the famous Fairmont Hotel on the lake – yeah, right – and pay $400+ a night for a cheap room. Probably not gonna happen with these two fiscal conservatives!
We finally saw our first real glacier today although it was a bit inaccessible for walking.
Freshfield Icefield Glacier - seen from Icefields Parkway north of Banff
The glacier is the darker part on the bottom of the snow in the center of the photo. We saw a couple of other ones and also passed the Jasper Icefields where tour buses will take you out on the ice – unless it’s raining which of course it was when we passed by – pouring down rain, in fact! Next time…
The picnic tables were few and far between again today and the ones we saw were in a gravel drive which we avoid whenever possible and especially after rain.
Picnic time in the Canadian Rockies
So we created our own picnic table using our “rig”! Burl got a tasty roast beef and cheddar sandwich (Tammy – I found the sandwich thins we love from Costco – Safeway had them!), macaroni salad, fresh Canadian cherries (oh so yummy) and sliced tomatoes. Who said I don’t know how to cook? He was a happy camper and we beat the next rainfall by about 3 minutes.
With a short riding day we were in Jasper by 3:30 and checked into our hotel which is on the main street. Jasper is quaint compared to Banff and while Burl iced down his foot, I took a power walk and explored our new city. I found a great linear park that runs the length of the main part of town and enjoyed reading all the historical markers along the way. I then did reconnaissance on the shops and restaurants to find us a place to dine where Burl didn’t have to walk too far.
We ended up having dinner at a Greek place near our hotel where Burl had liver and onions (since when is that a Greek dish?) and I had spanakopita which was excellent. I paired mine with a local lager and Burl had a local merlot. As we excited the restaurant – in a downpour – the last step was steeper than the rest and Burl came down on his injured foot and twisted it. Just what he needed when he was starting to heal. So he’s now perched on the bed with an ice pack again.
We had talked about taking a day off tomorrow and his foot injury sealed the deal! So – we are staying in Jasper tomorrow and taking it easy. I’ll go to Rotary at noon (the hotel is about 2 blocks away), do laundry (oh boy!) and later we may do a tram ride up the mountain or take a cruise on Lake Maligne. Definitely no hiking for Burl but if it’s not raining, I’ll get my power walking done.
We have also decided we will not take the ferry from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy, BC. If we drive south across BC from Alaska to Washington we can go by Whistler ski area where the 2010 Olympics will be held and Burl wants to see it.
Don’t you love how we make decisions?
It’s now 10:10 p.m. and there’s plenty of blue sky outside and the sun just set. We’re slowly getting adjusted to these extended daylight hours.
I’m so sorry to hear Burl re-injured his foot! Make sure he gets plenty of rest! Otherwise, the trip sounds like a lot of fun. Of course you can find the sandwich thins in Canada but not in Springfield, MO. Go figure! Have fun.