LOVERN ON OUR PICNIC IN THE MOUNTAINS 

WE ARE IN CANMORE, ALBERTA, NEAR BANFF

We are now in Canmore, Alberta near Banff. On the road here we passed two antelope with a baby right next to the highway. The highway was very narrow and twisty above deep canyon. The rushing stream below is well used for white water rafting. Once we were over the pass, we saw the distant dark bare mountains by Banff. Sadly there were many dead evergreens because of the pine beetle.

Canmore is surrounded on all four sides by these huge monolithic mountains. The view is spectacular every way you look. Canmore itself is a sweet little town that can easily be walked out. There are also some great pubs that we had to check out. So far in Canada we have seen very few US chain stores and only a couple of Starbucks. They are very proud to keep their country to Canadian products, which is a good chance to brush up on my French as everything is in both English and French.

We did do a day trip to Banff and had lunch in the historic and spectacular Banff Springs Hotel. The rest of the town was packed with tourists (of course, we’re not tourists) and we didn’t explore the town. Banff Springs Hotel was originally a stop place for the Canadian Pacific Railroad. Our route through Canada seems to parallel the RPR trains but that is because the towns sprang up beside the rail line.

We took a drive ten miles on a dirt road up into the nearby mountains and had a picnic on a lovely lake up there. After we got back, we read in the local paper that because of the heavy production of wild berries, there were lots of bears (black and grizzly) in the area, especially where we were. I guess ignorance is bliss.

We no sooner put our new itinerary on this blog than we found we had to change it. We have decided to go straight to Gillette, Wy from the RV Convention in Minot, ND. Lovern is having trouble with her hip and leg and wants to go back to the orthopedic doctor she had before. Finding good doctors on the road is one of the problems of fulltiming. Hairdressers are another. In Canada, getting our mail is iffy, our current mail was held up by customs because they had to check out a card shuffler that we ordered. Go figure.

THE VIEW FROM OUR RV PARK IN CANMORE, ALBERTA 

PICTURE TAKEN FROM THE CAR IN THE MOUNTAINS 

COZY IN OUR LITTLE HOUSE 

OUR NEW ITINERARY

This is new. Throw away the old one
Here is a rough idea of where we plan to be. This, of course, can change minute by minute but is what we plan right now. This will hopefully help you to see if there is anywhere where we can make a connection as we travel down the road.

July 26 Canmore, AB
Aug 2 Drumheller, AB
Aug 6 Moosejaw, SK
Aug 10 Midvale, SK
Aug 13 Minot, ND at the fairgrounds
Aug 20 Dickinson, ND
Aug 21 Spearfish, ND
Aug 23 Ten Sleep, ND
Aug 24 Thermopolis, WY
Aug 29 Sundance, WY
Aug 31 Gillette, WY
Sept 4 Belvadere, SD
Sept 5 Salem, SD
Sept 6 Albert Lee, MN
Sept 8 Minneapolis, MN
Sept 10 Albert Lee, MN
Sept 11 Dells, WI
Sept 14 Granger, IN
Sept 15 Avery, OH
Sept 16 Chataqua Heights, NY
Sept 19 Roscoe, NY
Sept 20 East Lyme, CT
Sept 27 East Stroudsburg, PA
Oct 6 Europe
Nov 6 Jersey City, NY for 3 weeks

US FIXING A STEAK OUTSIDE 

WONDERFUL SHUSWAP LAKE

With a quick stop to see friends (Phyllis at Mount Vernon and Pat in Bellingham), we made our way to Canada. We were surprised at the border that they wanted our birth certificates or passports.

Many commercial vegetable gardens greeted us across the border. The flat valley was bordered on each side by tree-covered mountains. Then the land changed to pine covered mountains and deep canyons. Zoe loved the RV park at Hope, BC as we were nestled in among the pine trees and could have a campfire. It was more like camping to her.

Out of Kamloops, there were fewer pine trees on the mountains. The gardens stretched for acres with one field covered completely with black netting over a large area. It made a stunning contrast to the vivid green of the other fields. The mountains were rock from violent eruptions that twisted and curled the rock in great contortions.

Our main goal was Shuswap Lake at Sicamous and we were not disappointed. Sicamous is called the Houseboat Capital of the World and we believe it. The lake is huge with over 600 miles of shoreline. The setting with the pine-covered mountains surrounding it is gorgeous. It makes you want to get in one of those houseboats and live on the lake. We took a six-hour cruise on the lake and barely made a dent in covering it.

The beauty of Canada campgrounds is tempered somewhat by their lack of adequate power to each site. Fortunately, cool breezes moderate the heat. The lush abundance of trees also stifles our use of the internet but as usual, we found an internet café and also computers at the town library.

OUR DAY ON SHUSWAP LAKE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA 

THE COMMUNITY GARDEN AT DISCOVERY BAY RESORT 

A CORNER OF SUSAN'S ELEGANT GARDEN 

THREE WEEKS IN THE SEATTLE AREA

As we were near the end of our trip around Couer d’Alene Lake, a herd of elk was spotted grazing near the road. A big buck stood at attention near the herd. It was a dramatic sight

The land as we drove to Ellensburg, was mostly flat fields, checker-boarded with grasses or tilled earth. The hills were low and slightly undulating. The crops seemed to be potato fields or grain. Towards Ellensburg, the hills became more pronounced but were still rolling and green. Suddenly deep canyons appeared along the Columbia River. Deer were grazing in the fields of purple flowers interspersed with white flowers.

After crossing the Cascade Mountains, we were greeted to Seattle with clouds, rain and bumper-to-bumper traffic. We were pleased to find that the Canadian Geese had no longer set up permanent residence in the RV park near Bothell. Now we could really enjoy the lovely small lake bordered with large weeping willow trees without having to be concerned where we stepped.

It was fun showing friend Mary and her daughter Erin around downtown Seattle. Their hotel at Pike Place Market was a perfect place for them to watch the Fourth of July fireworks over the bay. Zoe wanted them to experience the San Juan Islands so we drove them there. Unfortunately it rained most of the time but they did get to see the islands and Friday Harbor plus lunch out at Roche Harbor overlooking the bay full of giant yachts.

The location gave us a good chance to visit Zoe’s daughter and get dentist, hair and eye appointments. After two weeks, we moved to a park further west that was handy to leave our RV and take the ferry to visit the RV park in Sequim. A park model had been offered to us free for four days by a couple of women in the park. It was right next to Jud and Cory’s new park model so we had a good visit with Jud. Unfortunately, Cory was down in Tucson helping a friend with the logistics of taking care of the effects of another friend who had died. The park was beautiful. We were especially impressed with the community garden. A reception was held for us to meet old friends and new. The location also was handy for Lovern to drive to Bremerton to visit her daughter who lived there and her other daughter who drove up from Oregon.

See the picture of the vegetable garden at Discovery Bay
See the picture of part of Susan’s award winning garden at her home.

With all of these odds and ends taken care of, we are now ready to head for Canada.