Entry 6 – Vancouver to the Canadian Rocky Mountains - May 2022
We continued east, zig zagging around the British Columbia Province country side enjoying some wonderful scenery. Nearing Castlegar, Taylor rang prior to our arrival to confirm permission to park at the golf club camping area. On arrival at the golf club there was a displayed notice board with a welcoming note for us. We spent a couple of nights camped up at Castlegar golf club with some lovely walking tracks connecting with the camping area of the golf club. One of Taylors dear friends Sheri paid a visit and ended up staying for our evening meal. We were all wearing our Aussie T shirts pointing out to Sheri our motto, the CAM’s. (Canadian, Australian Mob.)
We continued following the valley alongside the Kootenay Lake, in the “Kootenays,” crossing on a ferry and heading in the opposite direction back along the other side of the lake. It was enjoyable scenery looking up at the Selkirk and Purcell Mountain ranges either side of the lake.
We were heading towards the Rockie Mountains, getting our first glimpse of the stunning snow-covered peaks from around 100 kilometres away within our line of sight or about 250 kilometres by road. On the outskirts of the township of Cranbrook we stopped to stretch out, walking about for a bit. We could hear some squeaky barking noise and after looking about we spotted some prairie dogs, a mammal related to squirrels, living in families underground.
We spent a night boondocking (Australia – free camp) in a hardware store car park, with a Walmart store on the other side of the carpark, in Cranbrook. Both stores were utilized for satisfying our needs.
Down the road we entered the Canadian Rocky Mountains through the Banff National Park. Our eyes were moving all over the place with wows here and wows there and wow, wow, wow! There was an instant feeling of contentment provided by awesome scenery. It had been a long day of driving and our tiredness seemed to evaporate once we entered the National Park. We have provided just a few pictures taken of our first few kilometres of travel into the National Park.
We set camp near the out skirts of the township of Banff. Banff is in the southern region of the Canadian Rocky Mountains National Park with its primary existence based on tourism. It has a most amazing setting with snow-capped mountain views tantalising our eyes all around.
We spent two full days at Banff, walking. along a few of many available walking trails, the girls were hypnotised by the many flash, looking stores in town with high priced goods. A drive to the nearby town of Canmore provided more enjoyable mountain views and we spent time at nearby Lake Minnewanka. It was wonderful to spot some wild Bighorn Sheep at Lake Minnewanka.
On one of our walks, we spotted the grand appearance of the Fairmont Banff Springs accommodation and decided to take a closer look. We casually walked inside for a sticky beak. Once inside you could feel the opulence oozing from its setting.
A walk from the campground along some of the less travelled trails added another rewarding experience when we spotted some wild female elk and white-tailed deer.
We could have easily spent a week and more at Banff. Its fantastic scenery tickled all our good vibes. Simply amazing.
Leaving Banff, we headed north up the road a bit towards Lake Louise, another iconic location in the Canadian Rockie Mountains. We had previously visited Lake Louise in September 2017 where people were paddling canoes on the lake. Our 2nd experience in May 2022 showed a very different setting.
After a couple of hours enjoying Lake Louise, we continued up the road along the Columbian Parkway with stunning views provided by the snow covered Canadian Rocky Mountains. It would be one of the most impressive scenic drives we have experienced.
