Banff National Park

The drive going east on TCC-1 was breathtaking. Smooth road, surrounded by trees in various shades of green and many waterfalls coming off the mountains around us. OMG,,,,, just the other side of Hope, BC on hwy 5 and we saw a big brown bear in the field beside the road, hunting for food in the grass.WOW! Beautiful drive thru the mountains and around the lake before settling into the Elks Park in Salmon Arm, BC.There is more than one rv park in Banff National Park that can accommodate our length of rv. We ended up at the Lake Louise Trailer Park with electric only. Excellent 30 amp. Well built rv dumps. Good choice as we toured to Jasper and Banff.
Athabasca Glacier,Jasper National ParkThe Athabasca Glacier and the Columbia Icefield once formed part of an enormous ice sheet that ground and carved the landforms that we see today throughout the Rocky Mountains.The most recent Ice Age ended only 10,000 years ago. Most glaciers in North America are still in retreat, as the summer's melt is greater than the winters' accumulation. As the glacier flows downhill, it carries a tremendous amount of rock and debris with it. Lateral moraine and terminal moraines are left at the toe of the glacier. As the glacier has paused in its retreat up the valley, distinct ridges of large terminal moraines are clearly visible.Columbia Icefield is the largest body of ice in the Rocky Mountains. Highest point is Mount Columbia at 12,284 ft. Average depth is 1200 ft. Average snowfall is 23 ft per yr. Drains to the Pacific, Artic and Atlantic Oceans.Athabasca Glacier is an outlet valley glacier covering 2.5 sq miles. length is 3.75 miles. depth 270 - 1000 ft. Surface speed is: icefall 400 ft/yr, turn around 80ft/yr, toe 50 ft.
We had lunch in Jasper,a pretty and quaint ski town. The drive on Hwy 93 thru Banff NP from Lake Louise to Jasper opened up the beautiful views of the Rocky Mountains as well as some of the local wildlife. Great day. We were lucky that it did not rain much during the day, the sun was out at times and the temperature was in the low 60s.
The next day we toured the town of Banff. Another quaint and pretty ski area. We took in the Banff Springs Hotel which was amazing. The Tunnel Mountain RV Park could hold an rv our size and offered full hook ups. All pull thrus the same as Lake Louise Trailer Park. Lake Louise was a pleasant walk even tho the lake was still frozen. The Fairmont Hotel looks like a pretty nice to stay if in the area. We drove on hwy 1A to and from Banff and we're lucky to spot white tail deer and a large wolf.

Vancouver BC

We travelled north on I-5 toward Canada. Beautiful countryside unfolded around us as we wound between the Pacific Ocean and the mountains. The crossing at the Pacific bordfer crossing was painless as BC welcomed us to warm sunshine. It was a narrow miss as we drove thru customs but the young office came out to watch that we didn't scrape the sides of our coach.As good a driver as John is, no problem. Our site at Burnaby Cariboo RV Resort was another test to John's driving and he passed with high marks. Not after some testy attempts tho. We ended up on site 134 which worked out just fine. Very private and not busy likely because of how expensive it is to stay here. It was fun when the train passed behind us. We could hear the roar and feel the vibrations long before the train arrived near us. And when it did arrive,it felt like an earthquake the way the coach rattled and shook. Too fun. Worked out great tho for touring the Capilano Suspension Bridge, Stanley Park and Downtown Vancouver. It is impressive to note the time, effort and cost that this Province has put into the suspension bridge. Very impressive and we were glad we took the time to tour this attraction. Stanley Park is a big park and beautiful. Would be great to spend time on a warm summer day. We had a lot of rain during this stop but that was to be expected. Planned on going to Whistler Monday but changed our minds and moved on.

Seattle (Puget Sound)

While in Washington,we checked out the Space Needle. Beautiful view of Seattle. Then off to the Underground Tour. This story was really interesting. Seattle (originally know as Puget Sound) was built on a tidal plain. It is said that when you went to the bathroom, you had to stand up when the tide came in as it would swoosh the sewer back up the toilet and end up all over you. The sewer from the folks living in the mountainside also travelled down to the town streets and then into the ocean. Only to be washed up again when the tide came in. Seattle was a smelly, dirty town. The term 'Skid Row' came from Seattle. The first toilets were built by a company owned by a man named Crapper. Many crappers were shipped to Seattle. It was advertised as the gateway to the gold mines and many came to Seattle to stay and sell to the wannabe miners. The city decided to raise the streets to escape the sewer problems. Eight foot walls were build on each side of the streets to give a waffle effect. To go shopping, one would walk down the street, climb down the ladder to the store, shop and then carry the goods back up the ladder to the street where the donkey and cart were parked. To cross the street, one would climb up the ladder to the top of the eight ft wall, cross the street and then climb down the ladder on the other side. As coverings were built from street to street, the original stores remained under the new streets. Sewer pipes were made of wood with small passage ways. The great fire burned the downtown Seattle. It was only in the 1970s the Pioneer Square became a Historic Site. Awesome tour.

Washington

We just left Willsonville, OR where we spent the weekend. It was good to see our friends, Don and Pat, who graciously toured us around the Portland area. We went to the Arts and Crafts Festival Saturday morning where we enjoyed the sights and sounds of many cultures. I (Sheila) enjoyed a Falafel for lunch which was soooo good. Then off to Multnomah Falls, Columbia River Gorge. We walked up to the bridge close to the fall, enjoyed the beauty and then returned to the car just as it started to rain. Lots of hiking trails but weather not in our favor to enjoy any distance. We could see Mount Hood and Mount St. Helen off in the distance. Lot of snow on both. We woke up Sunday to pouring rain but Don and Pat planned on taking us to the Evergreen Air and Space Museum. Very interesting place. We had our pictures taken in the cockpit of the Spruce Goose. This was a prototype built by Howard Huges in 1947. A huge cargo boat that flew. http://www.evergreenmuseum.org/ . Interesting story. The Imax of the Fighter Pilots was a good show and we were proud to see the Canadian participation. Now (Monday morning) we are heading north again to see what Washington has to offer.

Oregon

John, Sheila and 'the dog' moved on up the road and are now at Seven Feathers Casino and RV Park in Oregon for a few days attending to the transition of 'the dog' from the litter he is familiar with to his new home on our coach.We thought Jackson had one of the nicest rv parks we have stayed in, until we got here. This place is amazing. We left Chico alone in his cage while we went swimming and hot tubbing in the indoor pool. We could hear him howling as we walked away but there was no sound as we arrived back at the coach. This is such a pretty time of year as everything is in bloom. Nice to smell the lilacs and enjoy the Rhododendrons and Azalea blooms. Sunny and warm with no rain in site.

California

Once on the road again, we detoured off CA-99 to Jackson Racheria and Casino. Beautiful rv park and extremely clean. Really nice pool area; lounge with outdoor bbq and tables/chairs; really nice dog park and regular shuttle thru the park to the casino with fresh Dungeness crabs legs on the buffet. We were pretty impressed with this stop. Full hook up with 50 amp and price was $34 a nite for back in.
Our next stop was the Elks Lodge in Red Bluff. Uh huh,,,, we stopped there so John could go to Chico and look at the pups that Cornerstone Kennels had available. Surprise! We are now the proud parents of a 3 mos old Havanese. So our 42 ft rv is even smaller now! He is a little green with the travelling but we're sure he will adjust easily over the next few days.

California

After leaving Visilia, we travelled north to the Elks in Fresno for a few days. Decent rv spots, on grass, overlooking a small lake. Enjoyed the sunshine and downtime. Did attend a class at the Apple Store on using the Ipad2. We were pleasantly surprised with how much we learned. After Fresno, we moved the the Elks in Oakhurst. Not a lot of spots there that could accommodate our coach but they weren't busy so we were able to make ourselves at home.While there we toured the Bass Lake area. Then we spent an entire day at Yosemite National Park. The lady at the Visitor Center advised us to travel on CA-49 up to CA-120 and take120 into the park. Excellent advise as 120 winds along the river. The scenery was breathtaking before we even got to the park. Yosemite had a record snow fall this winter and, now that it is melting, the water falling off the mountain tops is more beautiful than ever. There were roads that were still closed for winter but we were able to tour and enjoy the valley. Pictures in Picasa Stream.