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.