Jasper, Lake Louise, Banff

I've always heard that Jasper and Banff National Parks in Canada are a worthy destination – beautiful and fun places to be. They got the beautiful right – it was quite spectacular.

After a stop at a very nice grocery store (what a treat that one was) in Prince George, where I scored some fresh wild salmon, it was a fairly leisurely drive to Jasper.  But it was Saturday night, and I was worried about getting a spot in a campground.  Luckily, there were a couple of tent sites left, and I was in! Although I thought I would try boondocking on this trip (camping alongside the road, or in a parking lot, or someplace like that) I didn't. Every night has been in a campground. 

It was pretty late, so after a quick dinner (that delicious salmon) I went to bed and vowed to start out early the next day for a slow drive along the Icefields Parkway – the famous road between Jasper and Banff.  IT started out just great – really pretty views, this gorgeous waterfall, and then the glacier and the Visitor Center there. It was lunchtime, and I didn't feel like making anything, so I went in and had a quick hot dog.  Amazingly, the menu, when I checked it out, was about ¾ Asian food, and the people eating there were about that percentage Asian.  That really surprised me. 

Ice Field

Leaving the Visitor Center, you leave Jasper and enter Banff National park. All along, the speed limit was 90 Kilometers per hour.  But, apparently when you enter Banff, the speed limit goes down to 60 – on a long, steep downhill.  Now I have been paying close attention to speed limits, and have stayed below the limit this whole trip. But for 5 minutes after leaving the center, I didn't, and wouldn't you know it, there was a pair of cops running radar.  I got a speeding ticket.  Talk about putting a bad taste on the day.  I was mad – mostly at myself, but also at cops for doing a radar stop on a steep downhill when the speed limit is 36 MPH (that's what 60 KPH translates to).  I rode my brakes down the whole rest of the hill.  It really put me in a cranky mood. I did manage to come out of it a little when, at the bottom of that long hill, I came across a black bear feeding just off the road, and nobody else had spotted him yet!!

 When I got to Lake Louise, where I had hoped to spend the night, it seemed like a cruise ship town and 5 cruise ships had just docked. It was packed with people, it was hard to walk along the street, and the only camping was in an "overflow" lot, which was just a big parking lot. No bathrooms, no cooking allowed, no thank you.  On to Banff, where I managed a site for the night at the Tunnel Mountain Campground. That was a nice site, and there were free showers – always a plus. But the town again was like a cruise ship town, and another 8 ships had just docked. You couldn't walk in a straight line on the sidewalks, the grocery store was packed, and besides, I was still in a bad mood. I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

So sadly, Alberta left a bad taste in my mouth.  That's one place that is off my list forever!!

It wasn't far to Glacier National Park, a place I've always wanted to visit, and it didn't disappoint!  I'll write about that one another night, right now, I'm tired, and tomorrow I get to drive through Yellowstone and Tetons!