Destination Circle: Day 8

May 21, 2016

I woke before 6 a.m. as I was now in the Pacific Time Zone. The mountains were totally obscured by clouds, except for a brief momentary glimpse while I was in the dining room. One's senses seem almost physically assaulted by the proximity of these wild and rugged peaks.

The most tasty item at breakfast was toast with orange marmalade which came in a little hexagonal, 1-1/2-inch tall, unlabelled, glass container. Daffodils were blooming in the cool air outside the window. I coveted the silverware which was heavy and Scandinavian in design.

After eating, I sat by the fireplace and worked on my computer for an hour before leaving. By the time I got to the "village," a couple of miles down the mountain, the clouds were starting to clear. People were bustling about as buying stuff on vacation is the most attractive option for many. I got gas and then found myself in a bookstore. Fortunately, Boo called and I left to talk to her outside and so didn't buy MORE BOOKS. But I did find a couple of toys for Tesla and Joey and a fancy holographic postcard of a moose for $5. I've been sending them a postcard each day and walked to the post office for stamps, all of which, regardless of whether one is sending a normal postcard, a fancy large postcard or a letter, were $1.20 Canadian. "Makes it easy, eh?" the pleasant female postal worker said.

I left Lake Louise and drove north for hours. I had to buy a day park pass and got to use my Canadian money which I've been carrying around in my car in an Altoid container for years. I wasn't sure what the larger coins were, and one of the two young ladies in the booth said "Oh, that's a two-ey" meaning $2.

between Lake Louise and Jaspar - Alberta

The route for the next several hours was one of the most scenic I've ever been on, the Canadian Rockies to the left, the Bow River on the right. The sun was now out, the skies a clear blue, the traffic light. I saw a honey-colored grizzly, so distinctive with its slight mid-body depression between front and rear humps. It was in a shrubby meadow, and a ranger was already on scene managing the "bear jam," politely asking the RV behind me to move further off the road and also making certain no one did anything foolish. I only saw it briefly before it lay down but was thrilled. You don't see this from an airplane.

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and the trees!

Of course I stopped often to try to photograph the wonder, me and the dozen or so other people at any vantage point. Today, many of were East Indian families with joyous boisterous kids. This is a holiday weekend in Canada, Monday being Victoria Day. The advent of cell phones for photos is quite remarkable. I am not exempt and found that pictures with the phone were as good as or better than those taken with my Canon. Still, it's kind of crazy, all of us holding up these little gadgets instead of gazing with our eyes. At one point, there were ice fields and this WAS a congested tourist spot with special buses transporting people onto the glacier, or one could just walk a trail to the "toe." But other than that, on this route, there were only signs for hiking, tucked away campgrounds and occasional pull-offs, usually by a lake.

At Jaspar I turned directly west and drove a couple of hours through the mountains to the small town of McBride where I spent the night in a Sandman motel. I learned Sandman is a chain and was impressed even though the gentleman at the desk had to get someone else to figure out how to deal with a Priceline reservation. I showed him my cell phone confirmation information which he then wrote down. From the outside, it looked like the hundreds of older motels in the US that are not corporate and which almost never are updated.  I got two heavy actual metal keys. The room had windows that opened, glass glasses, comfortable new bedding and a restaurant downstairs.

My camping plans / intentions so far haven't happened. I'm still hoping though....

Beautiful British Columbia on the license plates is not hyperbole.

McBride, BC