We arrived yesterday in Banff, Canada, which is located in the province of Alberta and a tad east of the continental divide. Our campground, Tunnel Mountain (Village II), is surrounded by towering mountains and located a couple of kilometers above the town of Banff, a European-feeling village, bustling right now from all of us summer visitors. (Although, with all of the ski slopes in the area, maybe this isn’t peak visitor season??) Our trip to Banff was from Spokane, WA, with a one night stay over in Cranbrook, British Columbia. Kootenay National Park was our entry way to Banff National Park and the entrance was spectacular – we had to drive through a thin opening between a wall of rocks, truly checking for outcrops to be sure we wouldn’t hit any!
And by the way, it’s 39 degrees right now at 830 a.m. A whole lot different than the 100 degrees we were seeing in Spokane, WA, just two days ago! As much as I love the cooler weather, think my body is saying ‘WTH’!
So to digress a bit….and reflect on the last two-three weeks…… Oregon and Utah are competing for my most favorite places so far on this trip…. And I think Oregon may have inched ahead…. The wild Oregon shoreline, with mountains dropping into the beaches, with sand dunes higher than 10 story buildings; Crater Lake, rimmed by mountain remnants and filled with incredible blue and pristine water; the mountains in central Oregon, the crazy Columbia River that borders WA where white caps crash over tops of boats and wind surfers abound; the Blue Mountains or ‘Swiss Alps of Oregon’ in the southeast; Hell’s Canyon, where there are over 100 twists and switchbacks on a 10 mile road stretch. One more – Oregon gas stations are required to pump gas for you! Yep…Oregon has my heart.
Our travels since Florence, Oregon:
– Crater Lake – hard to describe the blue color of the lake; unlike any other blue water color I’ve ever seen before. With no streams entering or leaving lake, the water is pristine; and unlike other lakes formed from volcanic eruption, there are little remnant gases which can cloud the water. And the few fish types in the lake (salmon, trout and crayfish) were introduced by man, with the salmon and trout having morphed into their own species. The ride around the rim is beautiful and provides many views of the lake and two islands. We hiked a trail with many switchbacks to one of the highest points on the rim…. Some of the drop-offs sure caught my breath!
– Bend/Sisters area is located in central Oregon and is surrounded by several mountain peaks that tower more than 10,000 feet – the three sisters, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Washington. We drove the Mckenzie Pass, which is open only during the summer, and visited the lava fields and observatory, all of which are around 5200 feet in elevation. The temperatures were in the low 100’s most of time here. To keep cool, we drove to Mt. Hood, a bit north of where we were staying, and hiked the east side for 2 1/2 hours in the woods to a beautiful 40′ wide falls with a 100′ drop that sprayed us and other hikers with cool water.
– A memorable overnight stay along the confluence of the Columbia and the John Day River, on our way to the Wallowas, part of the Blue Mountains in eastern Oregon. Our site at LePage Park was right along the John Day River, with the Columbia River right around the corner. Here we met Sheriff James, who was pulling in his boat from checking the waterways, and who surprised us with an offer to take us out for a boat ride on the Columbia. What a ride – we were hit with 25+ knot winds and white cap swells. Going into the wind, James opened up the engine and we flew. After 10 minutes or so, he turned the boat around and let us know the downwind ride home would be rougher… And he was right! The boat lifted out of the water and then slammed down repeatedly. I’m holding onto the bar and bracing myself best I could and turned around to see Steve with an incredible smile and taking pictures with his one free hand.
– Wallowa State Park in the Blue Mountains. Our drive here was through much smoke-filled air. Two large fires in the area, one we saw off in the distance. The campground is surrounded by sky reaching mountains on three sides. We took a tram up 4,000 feet to the top of Mt. Howard. This area is considered the ‘Swiss Alps’ of Oregon. We hiked for 2 hours on the top of the mountain. At nearly 9,000 feet, we were sure feeling the upward parts of the hike. Snow was on a couple of the mountain peaks to the west. While on top, we were able to do an interpretive hike with a ranger, who pointed out plants unique to this area, talked about the history of the area, the weather norms…. This area only received 25% of its normal snowfall during this past winter.
– Our ride from Wallowa area to Lewiston, Idaho gave me pause much of the way. We talked with our reliable trucker adviser, Jason, as well as the local ranger and some locals about the best way to Lewiston. All thought we wouldn’t have a problem going through Hell’s Gate as long as we took it slow. Didn’t inspire confidence! Over one ten mile stretch of this road there were 100 curvy turns and switchbacks, with another ten miles only having 90 of these. At points on the road, you could see cars traveling above or below us a couple of thousand feet… Steve did a great job!!
– Lewiston, Idaho – first time in Idaho! The campground was on the Snake River and the water was incredibly warm – warm enough to go in and get wet.
– Spokane, WA – so much to say about our visit here. So great to see my sister, Geri, her husband, Mike, and families of Jason and Janelle. We stayed with Geri and Mike at their house, parking the RV on the street in front of their house. Many RV and personal chores accomplished here and Geri and Mike were so helpful, besides making us feel so welcomed. We were going to find place to wash the very dirty RV but Mike convinced us we could do it at their house. Two hours later and with almost closing down the street, we did! Four very tired and wet people! So many fun activities – kayaking the Little Spokane River, hiking the foothills around Spokane, hiking around Coeur d’Alene, making/eating great dinners, having coffee every morning, playing corn hole, ladder ball and way too much Mexican Train (especially since I came in last most of the time!). It was so hard to leave….. We left behind one item (camera charger) and Mike surprised us by showing up at the truck stop in Post Falls, with the charger in hand…. Definitely left a piece of my heart in Spokane.
And here we are in beautiful, breathe-taking Banff…… More to come…
One last comment….. How forest fires are part of the lives of those living in CA, OR, WA and western Canada. It is so much drier here than the east. It doesn’t take much, a spark from a lawn mower, a flick of a cigarette, lightning, to cause great damage. We have seen and felt the smoke. Scary and something I never really thought much about before this trip.
New pictures to be posted shortly….