It’s been since mid August that I’ve last updated our ‘Brown About’ blog.  And there is a good reason – me and ‘shoulds’ have been fighting a lot recently.  When feeling like I’m doing something because I ‘should’, I resist, think about it and then think about it some more.  Long/short, the last several weeks, updating the blog felt like a ‘should’ and now it feels like a ‘want to’.   So I hope to be posting a couple of updates today.  The title will describe the area we are traveling (I hope!) and the next few updates should catch up to where we are currently traveling.

Oh, Canada – Banff and Waterton Provincial Parks    Mid to End of August

We had just arrive in Banff, Canada in the last update.  Banff is my favorite spot of all places visited on our RV travels so far.  The incredible mountains; Lake Louise;  the Icefields Parkway, with more than 40 glaciers and countless mountains between Banff and Jasper;  walking on a glacier, with more than 250′ of ice below us;  being introduced to the importance of carrying bear spray while hiking; hiking the continental divide on the top of mountains;   the welcoming and international feel of the town itself…..

Two favorite hikes:  1.  One  was up Mount Sulphur, just outside Banff.  We could have taken the tram up and back, but decided we’d hike up and tram down.  Up 5.5 KM, with many switchbacks.   Painfully learned the importance of taking a break to snack on a rigorous hike – we were both drained by the time we reached the top.    Large visitor center on top, along with an observation tower another 1.5 KM away.  Breath-taking views of Banff from on top.    45 minute wait for the tram back down and shared to ride back with a grandfather/granddaughter from Alberta area.  Fun to hear their perspective on the area, weather…..  Starved by the time we got back to the RV!   2.  Mt. Sunshine – a large ski area outside Banff.  We took the bus up 6+KM and then hiked around the summit, walking  over the continental divide, the point where water flows either West to the Pacific or East to the Atlanta.  Also crossed into British Columbia from Alberta on hike.   Many trails around meadows and lakes, hiking approximately 5KM.  Shirt-sleeve weather!

We love Banff so much, we plan to re-visit it again around the June 2016 timeframe.  Maybe with family guests??

Waterton Lakes Park, the Canadian side of Glacier national park and a couple of hours south of Banff.   Incredible mountains, many lakes, but sadly, it was filled with smoke from the many fires burning in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, etc….  Many great hikes, with the most memorable to Forum Lake, a 5+ mile hike up to a sub-alpine lake surrounded on three sides by a rock wall.   And two very scenic parkways in the Park:  Akamina, which ends 16 KM at Cameron Lake and Red Rock, a beautiful 15 KM road.  Many hikes off both parkways.   And we visited the Bison Paddock just about every day to drive among the bison….