Cross Canada Trip Day 9

Day 9: Calgary to Revelstoke

8:47 am - After a 4 night stint in the Calgary/Edmonton area, we are once again enjoying the sights of TransCanada Hwy West to BC. Haley & Brock were excellent hosts. We enjoyed dinner at another of Calgary's not-so-finest establishments, but the drinks and conversation made the evening. After my minor (ok, maybe not-so-minor) freak out about the state of the inside of the Loon, we gassed up and filled our tummies with Timmy's (never did find a decent one in Alberta) - we are on our way to Canmore.

Haley and Cam in Calgary.

11:41 am - Whew! We just finished a small hike on the Grassi Lakes trail in Canmore. We took the easy route since we're still not in great shape and should probably buy some hiking shoes before we attack anything too difficult. It rained on us a little bit but the scenery was pretty spectacular. The lakes have some really vivid blues from violet to turquoise. Even the algae was a really bright green. Now we just have to figure out what to do for lunch.

The green of the Grassi Lakes.

12:54 pm - We made the right call for lunch. The Grizzly Paw Brewery was excellent, especially the fries. Now we are back on our old friend Hwy 1 heading to Banff.

1:23 pm - Driving this stretch of the highway is pretty awesome. Canada kicks ass.

2:56 pm - I still feel a little woozy from our last stop: The Banff Hot Springs. It's a giant hot tub with the mountains as a backdrop. The water is actually cooled before it gets to the pool because the springs are too hot. A compatriot from Ontario was unimpressed, but really, what do people from Brampton know about having a good time. Brenda and I enjoyed ourselves, next stop Lake Louise.

Banff.

4:13 pm - Nothing like a whirlwind tour through Banff. We just detoured to Lake Louise - and she sure is beautiful. Gorgeous turquoise shimmering water surrounded by snow topped mountains. It was amazing. Now we are back in the Loon and off in search of accommodations for this evening.

Mount Victoria and Lake Louise.

'When I own all this land . . . '

5:58 pm - Driving down the mountains in BC can be harrowing. Brenda enjoyed the scenery (which included a mountain goat) and I will look forward to seeing the pictures. There is construction everywhere and we saw one crazy new bridge that I can't even begin to guess at how high it was. We stopped in Golden to switch drivers and I rewarded myself with some ice cream. Brenda could not eat her sub outside because there was a bear alert. Welcome to BC.

'Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!'

'The Best Place on Earth' - We shall see.

6:01 pm - (PDT now!) Brenda is a much calmer driver than I and she is smoothly making her way through Glacier National Park. It feels like we have been going downhill forever.