Having gone to bed after 2:00 am in Whistler, BC, the going was somewhat slow that morning but the others kicked in and we aimed for a first come first serve site at Marble Canyon Provincial Park, BC on Route 99 http://www.britishcolumbia.com/parks/?id=243 . The stretch from Whistler to Pemberton resembled the approach to Whistler two days before. However, the route from Pemberton via Lillooet to Marble Canyon Provincial Park wasn’t much scenic and made for challenging driving. But the fellow assisting us at the gas station in Lillooet suggested the worst was behind us and advised us to drive toward the end of the self registering drive-through campground for a larger site. Marble Canyon is approximately in the middle of a quite dry stretch of land void of trees and resembles an oasis after having negotiated a very uneven winding road with sharp, up to 15% rises and declines and accompanying hair pin bends. The 110 miles took a long, long time to complete but we were happy for what we had in the driest of dry campground, where we didn’t even unhook the RV but ran the generator for battery charging and preparing dinner. It is actually a pretty place, albeit marginally developed and the adjacent lake between the cliffs a scenic plus. Our recorded music collection on the i-pad hooked up to the RV hi-fi system rendered good dinner accompaniment but without Wi-Fi, cell phone or TV we were in bed by 9:00 pm, when the sun had disappeared behind the high cliffs but darkness didn’t follow for much longer. How much longer Willem could not tell; he was sound asleep before 9:10!
We were astonished to find it was almost 8 when we began to stir and slowly got through preparing breakfast and readied for departure by 10:15. The going was easier than the previous day but the scenery not inspiring at all, although we saw hay production due to irrigation on a vast scale, with little evidence of anything local to consume it. By the time Route 99 had led us via Route 97 to Route 1, we were much impressed by the Thompson River and from Savona https://www.google.ca/search?q=savona+bc&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=M67OU-2WLNivyASskYCIDA&sqi=2&ved=0CC0QsAQ&biw=1366&bih=622 by a spectacular lake for the better part of 30 miles. This brought us to Kamloops https://www.google.ca/search?q=kamloops&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=x67OU_KqAsuYyASF3oKADw&ved=0CEUQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=622 where we stopped at the Visitor Information Center. Not only did we zero in on the Wi-Fi access rendered over there, which even enabled Skyping to satisfy a variety of international desires, but the personnel were so helpful in even making phone calls for us to campgrounds further ahead and directed us to Walmart, where we could greedily top up our supplies. The last hundred miles along Route 5 to Thompson Provincial Park tracked North Thompson River, a beautiful accompanying sight with impressive agriculture to boot.
Our camp site in this lovely park http://www.britishcolumbia.com/parks/?id=253 was really adequate for our needs. Although dry camping was called for, we could at least fill the RV’s water tank prior to backing into our site and needn’t level the rig so we didn’t have to uncouple the truck and would once again be ready to depart with less hassle the next morning. Before dinner we could hike around and especially observe the river from close by; an impressive broad quick moving body of clear water which not only facilitates agriculture on a large scale but undoubtedly gives rise to great fishing stories for many miles up and down the flow.
We were aiming for a camp in Mt Robson Provincial Park, where first come first serve sites would be available after we failed to secure one by reservation. The trip along Route 5, the Yellowhead South Highway, was really scenic as it continued to track the North Thompson River. We enjoyed lunch sandwiches at a pull off site about halfway through where others had the same idea and a fellow wandered over to us. They had spotted us at a previous campground and meant to ask about where in Pennsylvania we were from. They’ve moved from Williamsport to Emerald Isle in North Carolina after they retired and were traveling with full timer RV’ing friends independently in their own motor home.
Not having had Wi-Fi access we couldn’t refine the coordinates of our next destination and relied on spotting a road sign, which was a mistake; we missed it and were cruising along Route 16 east when it became clear something was wrong. By the time we could turn off, we were 30 kilometers past and decided to carry on to Jasper, where we had a reservation for the next two nights at Whistlers Campground https://www.google.ca/search?q=whistlers+campground&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=vrDOU_ODM4yYyAS7m4KYAQ&ved=0CCcQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=622 . We obtained a site for the night but would have to move to the reserved one the next day. By the time we’ve decided to carry on to Jasper, Willem was already watching the fuel gage, which he did more anxiously from then onward. We had a couple of gallons in reserve for the generator but running out when a pull-off was nowhere in sight on the narrowly shouldered highway could be a bad experience traffic-wise. Compounding such awareness was a bear cub crossing the road with no other bears around. Our luck held and the moment we had backed into our campsite, the gas ran out, before the engine could be turned off! The campsite was dry and fortunately we had enough fuel to run the generator for preparing dinner and could use the reserve to get the truck going for moving the next morning and getting to town https://www.google.ca/search?q=Jasper&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=N7DOU7_MKse1yAT50YLIDg&ved=0CFQQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=622 .
So there we were in Alberta, having left British Columbia (BC) behind and learning from neighboring Albertans the real meaning of it – Bring Cash! That had Willem feel less subjective about his pecuniary related remarks of the last week. However, it seemed to us Alberta wasn’t much different and from a cost point of view, Western Canada would echo our experience of Eastern Canada. Canadians are fully aware of it and we heard from many how those close to the US border would regularly cross over to buy groceries, gasoline and do other shopping.
The scenery at Jasper is truly captivating and even the approach along Route 16 from the west instilled respect for the majestic embracing mountains. This sensation was repeated during a ride to Maligne Lake https://www.google.ca/search?q=maligne+lake&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=6IXRU5X6MMqAiwKD1YCwAg&sqi=2&ved=0CDcQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=622 . Although we did not take advantage of publicized hiking opportunities, not being encumbered by the trailer, we could pause to observe the scenery frequently and to follow the odd detour, such as to the Alberta Gorge https://www.google.ca/search?q=jasper+alberta+gorge&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=EYXRU5acBunpiwK4qICgCg&ved=0CGAQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=622 . This was an impressive sight and close up demonstration of the power of water. The next day was devoted to housekeeping, such as doing laundry and addressing blog related matters in addition to hiking around the vast campground area of Whistlers. Fickie was overcome by an urge for a campfire, so we took advantage of wood left behind and gathered a few more pieces to satisfy his enthusiasm to the enjoyment of us all. We also had our first exposure to elk wandering through the campground like deer in other places http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elk . And like deer bucks, elk bulls are rather evasive. It wasn’t until a week later when we were on our way out of Banff that we saw two young bulls.
We thought of overnighting at the Columbia Ice Field http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Icefield on our way south from Jasper. However there wasn’t much offered for RV’s, so after a brief stop to scan the scenery without taking a guided tour https://www.google.ca/search?q=columbia+icefields&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=U2LaU4a2DsXgoATW_IKABQ&ved=0CFAQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=622 we continued to Lake Louise, where we actually had a reserved site for the following two days. But the campground was full and we were directed to an overflow area some 4 miles south; a vast asphalt pad with a similar sized 100X50 yards gravel spread and no services, although we had tanked up on water at the filled to capacity campground. This resembled Walmark camping, albeit rather deserted. Or so we thought until more RV’s showed up and throughout the night the odd humongous semi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-trailer_truck ) pulled in for a rest stop. We did return to Lake Louise in the afternoon, though, looking for phone and Wi-Fi opportunities and also to explore the lay of the land with a view of hitting the sightseeing spots once we were in our real campsite. Phone and Wi-Fi were both terrible but the Visitor Center was interesting.
Moving to our reserved site the next morning went smoothly and we were admitted in the morning, way before the 2:00 pm official time. Although it was heavily overcast, Willem urged the early move so we could get to Lake Louise before the road got cluttered with traffic, as we’ve witnessed the previous afternoon. There was no traffic and as the clouds cleared, we encountered a large grizzly bear, which posed for photos right in front of us on the road, before it disappeared into the dense woods, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grizzly_bear and we continued to the spectacular setting: https://www.google.com/search?q=lake+louise+alberta&sa=N&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=YAXjU_-GJoG2iwKY2oCgDw&ved=0CDoQsAQ4Cg&biw=1366&bih=622 . It wasn’t only the mountains or woods or water that make the place so special, but especially the turquoise color of the glacial water – unforgettable. And then we were off to Moraine Lake, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moraine_Lake and https://www.google.com/search?q=Moraine+Lake+AB&sa=N&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=GQnjU5iaGca_igKg94HgCQ&ved=0CDsQsAQ4Cg&biw=1366&bih=622 where the beauty was repeated more intimately! Experiences and images like these make one realize how privileged we were to have had it all.
The next day was pretty gloomy and had we not got out there the previous day, our memories would perhaps have lacked brightness. However, we remembered the write-up of National Geographic on the Yoho and Kootenay National Parks on the western slopes of the Rockies (On Things Along the Way 1) which came to our attention in Quebec some 10 months ago and wanted to see some of it for ourselves. So, from Lake Louise we crossed the mountains to Yoho for some observations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoho_National_Park , https://www.google.com/search?q=yoho+national+park&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=BRDjU9_fKYX5igKSn4DwDw&ved=0CEUQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=622 and then back to Route 1A south of Lake Louise, crossing the mountains via Route 93 to Kootenay for a bit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kootenay_National_Park and https://www.google.com/search?q=kootenay+national+park&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=5hDjU7HZGIKdigLhjoDgDg&ved=0CDEQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=622 . And before reaching camp in Lake Louise again, we enjoyed some of the scenery along Route 1A, including Johnston Canyon, which took the last remaining bit of hiking out of us: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnston_Creek_%28Alberta%29 and https://www.google.com/search?q=johnston+canyon+ab+canada&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=mxLjU8HrBO-JiwLqj4G4CA&ved=0CFMQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=622 .
