On Saturday morning July 26 we moved on to Banff http://www.canadianrockies.net/banff/
where we had a fine site with water and electricity hookups and spotless
restrooms across the road. We were
comfortably in place before noon, which left the rest of the day to explore the
town and run to neighboring Canmore http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canmore,_Alberta where we have been told the prices were
better, for shopping. The latter may be more fiction than fact, if one were to
listen to a Canmore born and raised journalist who published an article in the
local newspaper, lamenting how the cost of living, including housing, has
driven him and his family to Calgary.
Banff is an interesting town
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banff,_Alberta
. Long known to us for its summer music and other cultural programs http://www.banffcentre.ca/events/listings/by-category/banff-summer-arts-festival/
, there wasn’t any music presentation scheduled which interested us that
weekend. But we did drive by the facilities to sense the atmosphere, which were
reminiscent of something similar in Breckenridge, Colorado, http://www.breckenridgemusicfestival.com/
and https://www.google.com/search?q=breckenridge+downtown&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=crDjU7qzDIagigLnlIGgDg&ved=0CBwQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=622 where Willem and Susan once visited Herine
in performance. But the downtown
compares favorably with the best in touristy glitz, including Whistler, BC https://www.google.com/search?q=banff+downtown&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=Bq_jU-7DB6aJjAK8s4CwDA&ved=0CBwQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=622
After returning from church in Banff on Sunday morning, we
took it easy before working on a late afternoon dinner to which we’ve invited
Chalhoon and Hayan Chang and their three lovely kids from Calgary. They’ve moved
there from State College, where Willem and Susan knew them and were happy to
run into them in Seattle two weeks before. We had a great afternoon made the
more enjoyable by the congenial interaction between the kids, ranging in age
from 3 to 9!
The next morning we were off to Red Deer, Alberta, bypassing
Calgary by taking Route 1A from
Canmore, following the back Route 22
north and Route 587 east to Bowden through charming agriculture country, with
the Rockies receding to the west. Pausing at the tiny village of Sundre for a
snack, we were impressed by the efforts of the local information center to
promote the area’s virtues https://www.google.com/search?q=sundre+alberta&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=tbnjU6egA6TEigKQy4DQDg&ved=0CDQQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=622
. It is probably a summer job for the young man at the center, whose activities
includes upkeep of the (yes this is Canada!) charming flower garden, where he
was weeding while waiting for the odd tourist to show up. Most helpfully, he
pointed us down a town road to simplify getting on track with the rig again.
Ultimately we were on Route 2 where the extensive Canola fields were in various
stages of blooming – rather late this year but already beautiful with promise
of turning spectacular. Thirty minutes
later our setup stretched across virtually the full width of Sias and Annemarie
Grobler’s street front in the close where their lovely home is located.
We arrived a little early but minutes later Annemarie got
home and suggested we haul the RV to the back via an alley and try to back it
into the yard through a spacious gate. It was a very tight maneuver, though
with the trailer on loose gravel and not moving well at all. When Sias got home
from work we were in the process of trying to get it out into the alley to
return to the front of the house. It was then that a tiny message was noticed
on the dash of the truck -- the trailer brakes need servicing. By the time we were in place in front of the
house again and were uncoupling the trailer, the cause of the difficulties
became clear. Somehow the safety coupling between the truck and the trailer got
detached, locking up the trailer brakes! But there we were, and with the truck
uncoupled and parked to the side, the trailer did not present a significant
obstacle and the neighbors were pleasantly tolerant of the matter. Such was the
start of a definite highpoint of the entire trip: 6 days in a house again with
room to spare and kitchen facilities that invited the best to come forward ;
not to mention laundry opportunities!
We have been friends with the Grobler’s for many years –
since before they emigrated from South Africa to Canada. In a sense they were
instrumental to what we were now doing, having subsequently once showed up in
State College with their family and a RV trailer en tow and staying with Willem
and Susan together with other friends from South Africa. At that time their RV was similarly parked
along the curb; the only difference was obtaining permission for doing so from
the Borough Office. Canadians are more relaxed about such matters, it seemed.
That was our introduction to oversized American RV’s and the seed was in place
for our further exploration a decade and a half later. Sias, a physician, Annemarie,
a pharmacist, son Siam, a business man and daughter, Anerieke, working on a PhD
in cell biology in Edmonton have received Willem with great hospitality in Red
Deer in 2008 when he attended Anerieke’s wedding to Drikkie, also from South
Africa. We’ve been looking forward to
seeing them again in their home town.
Red Deer is a lovely city amidst thriving agriculture and
reflecting the economic prosperity of Alberta http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Deer,_Alberta
and https://www.google.com/search?q=red+deer+alberta&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=c8foU532NtLyoATE34GYBg&ved=0CDgQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=622
. It was the first sizable city we found
ourselves in for longer than two days since New Brighton, California, 7 weeks
ago. Since then we’ve incurred some damage when Willem sacrificed the UHF/VHF antenna
to an overhanging tree branch, and could find a replacement here which kept him
busy for a while to install. We could also replace the original battery of the
rig, which let us down at Killbear, Ontario, a year ago. Ever since, the added
battery kept us going without real reserve capacity, which the newly acquired
matching unit now provides. The 5th
wheel was desperately in need of a scrub down, which took the better part of a
day to get done, while dodging the real hot climate Alberta experienced. We
also braved the climate to visit the wildlife park outside of Red Deer, where
animals are trained http://discoverywildlifepark.com/index-4.html .
Massif Kodiak and Grizzly bears which have found roles in various movie pictures
were particularly impressive.
But it was the jovial reception we received from the
Grobler’s , their friends and family that made an indelible impression. Drikkie
and Anerieke as well as Siam and his fiancé, Kayleigh joined us all for exceptional bar-b-cue’s and
dinners together with other south
African friends and we once went for the same to Drikkie’s parents who just
about completed building their new home way out in the countryside, from where
the Rockies are visible on a clear day – beautiful! It was great to see the young people pursue
challenging interests, for instance Drikkie and Anerieke show their boxer dogs
and commuted between Edmonton and Calgary on various occasions; the family also
attended a 50th wedding anniversary party of friends in 1960’s style
in Calgary, affording us the time to catch up on our own things. But it was
really comforting to us that these friends have settled in so happily in
Canada. The extended Red Deer district
has some 100 physicians of South African origin and a great many of those are
in touch with one another.
We were off to Edmonton for a day of sightseeing, including
the famous massive mall, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonton and https://www.google.com/search?q=edmonton&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=ZsjoU_nkBM7_oQTYp4CYBg&ved=0CDoQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=622 . In short, our six days in Red Deer were
action packed and during this last scheduled long break also gave us time to
regroup for the final stretch of our trip. So, before we knew it, it was time
to get on the road again, heading south via Calgary http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgary , https://www.google.com/search?q=calgary&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=BMjoU9vFDo_-oQTpxYC4Bg&ved=0CFUQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=622 to Glacier National Park.
‘Alberta's economy is
one of the strongest in Canada, supported by the burgeoning petroleum industry
and to a lesser extent, agriculture and technology. The per capita GDP in 2007
was by far the highest of any province in Canada at C$74,825. This was 61% higher than the national average of C$46,441 and more than twice that of some of the Atlantic provinces. In
2006 the deviation from the national average was the largest for any province
in Canadian
history.[60] According
to the 2006 census,[61]
the median annual family income after taxes was $70,986 in Alberta (compared to
$60,270 in Canada as a whole’ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberta . It
is tempting to think that the same could be the case for the USA if the fossil
fuel industry could again take its rightful place in the country together with ingenuity
to deal with less desirable consequences as Albertans do.
We have thought of
overnighting north of the US border but realized too late that we were in the
midst of a Canadian public holiday long weekend, reducing our chances of
finding a camp site and decided to push through to St Mary, Montana, http://www.johnsonsofstmary.com/services/campground/campground.htm in the USA. Our progress was encumbered at the
border crossing when the Fick’s were informed that their interpretation of
their ten-year multiple entry visas were inconsistent with the official view.
They were granted a one-year stay upon entry in Philadelphia in July 2013 and
dutifully exited into Canada a year later. We were now re-entering the USA but
they were informed they were supposed to have returned to South Africa before
they could re-enter; they could not do so from Canada! An extensive review of
our travel schedule and their return flight tickets from JFK scheduled for
October 8, 2014 by a pretty stern but courteous officer, plus payment of $12
resulted in the official’s discretionary powers to kick in with a reprimand and
they were granted an extension to October 8! We found a spot for one night at
St Mary and were on our way to West Glacier, MT the next morning.
Two miscalculations affected
our course from St Mary. The first came to Willem’s attention some 3 years ago
when Joe Andreozzi told him in State
College that the direct road from St Marys to West Glacier would not permit his
truck with trailer attached; hence, rerouting via Routes 89 and 2. The trip was
scenic indeed, as expected from map indications. A lady with the Montana
Tourist Information Service suggested we also not attempt to get to our
reserved campsite in a Forestry Service campground north of West Glacier due to
road conditions. We thus found a lovely spot at San-Suz-Ed (www.sansuzedrvpark.com/
) from where we could explore the glacier park
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacier_National_Park_%28U.S.%29 and we entered the Park from the west at
Apgar and enjoyed the scenic drive along Lake McDonald to the Lodge. By then we
had realized that switching to the shuttle would be the better thing to do and
wandered over to the shuttle stop, where we were soon joined by many other
commuters. One of which was a gentleman who just returned from the next stop at
Avalanche Creek where he could not find parking in the cluttered parking lot
and decided to backtrack and do what we were doing. Not having to concentrate
on driving the immensely challenging course leading through Logan Pass http://home.nps.gov/applications/glac/roadstatus/roadstatus.cfm
afforded Willem to also have a pleasant day,observing the spectacular sights presented:
.
The entire Go-To-The-Sun road is 50 miles from Apgar to St
Mary, with 18 miles from the Logan Pass Transfer Stop to St Mary. Passengers
transfer from smaller vehicles to larger for the stretch to St Mary, which is a
less challenging route. Willem and Susan decided to make the switch, while
Fickie and Stella opted for hiking adventures around the Transfer Stop. We
would meet at Lake McDonald in the late afternoon. Things went according to
plan and back at camp, we had plenty of great memories while Fickie and Stella
gathered megabytes of pictures to share, below.
An excursion to the adjacent village of Coram afforded
driving by the Hungry Horse Reservoir https://www.google.com/search?q=Hungry+Horse+Reservoir&client=firefox-a&hs=YEU&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=np&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=D4AEVIGZBsu1ggTOtIJA&ved=0CCYQsAQ&biw=1358&bih=614 , which, like many other similar structures
throughout our trip, intrigued Fickie from a South African Water Affairs point
of view -- a job he had during the later part of his career. We could also get gas for the short trip the
next day and a shot at a first come first serve site at West Shore State Park,
MT, on Flathead Lake.
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