Holiday Inn Exp Stes Hinton

... trout stocked lakes but Bogie couldn’t catch any using corn and marsh-mellows. On the down side, we left after two days due to logging noises at night (one could also see the clear-cuts) and the influx of RV campers on our second night.
Ended up at Rock Lake which is thirty kilometres off the beaten path and paradise as we selected a walk-in tent site overlooking the lake. The lake is deep, really cold, surrounded by mountains and ...

... worst part was that when the girls went to check out the bathroom, we found that there was no running water. Meaning outhouses and a bottle of Purel at the door. Eeeeeeuuuuuwwww! The showers on the other group of sites were also not working because the park was having trouble with their water system. Needless to say, we were unhappy women! Went to bed after a bit of camp fire.

Spent the night here so that we would drive thru Jasper and Banff National Parks in the day. Sun was out and the vistas were once again spectacular. Took a hike up to the icefields in Jasper and stopped in Banff for a coffee break. Will have to return to go skiing sometime......

... and a large group of Elk down on a river, we still get a thrill to see them all, as we continue our journey Attempting to book ahead is also becoming a challenge as well, the communication system continues to give us some interesting times. The added challenge is with the summer holidays happening and the popularity of the National parks is adding to the fun we are enjoying, never fear we will certainly find places to accommodate our Castle as we continue our travels.

... so we could have lunch with a view of the glacier - priceless viewing. After lunch we went on with the drive. After another hour we did stop again at the Athabasca Falls. Yes, another waterfall - I can't seem to get enough of these things. Being snowmelt, the waterfall was pretty full. This time, it fell in a canyon where it pooled around so much it created sinks. We spent about an hour here with the dogs walking along on the trails and view-points. Now ...

... jasper started as a HBC trading post). the animal of most note that we saw was a grouse, which i had never seen before and i thought it was pretty cool. on thursday we rented a car and headed to the icefields. it was cool having a car. it made more stuff accessible to us, but at the same time we felt much more lazy, being able to just drive up to sites, take a picture, then take off. since it's still early in the season, the ...

... Drove to Jasper...which was minging...in case you are thinking of going there...couldn't even find a decent shop! (Go to Banff its way better!) Decided to head onwards as no where to stay in Jasper...and on leaving we saw bear number 3. Now its easy to find bears in this part of the world...just look for all the cars at the side of the road and the people looking very confused! We stopped and spotted the huge bear in the trees straight away...its easy ...

... as happy being on slippery surfaces as I am driving down the purley way on a Saturday when it's windy this was going to be a challenge. But with crampons on we made our way up. It was spectacular and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Turns out the guide was from NZ and guided the glacier near the one I did for three years! Finished the day off with another nice home cooked meal on the BBQ Day three: More sports you say, yes, white water rafting on a level 3 river (the Suniwapta ...

... by the manager with eviction. We picked up our car downtown after a taxi-ride - we got ourselves a Pontiac GM whatever that is but we like it lots! It's automatic, with a CD player, aircon, cruise control and even a spoiler with total insurance cover. On our journey north through the mountains we stopped off at Shannon Falls - an incredibly high-up waterfall spilling down way above the tree-line. Onwards towards Whistler and we were there just after 1 o'clock ...

... to the toe of the glacier which is a very short but steep walk. I then drove a little ways down the highway to hike up to Wilcox Pass. This route takes you above the treeline very quickly and gives you a grand view of the Athabasca and Snow Dome Glaciers. The hike to the top of the pass is only 4.5 km and I suggest going off-trail to the top of a ridge at the base of Mt. Wilcox. The view here is panoramic. At the top of the trail a herd of ...