More pictures from the Canadian Rockies.

                                                Knee deep snow on June 9 at Bow Pass in Jasper NP.

Lake Louise, Banff National Park

Rain and snow in the Canadian Rockies.

We had a 5 day visit to the Canadian Rockies; we would have stayed longer except the wet weather kept us moving.  The day we drove through Kootenay National Park to Lake Louise was cloudy but mostly dry.  Teddy was a big attraction at Lake Louise, many of the foreign tourists took pictures of the dog with shoes.  Barb wasn’t sure that swimming in 40 degree rain was a good idea.  But we both enjoyed the hot springs at Radium Hot Springs and at Banff Hot Springs in the cold rain.  Today, June 10 we are camping at Grande Cache, Alberta and may reach the start of the Alaska Highway tomorrow.  Following are a couple of pictures from the Canadian Rockies.  I'm using a slow Wi-Fi connection.  I'll try to send a couple of more pictures later. 

Bighorn sheep, Banff NP

Moraine Lake, Banff NP

For dog lovers.

Our dog Teddy is a good tourist.  Yesterday he was tired of traveling so he used his nose to push the spot on the GPS that tells you how many miles and hours you have left to travel.  He did this a couple of times and then he stared at the GPS screen as if to say “Are we there yet?”  Teddy especially likes watching for animals.  He is a good dog and doesn’t bark at them.  He waits for his shoes to be put on when he goes for a walk and he is very patient waiting for his “parents” to understand what he wants.  In Canadian National Parks we can take Teddy with us for walks on trails.  Following are a few pictures. 

Bob & Teddy watching Bison in Grand Teton National Park.

After a hard day watching wildlife. 

Teddy boating on Lake Powell, Arizona.

Teddy & San Juan River at Goosenecks State Park, Utah.

Bob & Teddy at Ortona Lock Campground, Florida.

Over the border

Today is the 149^th day of our vacation.  We’ve driven over 10,800 miles and are about at the mid-point of our trip.  Tonight we are in a private campground in Canal Flats BC with Wi-Fi (yea).  We spent 1 1/2 days in Waterton Lakes NP which was beautiful.  At Waterton we saw 4 black bears, 8 mountain sheep, 3 moose, and lots of other wildlife.  Every place we go (almost) we hate to leave.  Following are 6 pictures from Waterton Lakes NP.  In Canada we’re learning to think metric.  Gas in British Columbia is about $5 per gallon (and we’re not in a remote area yet).  Tomorrow we drive to Radium Hot Springs and Kootenay National Park.  Not sure if we’ll go swimming in the hot springs since it may be raining. 

You Can take it all with you!

Mama black bear (2 cubs nearby).

Two are better than one (Harlequin duck).

Rocky mountain sheep posing in Waterton townsite.

Columbian ground squirrel heaven (Waterton campground). 

Barb near ice covered Cameron Lake (on June 3).

We had a wonderful time in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks.  However, the weather was mostly cloudy with intermittent snow, rain, and sleet for about a week.  The snow added an extra dimension of beauty to the scenery and some roads were closed due to snow.  On the day we drove to Yellowstone the road we wanted to take opened 1 hour before we entered the park and was closed the next day.  On our last day in the park we drove the road past Mt Washburn on the first day of the year it was open.  Following are a few of the many pictures we took in Yellowstone.  After 6 nights at Madison Campground in Yellowstone (where we didn’t have internet or cell phone service) we drove to Helena, Montana for some shopping and traveled on to Glacier National Park.  The weather is warmer here due to the lower elevation but it’s mostly cloudy with showers.  The road to Logan Pass is closed due to snow.  Tomorrow we drive to Canada to Waterton Lake to start our tour of the Canadian Rockies.    

Lewis Lake in Yellowstone NP 5-24-12

Elk near hot springs

Old Faithful Geyser

Bison

Hot Spring

Lower Yellowstone Falls

With help from above we find space for our rig.

Driving a RV rig with a combined vehicle length of 53 feet presents challenges.  A shorter rig would be
easier to park.  However, we wouldn’t want our trailer to be any shorter inside.  It’s a good size to find
a spot for all the stuff we have and we’re learning which stuff we probably don’t need.  For this blog
I’ll give a few examples of finding a spot.  Near Moab, Utah we took the last pull through campsite in
Arch View (private) campground on Friday afternoon.  We usually camp in public campgrounds (CG)
which typically have shorter sites than private CG’s.  But since a senior pass benefit is 50% off federal
campground fees the cost at federal campgrounds is typically 5 to $11 per night.  Also, the public CG
are in the parks where we want to camp.  The road to Colorado National Monument CG climbs a 1000
foot cliff with switchbacks, sheer drop-offs at the road edge with no guard rails and 2 curved tunnels
with a vertical clearance of 10 ft 6 inches.  Our trailer has a maximum height of 9 feet 9 inches. 
Thankfully, it was only 4 miles to the campground and we were very pleased to find a suitable site there. 
We drove an additional 23 miles on the rim drive (without the trailer) which has cliffs near the road edge
and no guard rails and was built by the CCC.  So far we have made reservations at only 1 CG
(in Zion NP) and have always found a suitable campsite.  We’re on day 134 of our trip.  We're at Grand
Teton National Park.  Yesterday there wasn’t parking for our rig in Albertsons grocery store lot in Jackson
Hole (Wy) but since it was Sunday we parked in front of a closed medical clinic.  Attached a few pictures.

Colorado National Monument

Colorado National Monument

Bob & bone at Dinosaur National Monument

Flaming Gorge Reservoir, Sheep Creek Bay

Heading north of Southwestern States

Since the last post we’ve visited Goblin Valley (Utah) State Park, Capital Reef NP, Arches NP, Canyonlands NP,
Colorado National Monument, and Dinosaur National Monument. 
We’d love to stay longer at every place we visit.  But we have many more beautiful places to visit. 
This is our 131^st day and today we’re going to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area (2 days) and then on to

Grand Teton NP (2 days) and Yellowstone NP(3 days +?).   

Every day is an adventure to new places.  We’re taking lots and lots of pictures.  Attached a few pictures. 

Goblin Valley State Park, Utah

Prickley Pear Cactus

Landscape Arch (306' long) Arches NP

Delicate Arch, Arches National Park

Monument Valley, Colorado National Monument