dare2go

Alberta's Rockies to US Border


Continuation from < Page 1 < !

Tuesday, 12 September 2006, Black Diamond, AB
We woke Sunday to a cold but relatively clear morning and had high hopes for the rest of the day and the possibility of actually seeing the Rockies in all their glory! First we had to retrace our steps a few kilometres to Saskatchewan Crossing in the hope of finding our bucket and water hose, which I had inadvertently left in the parking lot on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately it had been appropriated by some needy person, so we had to let go of our attachment to it and drive on south.
Although it remained cloudy, the mountains were actually in clear view and we also saw some of the magnificent glaciers on this part of the highway. They seem so close that you feel like you could just take a brisk walk up to them, but looks can be deceiving! There are also more beautiful turquoise lakes on this section that are fed by the glaciers. It's a shame that capturing the colour on photos was not so successful because of the overcast conditions.
The Victoria Glacier feeds the famous Lake Louise and the lake is purported to be one of the most photographed spots in Canada. By the time we arrived, the sun was out and the lake looked stunning. Being a Sunday, there were many people sharing the beautiful view! Right next to the lake is the Chateau Lake Louise, and while I don't find the building all that ugly, I do find it a bit of an imposition on such a beautiful piece of nature. At least they don't prevent anyone access to the shores of the lake. We sat happily on a bench by the lake for some time, soaking up the sun. After the cold weather we have been experiencing since arriving in Canada and Alaska, we really appreciate a warm sunny day!
We left Lake Louise to drive to Banff. Trans-Canada Highway 1 joins Lake Louise to Banff, however an alternate route known as the Bow Valley Parkway covers the same distance with less traffic and more opportunities to stop and check out the scenery and perhaps even some wildlife. Towering over a portion of this route are the Castle Cliffs - these mountains are simply majestic! As well as stopping a number of times to gaze in awe at these, we stopped at Moose Meadow (for a fantastic view of Castle Mountain and the Sawback Range, but unfortunately, no moose!), Pilot Pond (which is a short walk from the road but a gorgeous colour), and Backswamp. The Parkway joins Highway 1 again a short distance from Banff and we stopped at a turnout on the highway to take in the sight of the massive Mount Rundle. This mountain dominates Banff and is visible from most places in the town.
Banff is a tourist resort all year round. Its main street, Banff Avenue, is packed with designer boutiques and sundry souvenir stores, and is crowded with people from all over the world. We had a short walk down the Avenue, looking for a coffee shop, but it is not really the kind of place we like to spend much time in. After successfully tracking down coffee and cake we set off again, this time in the direction of Calgary. Once again we chose the road less travelled - and more bumpy - Highway 1A. On the way, just before Exshaw, we came upon another herd of Bighorn sheep. Until now we had only seen herds of ewes with lambs, but this group contained some rams with really outstanding horns - we now understood where the name actually comes from, because although the ewes also have horns, they are nowhere near as impressive as rams' horns.
We spent Sunday night in The Bow Rivers Edge Campground in Cochrane, about 30 km from Calgary. It is a great campground - clean, pleasant surroundings and friendly staff. On Monday morning we drove into Calgary to the Foothills Medical Centre, which is the hospital of the University of Calgary, to enable me to have an ongoing problem checked out. Emergency departments being what they are, we arrived at 11.00am and left at 8.00 pm, with not too much to show for the day! We drove a little way south-west out of Calgary to find a campground, whose spiel said it was 'quiet'. It was late at night and even though the campground looked like a dump, despite it being almost dark, we decided to stay instead of looking for another one. At 4.30 this morning, after constant interruptions from highway noise and residents returning during the night, we were woken by continually barking dog owned by one of the other residents, who made no effort to quieten it. At 6.00 we left the campground with no guilty feelings about not having found anyone to pay for a few hours of broken sleep!
One thing we noticed about Calgary, that we have been noticing along the way in the more populated areas of Canada, is the expansion of the city into a large number of new suburbs. There seems to be a population explosion happening in this part of Canada - we're not sure if its due to migration within the country or internationally. The other thing we have seen a lot of here is signs out at almost every business to say they have job vacancies - they must have negative unemployment here! Canada is said to have the largest oil reserves in the world and I guess that is what is causing this boom - there is certainly evidence everywhere that it is happening. In Dawson Creek we heard that it is impossible to get workers in the town because they can earn twice as much about 15 minutes out of town in the oil- and gas-fields! Oil reserves that were financially unviable a few years ago are now being extracted because of the oil situation world wide.
We have already noticed on our journey the impact of oil drilling on landscapes in southern California and are concerned about the impact this quest for oil will make on the amazing Canadian wilderness.
We had a few things to take care of in Calgary, including replacing our bucket and hose, and then we headed south. We didn't really feel like exploring yet another city; the quiet and unpopulated Yukon is still lingering in our senses... We are on our way back to the USA and should arrive at Glacier NP in Montana tomorrow. The countryside is already becoming somewhat flat and almost treeless. There are acres of farmland covered in huge bales of hay. Tonight we are in the quiet little town of Black Diamond, the heart of the Cowboy Trail (yee-haa!) in the pleasant little Foothills Lions Campground. It is very peaceful outside and at 9.00 pm I am looking forward to an uninterrupted night's sleep.

Wednesday, 13 September 2006, Glacier NP, MT
It was quite a peaceful night except for being woken by a strong wind storm. Any moment I expected it to rain, but that didn't occur until later this morning. By the time we were wanting to pack up to leave the campground it was raining so heavily that we got a little wet in the process. But as we drove south it cleared - it was still grey and overcast, but the rain eased and eventually stopped.
The countryside also changed as we drove south. It was still farming area and is probably on the edge of the prairie, but it is also quite close to the Rocky Mountains and is therefore hilly. When we left Banff and drove east to Calgary, the land became flatter as we left the mountains behind. But since the mountain range runs in a generally south-easterly direction, the further south we drove from Calgary, the hillier the terrain became as we drove towards the Rockies again. It became quite pretty and more appealing to us, because it was something different than we had seen before.
We crossed the border into the US at Chief Mountain just inside the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park World Heritage Site. This site is the result of joining Canada's Waterton Lakes National Park and the USA's Glacier National Park in 1932 to make the world's first International Peace Park.
I feel the need to describe the border crossing - it was perhaps the strangest so far! The first question asked was, "Where are you going?" to which I answered, "Montana". Not the right answer! "Where are you headed?" "Across towards the east." Still not enough information. "Where will you finish up?" to which Juergen explained that we would go back into Canada near Toronto and then down to New York. Still not enough. "How long will you be in the US?" "We have a flight out of New York on February 28th, but we may leave sooner." "So you'll be leaving New York at the end of February?"
Not finished yet! "What are you bringing in?" A vague look from me was the only reply of which I was capable. Persistant though! "What are you bringing in with you?" "Just our personal items." What did he think was in our camper? But that's still not enough information for Mr. Logic! "What food do you have with you?" "What do you mean - we have all sorts of food with us." Juergen tries to help. "If you mean meat, neither of us eat meat." "I'll decide what I mean." I just wish he'd share it with us! "Well we have no fresh fruit and vegetables at the moment, except a few mushrooms, but we have a fridge and freezer in the back with all sorts of food in it as well as canned stuff." For god's sake, we are living in this thing - what would he answer if I asked what food he had at home. Maybe I should have started, bread, butter, sugar, milk, cheese,... and so on until he made me stop. Then he wants to look in the back - Juergen starts to get out to open the door for him. "You can stay in the vehicle, sir!" Not an option, I think. After poking around in the back a bit he walks back and starts to hand back our passports, but he walks too far and tries to pass it through the windshield. He makes some crack about it but by this time we are 200% convinced that this guy is definitely not funny!
Where do they find these people? Or where do they train them? Do they train them at all?
Welcome to America!!!