Kootenay, Jasper & Banff National Parks (Tuesday 5/14 - Thursday 5/16)

Our original plan was to make it to a prebooked campsite at Whistlers in Jasper National Park by nightfall on Tuesday 5/14.  With all of the stops we made in the lower 48, however, this had become an impossibility.  We knew there was a good chance we'd need to make audibles along the way, and this one was definitely worthwhile as we didn't want to be driving through this beautiful region of national parks after dark.  We kept saying that all of the amazing things we were experiencing made it worthwhile, even if it meant not staying at a campsite we had already paid for in advance.  In this case, we were talking about around $40 so really not a big deal at all.

Kootenay National Park and its Radium Hot Springs were also on my radar, but initially didn't seem to be in play given our aggressive schedule to get to Whister Campground in Jasper National Park.  With that not in play, Kootenay was definitely worth trying for . . . which is exactly what happened.  We arrived to the Redstreak Campground in Kootenay National Park around 8:00pm.  With plenty of vacant campsites, we pretty much had our pick of spots near the bathroom & showerhouse.  Awwwww, how great a hot shower was going to feel in the morning!

SIDEBAR:  While the Solis campervan had a bathroom with canister toilet and shower, we opted to not deal with any of the water systems out of brevity and potential lack of patience.  This early decision made it important for us to find campsites with at a minimum, vault toilets.  Running water and showers were a bonus!  It also meant that boondocking (aka dispersed or dry/remote camping) would not be an option, adding expense for campsites for all 18 nights of our adventure.  All tolled, it added around $300 in added expense to our trip . . . frankly well worth it in my opinion.

In the morning we had hoped to be able to stop at the Radium Hot Springs for a short swim, but unfortunately they were still on pre-season hours and not scheduled to open until 11:30am.  Not wanting to lag around for the morning, we said "Something for next time!" and moved on.

We knew all of our "in the moment" options and decisions would work out, as everything we were doing was new and amazing.  So with by-passing the hot springs, next on our agenda was finding a local bank to exchange some US money into Canadian cash.  With our arrival after hours the night before, and knowing that local telecom systems might make paying by credit card a challenge, plus needing cash to pay for local/provincial park campsites, we were going to need some local money.

This became the first real hassle of the trip, adding some stress as the town of Radium Hot Springs didn't seem to have a bank with hours convenient for us, but we figured there would be plenty of opportunities later in the day.   WRONG!

Our next attempt in Lake Louise was a colossal waste of time!  As best we could figure out, an ATM in a hotel was the closest thing to a bank we'd find.  Using TOOTS (our Garmin GPS), we found that Banff had banks, but they were more than an hour "back" but we felt we had no other options, so back we went.

We quickly learned that getting cash was going to be more difficult than expected.  At the RBC Royal Bank, they would not do the exchange for non-customers.  So we ended up having to go to a local exchange desk inside of a jewelry store in the mall.  Paying a premium for the privilege of getting local currency, it was a case of live and learn.

Once we had our money situation taken care of, we enjoyed our short drive around Banff and a quick stop for sandwiches before heading out for Jasper.  The views and wildlife were remarkable, often impossible to stop and take photos.  But here's a sampling of what we saw during our time on Wednesday 5/15.

I had never seen a green lake with green ice before.  This was in the Valley of Five Lakes.

A very pregnant rocky mountain sheep - she looked like she was going to drop at any moment.

Bear jam with lots of people milling around to watch (and photograph) a big black bear who was just laying on the side of the road.  We couldn't see that it was injured, but it just didn't seem right.  Maybe it was tired?

Near the Radium Hot Springs in Kootenay National Park - rocky mountain sheep.

 

We did drive through the Icefields Parkway as we headed up to our campsite for the night.  The weather was marginal at best, with rain and low hanging clouds and fog.  The view of the world renowned glaciers was less than impressive.  Another place for the "next time" list.

This short video is of the Tangle Creek Waterfalls, seen on the Icefields Parkway.  It was one of the few visible and safely accessible from the road.

Since we didn't make it to Whistlers Campground the night before, and timing was such, we opted to stop there for Wednesday night.  It was a nice enough place, with decent views and amenities.  We enjoyed watching the elk as they sauntered through our site late in the evening.  She too looked very pregnant and ready to drop at any moment.

The next morning we were up relatively early and out by 8:30am.  We would head from Jasper to Prince George, where we would make the detour from the Alcan Hwy to the Cassiar Hwy due to the fires up around Ft. Nelson, BC.

It was still chilly and rainy, but we stopped at Mt. Robson Provincial Park to enjoy the views and take in some of the exhibits in their visitor center.  It is the second oldest provincial park in British Columbia and has the tallest mountain peak in all of the Canadian Rockies.  It was well worth our time to stop and stretch our legs!

As we were heading out of Prince George, we found ourselves behind another GAH/SAP Solis making the trek to Anchorage.  It was fun to see others on our same journey on the road.  According to GAH, there were 157 RVs and campervans traveling from Iowa, all of whom started the same weekend as us.

I think we crossed paths with around 5-7 others on the road in Canada and Alaska.  It was always cool to see them and wave!

TO BE CONTINUED