Across the Prairies

Across the Prairies

It's been a long time since we blogged ... so apologies for that ... but the trip has been so fascinating and 'full' that recording it all just hasn't been a big thing.

But obviously SO MUCH has happened.

One of the things that you are told, frequently, about the Prairie Provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba is that they are 'flat and boring'. Now, after the ridiculous verticality of the Rockies they are certainly more 'flat', but they are anything but boring. For example ...

OK, so I guess that does look pretty flat and boring, but there's more ...

So, how about this one ...

This is some of the irrigated pasture lands along the Cypress Hills in Eastern Alberta, just shy of the Saskatchewan border. It's very open out here and so the riding is very much affected by the wind. From behind it is fantastic and really lifts you as you fling along the highway, from the side it's kind of neutral - if a bit annoying (because it should be behind), and from the front it is just downright nasty.

So every now and then we need to reconcile ourselves with a tasty morsel to refuel the batteries ... I did that pretty often.

Some of the scenery out here is just gorgeous, in a simple kind of way. I have often reflected on this trip about the 'flat and boring' part and often find myself advising Canadian acquaintances that, if they want 'flat and boring' they should come to Australia. But even that is a bit of an over-simplification because the subtlety of the Australian outback landscape also has a kind of attractiveness. 

Sure, it's not the 'in your face' grandeur of the Rockies, but there is a delicateness of colour and texture that is quite lovely. Maybe it can't be appreciated at 100+ kph in the insulated bubble that is a car, but on a bike is a different thing.

Another aspect that seems to get a lot of derisive comments is the omnipresent CPR line that follows the Trans Canada Highway across the Prairies. But the derision misses the point that it was actually the railway that was typically there first, and is responsible for transporting much of the produce of Canada to major distribution centres. It is therefore critical to what has made Canada what it is.

The riding through this part of the world was generally pretty enjoyable. Glorious weather, wind generally being helpful, and traffic relatively light on the dual lane separated highway. The wash from some of the big trucks made things interesting on occasion, but generally the truckers are very considerate of touring cyclists and try to move across into the fast lane to avoid us. The tricky bit comes when the odd, impatient, car driver decides to be clever and overtake on the inside (is that called 'undertaking') and fails to realise that the truck is trying to avoid the bright yellow guy on the bike. Some interesting moments.

We have met some amazing people on the ride too. I was in East Saskatchewan when Helen and Matt finally caught up with me to share the ride. Dale Young is a farmer from a little town called Parkbeg who agreed to let us camp on his front lawn during a rather vicious thunderstorm. He even mowed the grass for us and offered us cool drinks.

We managed to survive the 27mm overnight downpour and emerge unsaturated from our tent. Matt slept in the car, all scrunched up. He's actually getting quite good at that ever since his first stint travelling in Iceland in a 'car' that was actually far too small to sleep in.

Calgary to Bassano

The Prairies ...

After a week of lazing around in Calgary, being fed some amazing food, and just enjoying some wonderful hospitality, it was time to get onto the bike again and continue the trek east.

One of the real challenges of the trip so far is 'what is a reasonable distance to ride in one day'. The first stage through the Rockies was difficult because it was so hard to get any idea of how hard the riding would be, or what the implications of pushing a fully loaded touring bike uphill would look like.

The same is true of this stage. Now we are out on the prairies, the Calgary Badlands, what would a full days riding look like, what is a reasonable distance?

You're probably getting the idea. Add to the somewhat interesting flatness a 25 kph tail wind, and you can get quite a long way down the road fairly quickly, as it turns out.

Today's target destination was Bassano, about 135 km from Calgary down Highway 1, and that seemed like a reasonable 'first day back on the bike' after a week off. Stopping after a little over 2 hours I was kind of amused to find that I had already covered 65km .. which is kind of fast for a juggernaut like the rig I am pushing. By 2:30pm I was rolling into Bassano and looking for somewhere to stop.

I had already arranged accommodation for the night through www.warmshowers.org, a cool community of cyclists that offer their homes to others for a clean up, and possibly a bed - or at least a patch of grass for a tent. To be a member you first have to commit to hosting other cyclists at your home ... which seems like a lot of fun to us.

So, here I am, parked up next to a kids playground ... laptop out for blogging ... and waiting until my hosts get home at 6pm.

The ride today was great. I probably pushed a little more than I usually would, but the shoulder was wide and clean and the road gently undulating, rather than flat. Traffic was light, and the weather just perfect. 18-20C with light cloud - and a tail wind. It doesn't get much better than that.

A Week in Calgary

So, here we are in Calgary ... nearly a week after I arrived and I have pretty much caught up on the blogging. It has been wonderful to be here, spending some time with Helen, and being looked after by Richard and Judy.

The first stop on Saturday was the bike shop to have them look over my recalcitrant tyre and determine whether it was worth persisting with. The conclusion was that it was a high quality tyre that was starting to demonstrate some wear, but probably had another 600-800 km left in it at least and I would probably be able to replace it in Regina. It was given a thorough once over, had a small piece of wire surgically removed (hey - that could be part of the problem) and was returned to me.

Sunday afternoon and we were invited over to Simon's house to catch up with more of the family for a BBQ. We spent some time in the afternoon chatting with Helen's niece, Katy-Sue about life the universe and everything, and then into the evening with everyone else.

 

On Monday we were invited over to visit Kristal from Hands @ Work Canada, and we had a wonderful visit with her. Good old Google Maps advised that the bike ride should take about 1 hour and 15 minutes ... 2 hours later ... but the riding with Helen was great and it is encouraging to see how she is gaining confidence with her wrist and shoulder, that had been giving her so much grief.

Richard and Judy have been so wonderful for the time we have been here, so generous with their time, and with the amazing food and accommodation. On Wednesday we drove into the city for Helen and Judy to get some chiropractic treatment and then to have a 'must eat' Vietnamese Satay Beef Sub that was to die for - amazing.

I also managed to get a little 'work' done, although the communications with Australia start to get a bit confusing, trying to work out what day - and what end of the day - it is at any given time. On Thursday afternoon it was suggested that I should try to connect with a business colleague that worked in the city centre. Although this would mean extending my stay in Calgary by another day, it seemed like a great opportunity. (As it turned out, it also meant that I can resume my ride in reasonable weather, rather than the drizzly rain that was to greet us on Friday morning)

On Thursday evening we were picked up by Bree, another advocate for Hands at Work , and she kindly drove us over to a meeting at Krystal and Will's house. It was a wonderful evening as people shared recent experiences in Southern Africa and their passion for the work being done there and, more importantly, their admiration for the people that they have established lasting friendships with and the lives that have been dramatically changed there.

We were able to share about the numerous conversations that we had struck up with people, in all kinds of random places, about what we are doing and about this amazing project that is impacting the lives of people in some of the most vulnerable communities in Africa. All of this prompted by the logo on our shirts. We even had a man who was riding in the opposite direction on his bike turn around and chase us down to find out what it was about. Turns out he had recently been involved in a similar situation in Rwanda.

For those who are unaware, please visit www.handsatwork.org to find out what is happening in this awesome organisation through their work across Southern Africa.

If you feel inspired to donate to help some of the children being cared for in Hands at Work community programs, you can visit:
(for our Aussie friends) www.givenow.com.au/crowdraiser/public/BikingAcrossCanada2018 
(for our Canadian friends) https://www.canadahelps.org/en/pages/biking-across-canada/ 
Any money donated goes directly to Hands at Work programs in vulnerable communities and a receipt will be issued to you for tax purposes.

My time in Calgary has been great. This is a great city. I've met so many warm and gracious people, wrestled with the road system and enjoyed some amazing food. But it all had to end sometime. Tomorrow I need to get back onto the bike and begin the next leg of this journey from one side of Canada to the other.

Special thanks, again, to Richard and Judy for hosting us for SO LONG ... and for the rest of the family for being family. 

For Simon picking us up on Sunday and driving us to his home for the BBQ and then driving us all the way back late at night. You rock!

For the Hands at Work crew, you are each so amazing and your commitment and passion is quite inspirational. Whilst we joke a little about the H@W logo on our backs pushing us up the difficult hills, the reality is that every hand makes a difference. Stay strong!

... and for my amazing wife, whose tenacity and determination to 'get back on the bike' and continue this ride together has been a highlight of this week. I love you to bits.

Johnston Canyon, Banff and on to Calgary

Something in my head had been telling me that Banff was in the mountains and Calgary was on the plains, and so logically it should be pretty much downhill all the way from Johnston Canyon, through Banff to Calgary.

I left the Johnston Canyon Campground at about 0730 for what, I had determined, would be a long but hopefully not too taxing day through to Calgary. The Campground is on Highway 1A, which was the old highway and has now been turned into a bit of a tourist drive. It was lovely.

I kept coming across the most delightful little landscapes. This little stream just emerged from the woods and was bubbling away happily. There was a deer near here that just watched casually as I cycled past, and there was that abiding sense that just around the next corner a small bear might be watching, or if the chat with the Ranger last night was any guide, a somewhat larger, browner bear with a distinctive hunch. 

Adrenaline is awesome for keeping you focused on the scenery at hand ... for some reason. Bell ... ring dat bell!

Something I neglected to mention earlier, on the ride into the village of Lake Louise, is the presence of some rather brutal 'cattle grids' that are used to deter the wildlife from straying into town. They comprise large diameter (100mm) pipes spaced about 150mm apart over a culvert in the road. If you are riding out this way it is a VERY good idea to be aware of these grids as you come flinging down the hill into town, because hitting them at speed on a loaded touring bike would be a VERY BAD idea. 

No. I didn't. But I could have if I hadn't been aware of them. The road into Banff had a similar grid.

Banff was good for a bit of a break and some brunch before the push down the road to Calgary. I had already ridden around 30km for the morning and Calgary was still some 130km away ... but all downhill, right?

Yummy brunch and coffee made by the Australian barista.

Now, about that 'downhill' thing. I later discovered that there is a section of Highway 1 between Calgary and Banff that is one of the highest points on the whole Trans-Canada highway, possibly the second highest point. So that means it is definitely NOT downhill all the way from Banff to Calgary and that means that riding 160km in a single day with a loaded touring bike is - shall we say - 'ambitious'.

Still, it was strange to be out on the plains and watch the mountains receding in the background.

The day was pretty warm and I managed to stop in at a gas station to grab some supplies

So then it was just a push into the city. My destination was South West Calgary, so I turned off the main Highway and entrusted myself to Google Maps to take me to Richard and Judy's house in Evergreen. I now know why they call it 'artificial intelligence' - not terribly intelligent at all.

Calgary has a very developed system of bicycle paths, as it turns out, that network all over the city and can get you to just about anywhere you need to go. Problem is that those bike paths assume people are riding ultra-light street machines or mountain bikes that are not loaded to the gunwales with 'stuff'. They roll up and down over gentle and steep hills, and I have no doubt provide much enjoyment to recreational cyclists whipping along from one place to another. However steep hills are not terribly suitable for the Salsa juggernaut that I am wrestling with, after some 150km in the saddle for the day.

It's hot, I'm tired, I'm lost, I'm thirsty, and Google Maps just keeps chanting nonsense at me. Find a supermarket ... buy lots of orange juice, and an icecream, and an orange soda ... quaff the lot ... chat with a couple of guys about my flash looking touring rig ... wrestle with my new bike lock (cos I had to destroy the old one, remember?) ... more Google nonsense ... onto the bike path ... down another ridiculously steep hill whilst trying to avoid recreational cyclists ... another flat tyre ...

ENOUGH!

Helen and Richard eventually found me parked under a tree, bike leaning up against a pole, panniers neatly arranged nearby, empty orange juice bottle.

Banff to Calgary was over. 160km for the day and many useful lessons learned about what was achievable on a bike tour across Canada. Time for a good meal and some sleep.

I was almost a week ahead of schedule, so I could relax for a few days, catch up with Helen's family and the Hands at Work crew in Calgary, and just have some down time.

Up to Bow Summit and down to Lake Louise - Day 11

Starting out from Saskatchewan River Crossing I was anticipating that some distance down the road I would be doing some serious climbing through the Bow Pass, up to the highest altitude of the entire trip. What I wasn't anticipating is that, before the Bow Pass, there are also some 'other' fairly serious hills to be negotiated.

Once again (still?) the scenery was magnificent and the sense of being totally immersed in the grandeur of this was still pretty mesmerising. Each big hill overcome somehow seemed to justify the beauty of the scenery, in a strange way.

This last shot was a rest point on the climb up Bow Pass, having dragged my bike off the road, propped myself up against a rather gravelly bank, and quaffed orange juice and energy bars for about 15 minutes. It's funny how the first urge is to replenish your body, but then that is replaced by the feeling that sitting there too long may result in some furry predator having similar thoughts. So, back onto the bike ...

Finally I made it to Bow Summit. The air was a tad more chilly up here - about 3C - and there was a little drizzle about too, making it a tiny bit uncomfortable, but coupled with that was the exhilaration of knowing that this was probably the hardest part of the whole ride - and we had made it.

Just over the Summit was Bow Lake, so we stopped in there for another monster Hot Chocolate and a bit of a look around ...

... and, YES, that lake is frozen. I told you it was cold up here.

Now for the fun bit. The ride/roll down into Lake Louise was fantastic. I came across a sign to Lake Helen, and thought I should probably go check it out.

But it turns out the Park was closed, it was a 6km hike through the woods to the Lake, and there was a large pile of bear scats ... in the carpark (which I figured might have been the remnants of the last person that tried to walk up to Lake Helen, by themselves, when the Park was closed). So it was on to Lake Louise.

Dropping into the Information Centre there, I was informed that the next open campground was Johnston Canyon 'about' 25km down the road toward Banff. Part of that ride was on the main Highway 1 where they have fully fenced off the highway to prevent fauna from straying into traffic, but built these cool little 'wildlife crossings' - they are actually not that little ...

So, May 24th and I camped at Johnston Canyon Campground, on its first open day of the Summer season. A 117km day in total ... Nice!

Jonas to Saskatchewan River Crossing

Waking on the morning of May 23rd, I knew that this was going to be a big day. The objective was to get to Saskatchewan River Crossing, another 81km away, but in between was a pretty rough climb through the Sunwapta Pass, and the Columbia Icefield.

It was about 4C when I headed out from Jonas, joking with some roads construction workers about it being a little 'chilly' ... they just looked at me strangely. This is the Rocky Mountains after all. What did you expect?

The images pretty much tell the story.

It was ridiculous.

But the Sunwapta Pass climb up to the Icefield Skyway Walk was also ridiculous, in a particularly painful way. Lowest gear on the bike, and just grinding away for over 4 km, it was seriously hard work. I finally made it to the top and then rode on to the Icefield Centre, a tourist mecca that was thronged with buses, RVs and people everywhere.

After locking up the bike, I went inside for a LONG rest and an endless Hot Chocolate.

This was the view from the window of the Icefield Centre, though I'm not sure you can get any appreciation of the scale of it all.

Looking at this for a while, I noticed a rather large piece of solid ice just hanging on the side of the mountain. You might be able to pick it to the centre left of this image. It was HUGE, and it appeared to be just hanging there, glued to the rock. I began to wonder what happens when a chunk of ice that big just lets go and rolls down the valley.

The ride DOWN from the Icefield was truly amazing, although I'm not sure that 60+kph on a fully loaded touring bike is particularly 'wise', it was certainly 'fun'.

After a most amazing day, I eventually pulled into the lodge at Saskatchewan River Crossing for a good meal, a decent sleep, and to set up for another big day tomorrow.

After unloading all of my gear into my room, I locked my bike to the railing outside (as you do), and went off to do some laundry. At this stage I had thought it might be a good idea to swap my troublesome - and slightly more worn - rear tyre to the front of the bike where it would get a little less of a hammering. 

Only problem was that my combination bike lock wasn't properly closed and wouldn't open. In my haste to unload my gear I must have not locked it properly, and now it was completely stuck!

After probably an hour of looking at it, pushing, pulling, trying various combinations, I concluded that I would have to cut the cable, somehow. Fortunately my neighbours were road construction workers ... with some serious tools in their truck ... and very keen to dispatch a bike lock.

All done, I wheeled my liberated bike into my room and fell into bed ... big day.

The concept of risk ...

The concept of Risk

Most people associate risk with hazardous situations, situations that could cause you harm, and one of the down-sides to working in the risk management area is that you become very intensely aware of the uncertainties that might lead to problems down the track.

Monday May 21 is a public holiday in Canada - a long weekend that I had been warned about for days. "There will be a lot of traffic on the road", "people will be impatient", "they will be rushing to where they want to holiday", "campgrounds will be full - so you'd better book ahead ..."

The whole weekend had been a bit of a disappointment from that point of view. Traffic had been very light, very courteous - even friendly, and the biggest problem with campgrounds was not that they were full, but that they seemed very empty - often because, despite the long weekend, many of them weren't open yet for the summer holidays.

And yet here we were in Summit River at a campground that the owners actually opened so we could stay there. I awoke early in the morning and wandered over to the 'Lounge', which was located in the log cabin main building and beautifully laid out ... for a campground.

Our plan for the day was to ride up to Viewmount, about 35km away for brunch and then push on to Mount Robson Campground before the ride into Jasper the following day.

I left a little earlier because Holger had met a young German family that had pulled into Swift River for the night, and because he was pretty confident of catching me up on the road. 

The ride up to Viewmount was pretty uneventful, and the scenery was pretty much as expected. Heading toward Mount Robson and Jasper, you expect everything to be getting bigger.

I was a little surprised to make it all the way into Viewmount before Holger caught up, but we had both spotted an advertisement for a Swiss Bakery on the way into town and thought that might be worth checking out.

We rode down the main street of Viewmount and eventually found the Bakery, which was closed both today (the Public Holiday) and tomorrow. Sad Face. We also noted that there was a small bike shop right next door ... which we hoped we wouldn't need.

Heading back to the main street we found the local IGA supermarket and consoled ourselves with apple strudel, chocolate milk and bananas - a wonderfully balanced meal with all of the major food groups (and then some).

After a long chat, we returned to our bikes to find that I had sustained another flat tyre. Just the tiniest bit annoying. We decided that Holger should ride on to Mount Robson while I sorted this out and joined him later. It was pretty hot, and having pulled the wheel apart, I was struggling to find the puncture to repair it. This was my fourth puncture of the trip and I was a bit over it, to be honest. Plan B - push the bike around to the little bike shop and get them to sort it.

The guys at the bike shop were really helpful but advised that the 'temporary' glueless patches I had used for previous punctures were really not worth the trouble for touring - although fine for racing, where you just need to be able to get back on the bike quickly.

Long story, short, there were no spare tubes in Viewmount that would fit my bike, and after phoning around the nearest tubes were in Jasper, some 120km away.

So this is where the risk bit comes in. I had no spare tubes and was riding through the Canadian Rockies. Given the distances and the weight on the bike, it seemed much more prudent to cut my losses and get a bus through to Jasper. Not ideal, but better than getting stuck somewhere up the highway with wrecked tyres, potentially wrecked rims and no way to get anywhere. The downside was that the only bus to Jasper left Viewmount at 0415 am!

Ughhh!

Fast forward to the next morning. I 'woke up' at about 0300 (not sure that I had slept much actually) to find that the temporary repair to my rear wheel was flat again - so needed yet another patch. Fast repair, fast breakfast of sorts, fast pack up everythiing, fast 'get bike to bus station'. Awesome start for 4am.

The bus trip to Jasper was ... dark ... initially, and then pretty amazing. Managed to see another bear from the bus, my third for the trip, before we rolled into Jasper at about 0630.
Now I just had to kill a few hours until 0900 when the bike shop opened. Coffee was looking pretty good - but the only option was Tim Hortons, so it had to be Hot Chocolate. 
(I apologise to all of those Timmies fans out there, but their coffee is pretty average)

Bike shop ... 3 spare tubes of the correct size ... pack everything up again ... back on the road to commence my ride down the Icefields Parkway, which was to be the most spectacular part of the trip to date, but as soon as I had entered the Jasper National Park I got another flat tyre in the now multiple patched rear tube that had been giving me so much grief. BUT NOW I HAVE NEW TUBES ... (smug face). So another repair.

I'm actually getting quite good at removing wheels and tyres, and finding my repair gear - Life Skills.

The ride was great ...

This last image was from Honeymoon Lake, where I stopped for a short rest and waded in to cool my feet. So ... this is Spring Melt water, right? ... So ... its really cold, right?

Speaking to a couple of Rangers, it was suggested that I ride another 20 or so km to the next campground, Jonas. There wasn't a lake there, they advised, but it was a lovely campground next to a stream.

So off we went again. This was going to be an 82km day, which didn't seem too bad.

Jonas campground was lovely, and the stream was very cold ... especially for strip washing. 'Brisk', is the word I think.

Tired, but relieved to be sitting in a VERY cold stream.

(There's more to this story, so ask me when you see me next ...LOL)

But the next day was to be even more challenging, and more spectacular.

Clearwater to Avola to Summit River

After struggling into Clearwater, fighting off the mozzies, and falling into bed, I awoke the next morning feeling tired, but ready to continue the next stage of the ride toward 'the serious' mountains in the Icefields Parkway. 

The previous evening I had briefly met another cyclist, a German guy who was set up in a camp site near me, and we had briefly chatted before I lurched off to find some dinner.

In the morning he had left, so I didn't necessarily expect to see him again. He seemed like a nice guy ... in his 40s ... professional ... no names at that stage, just the mutual admiration of anyone else silly enough to take on touring a bike through the Canadian Rockies.

It was another hot day in the low 30s, but it wasn't long before my German friend ranged up alongside me. It seems he had thought to take a more 'scenic route' that ended up not being a route at all, so he had to backtrack to the highway.

Turns out his name was Holger and he is an IT Manager who had taken a few weeks off to ride up from Vancouver, through the Parkway to Lake Louise, and then back through Revelstoke to Vancouver. He told me that his next scheduled stop was at the Log Inn Pub in Avola, a 'biker pub' that had a few rooms and cabins available for visitors, and served good beer. (A German pre-requisite, apparently)

Not sure whether it was a language thing, but my idea of a 'biker pub' conjures up images of Harley Davidsons, tatts, big guys with big attitudes and big beards ... not touring cyclists.

Turns out I was right. We rolled into Avola in the early afternoon and proceeded to look for The Log Inn Pub. The Pub is a labour of love by its owner Larry, an old biker from wayback. When we arrived he advised that he did, in fact, have an extra available 'cabin' that I could sleep in, because there had been a cancellation that morning. So we had a shower, quaffed down one of his 'World Famous Log Inn Burgers' and then had a look around town.

15 minutes later we had seen all the sights of Avola - not exactly a big place. Walking back towards the Pub we noted a sign pinned to a power pole that simply said 'Burgers'. We thought it remarkable that Larry had managed to pin his whole menu to that pole.
Back at the cabin I had a bit of a rest. Despite it not being a particularly long day (about 69km), the previous day had been big and I was quite weary.

For dinner we had another burger and met a couple of the locals. The Pub is quite iconic, with lots of character, and Larry was great. We had a couple of beers and then turned in for the night.

Rob, Holger and Larry at the Log Inn Pub.

What is it about Canada and trains that rumble along right next to your bed ... all night?

I am obviously still in need of some serious cultural acclimatisation. All of the locals tell me: "you get used to it". Probably like you get used to "industrial deafness".

The next morning I awoke to yet another glorious day in the mouintains. The weather forecast was for 'showers later in the day' but the only evidence of that was a little extra cloud, as I strapped all of my gear onto the bike for another day in the mountains.

Holger was travelling considerably lighter than me and although he had a tent, sleeping bag, a (very) few spare clothes, and some muesli bars for emergencies, his trip had assumed he could find reasonable accommodations each night. Apart from having to push less weight on his rather flash mountain bike, he is also a bit younger and, I suspect, quite a lot fitter than me. So I encouraged him to forge a path through the mountains for us and I would just dawdle along behind, catching up for our next stopover at Summit River.

The scenery everywhere is really quite mesmerising at times, and there is something about the amount of physical effort involved in cycling that makes you feel like you have earned the right to this much enjoyment - totally immersed in these amazing mountains.

It was a good days riding, nearly 110 km to Summit River, with some reasonable hills and descents, but nothing too paralysing. I kept having this feeling that I was following along behind a rain shower that was just a little ahead of me as we wound our way up the valley. Occasionally there would be a sprinkling of rain and I would start to think about whether I should stop to put on my rain gear, but then it would clear a little and so I would decide it wasn't worth it. The air was getting a little more chilly though, so the 'sprinkling' made for cold riding conditions at times. I couldn't help thinking about Holger who was a little further up the road and probably getting a lot more rain than me.

There is something about snow covered mountains shrouded in cloud that make you feel like you are deep into the Rockies. Stunning!

Eventually we made it to Summit River where we discovered that the Campground had not yet opened for the season ... but that they were happy for us to stay the night. These guys were amazing and so hospitable, and the Campground had excellent facilities.

But check out the view that we woke up to ...

 Absolutely stunning!


Next stop Mount Robson, via Viewmount, and only 2 days to Jasper and the start of the Icefields Parkway.