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Friday - So we're back on the ferry (leaving Andy Murray about to go two sets up - it must be him in Jubilee year?). Cousin Jean meets us off the ferry and we head to the shore at Stevenston for lunch (seafood of course) - a lovely place to end our time in Vancouver. Then off to the airport to pick up another car. We're upgraded to full size and it's big! That takes a bit of getting used to, especially in Friday afternoon city traffic, but no mishap and eventually the traffic clears and we head into the foothills of the Rockies to overnight in Hope.
Saturday - A long scenic drive today across to Salmon Arm in the Okanagan district with a some interesting stops. We stop to see the 'Hope Slide', a massive landslide in 1965 that buried a lake washed up 100m up the opposite side of the valley! Then a brief walk along the Skagit River Trail in Manning Park: there are beautiful, fast-flowing rivers alongside us all day, with majestic high mountains on either side. As per cousin Jean's instructions, we stop to buy cherries in Keremos where there are loads of roadside fruit stalls - and they're very good!! We drive alongside Lake Okanagan for a long time and stop at beautiful Peachland for a short break. Then over the bridge into Kelowna, and finally we arrive late afternoon at another small B&B, and another fabulous house! Beautiful rooms, amazing lake views, another great choice by Pauline. Next day it's hot and sunny again and we have a lazy day: visiting Margaret Falls, about like Ingleton on steroids, then head down to the lake for swimming and relaxing. After HUGE ice-creams (honest - I only asked for one scoop!) we take a walk by the lake shore before dinner. It's been a hot day, up around 30-32 degrees, and more of the same to come. Oh, and we watched Andy Murray before and after breakfast - shame he didn't win, but didn't he play well?
Monday - We head out of BC towards Banff. Another sunny day, another long drive but with many interesting stops. We by-pass Revelstoke then stop briefly at a couple of National Park pull-offs: the Giant Cedar Boardwalk and the Skunk Cabbage Trail (by a lovely river and waterfall) then stop in Golden for petrol and a quick lunch. Scenery pretty good so far but getting spectacular now. The road out of Golden looks new and rises steeply to what feels like a cliff road. The sunny Rocky Mountains are getting nearer and we reach Rogers Pass, highest point on the crossing, with an interesting Visitor Centre and of course great views. Then we pull of the road again at Field and head up to Emerald Lake for a short walk and a photo stop. On the way back to the highway we stop by the 'Natural Bridge', a curving stone walkway that was once the edge of a waterfall and has been eroded by the fast flowing river.
And so to Banff, where we've been before (in winter) and another very nice guest house. It's been a long day, so just a stroll into town, dinner and bed, to listen - as usual - to the mournful train whistles, nearer and louder than ever!
Tuesday - Our full day in Banff is busy - we visit Lake Minnewanka, walk right round Johnson Lake - which is not glacial so not so cold and we can paddle at least. Then on to spectacular Morraine Lake - blue/ green waters and ten peaks surrounding it - it really is like the pictures we've seen before. We miss Lake Louise on the way back (traffic hold-up for some reason) but we have seen it before. However, we see a Bald-Eagle nesting on top of a road bridge with two chicks in evidence, and then an elk on the roadside with full antlers! Last stop by the Vermilion Lakes for more photos.
We pack the car for the last time, ready for the last leg, then head over to the Bow River to walk the trail there. We pass through an interesting farmers market and promise to come back to buy lunch. We follow the path down to Bow Falls which, like rivers everywhere, are in spate and very impressive. We look in at Cascade Gardens on the way back - very pretty but lacking water (leaking concrete bases in many channels). So much less than it might have been. Back to the Market and we pick up a couple of kiwi pies (savoury - no kiwis - and delicious!), a couple of health cookies and some fruit. We take the car back to the falls on the opposite side and sit at the water's edge to eat lunch. Then an easy couple of hours down the highway to Calgary.
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