Yesterday we went to Banff

We went to Banff yesterday.



I've never even heard of Banff until my baby girl told me a few years back that it was on her bucket list. While looking over the map on our route to Alaska I saw how close we were going to be & asked Mr. Charley if we could please take an extra day & go. Banff National Park is Canada's first, and since Canada Parks are celebrating their 150th anniversary with FREE admission, I ordered the Pass months ago with great anticipation.  Those of us on Facebook probably remember the video clip of lots of Elk walking thru the town, so I was so excited to be going! I downloaded a couple of Gypsy Guide apps (audio tours via gps) to guide us as we drove around. The pictures in my National Geographic Canadian National Parks Guide gave insight to the park & surrounding lakes and mountains, so needless to say, I was more than excited to go!

On the ride there as we were driving on Hwy 1 out of Calgary towards Banff  early in the morning, I think I saw a pack of Coyotes, but we were going too fast to get any pics. 😏 With all the road signs warning of wildlife my eyes were pealed on the horizon watching in case something was going to jump out.
When we got there, our Gypsy Guide told us to take the turn to see the most wildlife, with all the signs & warnings to drive slow & careful, my camera stayed ready! This drive reminded me of driving thru Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Two lane road, go slow anticipating a big Elk to fly across the road, but so many trees you can't see anything unless you come upon a small clearing to look through. I found a spot like that & looked through & thought I saw a herd of Elk, but .....no way to snap a pic. 😧 "Bless his heart", poor Mr. Charley doesn't get a chance to see what I'm seeing, so I freak him out when my brain catches up with what I think I saw & say "ooh"!  As we continued on, I was really disappointed, because we didn't see any other wildlife the rest of the ride. 😩


The scenery was stunning, no doubt. Snow capped Canadian Rockies, lakes frozen solid, the beginnings of waterfalls with the melting snow, that will soon be overflowing, but nothing like I had psyched myself up for. We both agree we are here too early in the season. In fact, all the pics of the lakes with the beautiful snow capped mountains in the background reflecting off the water  will look that way in a few weeks (if the sun stays out), but what we saw was frozen lakes! They are awesome! I've never seen such big lakes frozen solid, but totally not what I thought I was going to see. Mr. Charley posted a few pics on Facebook, & I've added a few more below.  I'm learning unlimited data doesn't mean unlimited wifi. My Verizon plan includes unlimited talk, text & data but.....that doesn't always include internet access in Canada. Cellular data is not the same as internet access 🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️😧
So, to upload pics, we must use our computers, because any pics  from my phone I can't upload to this blog (Google vs IPhone), yadda, yadda, yadda. So, even  though our computers can connect to my Mifi, here in Canada that doesn't always include internet access. 🙄


UPDATE!!! I just turned on my Mifi & its working, so I'm back on my laptop hoping to upload some of the pics from Banff yesterday.
(This is so frustrating since I started writing this blog at 4:00 a.m. while we had Wi-Fi at the campground in Calgary. Now, we're here in Whitecourt & I'm just getting it posted.










Sign into Banff NP



Warning sign at Lake Louise

We saw this on the side at a rest stop!

This is a FROZEN Lake Louise

It just dawned on me when we went on the Great Adventure out west a couple of years ago, I updated about every night. It was so easy to click & upload, but Blogger is a lot different. Mr. Charley suggested I try to write it up in Word then cut & paste to blogger. It might be easier, but I'd rather watch the road than a computer, so we'll see. I'll get the hang of it, I'm just out of practice since I retired, so bear with me & I'll try to keep it going.  I think this 2 hour time change & these 1 night stays are catching up to me.  Have a good one everybody!


Tomorrow, on to Dawson Creek! Milepost 0 on the Alaska Hwy.




RV riding isn't always the adventure you expect, but it's an adventure!