First look at the Rockies

This was to be a short day with lots of stops so I decided to make the fuel stop this morning rather than last night. Well I apologize for the nasty things I have said about Burlington traffic (some of them anyway). Calgary traffic is INSANE! The fuel stop was about 800 metres from the hotel and it took 45 minutes to get back. The only good news was the $1.36 per litre price. After a leisurely breakfast and an appropriate time for the traffic to calm, we started west again.

Our first coffee stop was the once sleepy little town of Canmore. Let me assure you it is no longer sleepy or little. It is still pretty and clearly a popular tourist destination. There is considerable new construction and I’m betting a million dollars won’t buy you much in this town. There is less and less building space in the town so new construction is increasing upon the north side of Highway #1.

The day pass allowing us to wander about in Banff was a mere $18. We had thought of visiting places we new from the past, parking and just walking about. Not happening! Parking in many areas is limited to those who have reservations or attraction tickets. Otherwise you can park in the free parking lot — perhaps if you arrive early in the morning, or paid parking lots near nothing we were interested in. We managed to grab a shot of the Banff Springs Hotel in passing and we did find parking where we had lunch after which we gradually worked our way out of town.

Ok, let’s take a look at Lake Louise, we thought. Even more crowded than Banff. No access to even look at the Chateau Lake Louise without a reservation and the same for Moraine Lake. All rather disappointing but I suppose it means good things for the tourism industry in the area and I’m sure they need it. We had to satisfy ourselves with a few photos from the car and lookouts on a rather overcast day. Hopefully the sky will be clear on our return trip. With no more ideas of what to look for, we started toward Golden on Highway #1 through Kicking Horse Pass. A significant section of the highway near Golden is being totally rebuilt. There was no major delay so we arrived mid afternoon.

I’m sure most of you have become aware of the wildfires in the west and we have been watching conditions around Jasper and along the Trans Canada Highway. As we arrived in Golden email arrived from the Rocky Mountaineer advising us that Jasper would not be part of our train itinerary. The revised itinerary is a bit bizarre but we do start and finish in Vancouver. The new route will apparently be: North Vancouver to Whistler to Quesnel and then Prince George rather than Jasper. We are to fly an air charter from Prince George to Calgary. A motor coach will take us from Calgary to Banff where we resume the train trip to Kamloops and Vancouver. Although it seems unlikely we remain hopeful the we will get to Jasper. Stay tuned as the drama unfolds.