Day Five

Edmonton Capitol Building

After spending a “peaceful” night at a Walmart parking lot in Edmonton (along with about 15 other rigs), we left this morning for Calgary and then onto the Canadian Rockies. This was the first time we had been on an expressway type road since we crossed the Mackinac Bridge, leaving I-75. Called the Queen Elizabeth Highway (boy, she gets around), we sailed along in record time to Calgary. Calgary has almost 900,000 people and literally sits at the foot of the Rockies. Much more sprawled than Winnipeg or Edmonton, it has more of a U.S. city layout. The other cities we have seen had no real suburban sprawl surrounding them. It was simply farm field and then city. Imagine Detroit without surrounding towns. Picture your approach to it, with empty land about it. That is how Winnipeg, Regina and Edmonton look.

Spending little time in Calgary, we began our trek west towards Banff. Hwy 1 traverses the land approaching as well as the Rockies themselves. Our first task was to locate an information center to get the lay of the land. We had already perused several booklets and brochures, marking locations we wanted to be sure to see. Now we had to find their exact location and the best time of day to photograph them. Mission somewhat accomplished. We had a number of questions answered, but still were unsure of some locations. Hopefully, Garmin (GPS) will assist.

Next, we needed to find a campground. We had heard that campgrounds quickly fill up in the summer and considering this is a Friday, it was more important to find one. There were two in Canmore, a town approximately 20 miles from Banff. Beautiful town, daintily placed amid breathtaking mountains. Look in any direction and you will see a mountainous vista. Luckily, we got one of the last three campsites available. Pity the poor family that drives up around 5:00 PM.

Once checking out the site, we departed the campground and drove back east approximately 20 miles to Kananaskis (don’t ask me to pronounce it quickly). We learned that the Kananaskis River is great for kayaking and white water rafting. Controlled by government, the water is bridled promptly at 6:00 PM each evening. Barely a trickle flows after that hour. Prior to 6:00 PM, it is a fast moving body of water, with rapids, eddies and lots of opportunities to capsize. It was much more fun sitting at the bank of the river than finding yourself upside down and very wet.

We traveled back towards Canmore, stopping along the way to snap a few pictures. Everywhere you look, there is another, “Wow” or “Ahhh”.

Back at the campsite, we set up for the night. Our site has a cold, cold stream running behind it.

We took a bike ride in town, snapping a few shots of the main street with the mountains in the background.

Tomorrow, Banff and all things beautiful.