I know! I know! You’ve all be waiting for the last few days of posts since I have now completed my Colossal Cross Country Road Trip. :) Sorry! Visiting, rerouting, and repacking to head back to Vancouver for my work function got in the way of my blogging. Damn life. haha.
I am actually currently on another ferry from Victoria to Vancouver. There is now free wi-fi available so I’m hoping to catch up on a few things.
Edit: OK, I’m actually at the convention now…finally with internet access and time to post!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ninth leg: Cochrane, AB to Kamloops, BC
Mileage: 600 km
Time: 8.5 hours
Pee breaks: four
Gas stops: one
Comfort Level: Not too shabby. Just the continuing stabbing bum pain that comes up when I sit or stand the wrong way.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After our late night gab session I got up early with Carol to have a cup of coffee and a final quick visit before she had to head off to work for the day. Her hubby made us scrambled eggs and toast and I sipped my coffee and chatted with him after she left. Their little boy was sooo cute…and quite entertaining.
I took a 2 minute detour down main street, found the Starbucks, bought my Calgary mug and was on my way to BC!
Within minutes I was heading into the Rocky Mountains!!
After a stop for gas in Canmore…into Banff National Park I went. This part of the trip is truly breathtaking. Right here is the first place I really wished I had a co-pilot that could operate a camera as I wanted to take pictures at EVERY turn. (Damn Mr. Stoopy and his lack of opposable thumbs!)
Along the way Alberta becomes British Columbia…and Banff National Park becomes Yoho National Park.
Around here I started hitting a lot of construction and was losing a bit of time so I decided not to keep stopping to take pictures. I still got lots but man oh man I could have stopped every kilometer!
Somewhere near the edge of the park I encountered a bunch of cars slowing down and knew that meant there must be wildlife nearby. Sure enough when I got closer there were some wild goats!
Don’t worry, I wasn’t THAT close…I cropped so you could see the baby better. :) A park employee eventually drove up and laid on their horn to scare them away from the road.
If you are at all interested, do yourself a favour and Google “Kicking Horse Pass” and “Rogers Pass”. Both are known for being a slightly scary drive as the highway travels around the mountains, sometimes on RIDICULOUS cliffs and inclines. Rogers Pass is a little less sketchy and includes multiple tunnels which make for some interesting views.
Three Valley Gap…
After those fun bits of driving it was time for lunch. Yet another Iced Latte and egg salad sammich. I also pulled the bag of baby carrots out of my cooler since my ice had long since melted.
About an hour before reaching Kamloops I decided I had enough time to make a pit stop in Salmon Arm. I had now travelled out of the Rockies into desert country. Hot Hot Hot! I realized this was the first day where I had my AC on the whole day…and when I opened the car door I was smacked in the face with the crazy hot dry heat. Actually pretty awesome!
Thankfully I had stopped mid-way over the mountains to change my clothes. Started the day in jeans…silly girl. 32+ degrees the whole day!
I walked the pier, took some pics, got ice cream, then headed back to get the AC going for Mr. Stoopy again…then finished the drive to Kamloops.
My evening was spent with dear friends, Graham and Lara, who I haven’t seen in a few years because we all did some moving around. They BBQ’d some salmon (yay West Coast style!) and poured me a few drinks…we enjoyed the weather in their back yard. Man, I’ve been soooo lucky with the good weather for almost this whole trip!
Their kids (*ahem*, we) enjoyed the cupcakes we had for dessert. :)
Around midnight I cabbed back to my hotel and slept like the dead.
Dear Brand New Lovely Best Western in Kamloops: I heart your beds. Kinda wanna buy one. Smoooooosh. Luv, Jaime
7 comments:
The Rockies are STUNNING, great pics - Some look like they could be postcards!! I'd want to stop all along the drive too.
That look Mr. Stoopy is giving is just priceless, he's like, this again? :)
That is a beautiful drive! Love your pics!
I loved all your pictures from your CCCRT. I love Victoria (I've been a couple times by taking the clipper from Seattle) and hope that this is a start to some exciting things in your life.
Mr. Stoopy is the best-behaved cat I've ever seen! He seems to be a wonderful travel companion!
I suppose Banff is an important place to see if you haven't before. I'm still biased, though.
Hey, were you here during the Stampede? That's something everyone should do at least once! As for me, this is the first year since I was 13 that I have absolutely no desire to go anymore.
Hey! It's been a while since I checked in, and I have SO missed being inspired by your wonderful blog posts! Looks like things are going well for you, and I'll be checking back in lots, K!
Cool pics, btw!
Post a Comment