As we headed north out of Lake Louise we had to stop at Herbert Lake again – this time there was a lovely reflection. We only had 233km to go to Jasper, so no rush. Next we stopped at Bow Lake for views of Crowfoot Glacier behind it. Then onto Read more…
We decided that rather than the required 5am dash for a chance to park at the Lake Louise car park we would cycle up the 4kms at our leisure. We cycled the Tramline trail which was lovely and peaceful and until we reached the crowds at the lakeside. We headed Read more…
We drove the 1A, towards Banff, passing the huge and impressive Castle Mountain. Then we walked up the Johnstone Canyon to the waterfalls. I think alot of people had similar thoughts on how to spend a grey and potentially wet day. The falls were lovely and the turquoise water in Read more…
We started the day by walking the Brook Loop trail. We admired the engineering for the train track completion in the early 1900s, when they made figure 8 loops for the trains to gradually ascend and descend making the gradient no more than the required 2.2%. The engineers were very Read more…
Pete celebrated his birthday morning with an early start from Sun Peaks and then cyling around Kamloops while the garage fitted a new transmission sump and selector shaft seal. Thankfully this was being done under warranty, agreed by the garage in Jackson Hole who’d done the original job. Pete was Read more…
So what is Sun Peaks like in the summer? Pretty cool actually. Much busier than Big White, which we took a short detour to see on the way. There are people golfing, biking, hiking, or going to the lakes to kayak or SUPing everywhere. There is a tarmac go-kart track Read more…
At some point in the night, our little riverside paradise at Jolly Creek, became shared by a couple of blokes sleeping on a picnic table in a swag. I’m not sure if that classes as “being bear aware” or not.We descended down into the valley of Osoyoos and geez it Read more…
Following a lazy morning in Nakusp we watched a kids’ swimming lesson in the lake and then headed to Nelson. We visited a beautiful, flower-filled Gyro park overlooking the town and lake and where a kid’s outdoor swimming pool operating by donation only. How brilliant! Then we took ourselves on Read more…
The first place in Alberta that we went to after Waterton Lakes National Park was called Cardston. We needed some groceries and beer was on the shopping list. We found none in the supermarket but we thought, perhaps it is like BC with seperate liquor stores. So we asked and Read more…
Before we left the USA we decided to pop our Wal-Mart cherry, finally try a five layered dip and treat Fred to four new tyres (cheaper than in Canada) . The overnight stay in Wal-Mart wasn’t looking too wise (near a busy, noisy road and a very unfriendly neighbour with Read more…
With only 8 days left on our US visa we got Fred back, complete with new gear box. We set off straight to Yellowstone knowing it would be busy with Independence Day only two days away. At West Thumb Mud Pots the parking was chocca but we eventually got a Read more…
To get to Jackson we crossed the Teton Pass which is probably the steepest pass we have been over in Fred yet.His new brakes worked well which was a relief as you wouldn’t want to have to use the braking run off lanes which look scary as! We spent a Read more…
We ummd and ahhd whether to go all the way East across to Yellowstone National Park. It was going to be 670 miles from Hood River but we decided that we may never be that “close” again so what the hell. We decided to cross on smaller roads to see Read more…
A trip down the Historic Colombia River Highway was filled with sightseeing stops but also lots of other tourists. Wow, we think the school vacations have begun and it was suddenly busy everywhere. First stop was at the Portland Women’s Forum Overlook to see back to Portland and up the Read more…
We spent two mind blowing days exploring the John Day area with its painted hills and fossil beds. The river is called John Day River but it turns out that John Day never even came to this precise area. He was an early hunter who in 1811 was robbed near Read more…
We followed some road signs for a lava cast forest and found ourselves exploring the Newberry National Volcanic Monument for a couple of days. We saw volcanic flows that have surrounded trees and when the trees burned away left casts in the volcanic rock.We cycled two miles up and down Read more…
We had never heard of Ashland but ended up spending a few days there. We found a idyllic campground at Emigrant Lake with showers and a lovely lake to swim in which was only $20 a night. While there we decided to replace Fred’s oil and brake pads. The oil Read more…
After leaving Shasta Lake we were treated to spectacular views of Mount Shasta which is over 14,000ft and very impressive covered in snow. We headed West down the Klamath River and pitched up for the night in the shade, desperately trying to cool our little van for the evening. It Read more…
We headed North out of Quincy with its railroad history – train spotters would love it here!A little lunch stop at the lakeside in Chester was beautiful as we watched rainstorms moving all around us.Our destination was Lassen National Park which is a volcanic area with still lots of geothermal Read more…
So we thought we were done with skiing but then woke up to this ….. Down at the village level there had been about 5cm of fresh snow overnight and more forecast throughout the morning. Out came our ski gear once again and we drove back down the road to Read more…
So just when we were breaking out our shorts and flip flops, heading to Lake Tahoe to kayak on the lake, mother nature decided to send snow this way instead. No worries – let’s get out the skis (as we both still have dodgy ankles from snowboard crashes) and go Read more…
Some days we have had an amazing time at the beach or in a park or mountain biking in a forest. We get back to the van and cook our dinner and it would be lovely to just kick back and stay right there for the night. Only we are Read more…
So we had planned to dash off from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe to go kayaking and SUPing on the lake, only with the crazy rainstorms we were experiencig on the coast, Lake Tahoe was getting fresh snow! And lots of it!So a little re-planning was required. We decided some Read more…
I’m pretty sure Chicago owns the title of “The Windy City” so flip – it must be windy there if it beats San Francisco!!!! We knew our arrival was coinciding with rain storms so our first day we checked into a hotel in San Bruno (near the airport) and waited Read more…
So we may have just discovered a new favourite animal – the sea otter. They are so cute, playful and then they just wrap themselves in kelp to stop them drifting and chill while keeping their head and front paws dry. We had seen them around Morro to Bay and Read more…