BC and Alberta, Canada
MEM-YVR, YEG-MEM
July 1 - 9- Woke up in the morning around 8 or so, and packed everything up for travel. We got rid of everything that was no longer needed, since we weren't going to be camping any more. Left camp around 9:15 and drove east to Edmonton, arriving around 12:30 or so.
The GPS directed us to some industrial area on the northwest side of the city. After a bit of confusion and map searching, we got the correct address to the hotel and followed the map to the location, which was about 30 km south of where we were. - We checked into the airport Hampton, showered, and got ready to see the city. We wanted to go to the Royal Alberta Museum and then to the Old Strathcona area, but we needed to eat first. We ended up having dinner at Siciliano's Pasta Kitchen, a nice place with good food and decent service. Had a beer (Grasshopper) and wine with our meal, then headed to the museum.
- We arrived at the museum at 4 PM, so we only had an hour to check out the entire place before it closed. The museum houses two permanent exhibits (bugs, and aboriginal history) on the second level. We had to rush to finish the temporary exhibits on the lower level and we were rushed out at 5:00.
- After leaving the museum, we drove past the Alberta Legislature Building and got a couple pictures.
We also happened to see a couple police cars - something we really had not seen the entire week we had been in Canada. - The Old Strathcona district is adjacent to the University of Alberta campus. The area is pretty large and is full of shops, restaurants, and bars. The bars were our main concern, obviously. We walked for a while and stopped for a pint at O'Byrne's Irish Pub. From there, we went to a place called the Billiard Club and played pool. There was a music festival going on in the district all weekend, where a lot of the restaurants/bars play host to several bands. We heard 2 or 3 bands play (quite decent music).
Nick secured a CD from the first band that performed to play on Lost in the Shuffle, the world famous radio show which he co-hosts. We had had several pints by that point, so we decided to leave and get a 6er for the hotel (and a bottle of wine). The hotel had no proper courtyard, but the lady at the front desk did suggest the bench outside the front door. So we sat there and drank and talked to the employees. Finally crashed around midnight. - The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel, then went to the airport for our flight back to Memphis. We were both upgraded on the leg to Minneapolis.
- Total mileage: 436 km on Friday, 2,532 km total.
- Final thoughts on Canada: 13$ cigarettes; 15$ 6-packs; good number of wineries and vineyards in BC; the term "hoser" is not used as frequently in Canada as one might believe' guns are legal; people are friendly, but tend to move a bit slower than what we're used to; "aboot"; Calgary was mildly disappointing; Edmonton was surprisingly appealing; Vancouver is a Canadian Seattle; food/groceries very expensive; more smokers than anticipated, and smoking allowed in more places than in the US; and finally, it seemed that every time we asked for ranch dressing the server would bring us Caesar dressing...not the same thing.
BC and Alberta, Canada
MEM-YVR, YEG-MEM
July 1 - 9
- Got up, took the tent town, and departed camp around 10:15 AM and on the way out, we stopped at Athabasca Falls, very scenic falls in a deep gorge cutting through the rock.
- In Jasper, Alberta, we stopped for lunch. We liked Jasper - it's a cute, touristy town with lots of restaurants and shops. We had lunch at Jasper Pizza Place (pita/tzatziki and a Greek pizza). Delicious. After lunch, we stopped at a gift store and picked up a magnet and some junk.
- Leaving Jasper, we took Hwy 16 to Hwy 40 to Hinton, where we got some chicken and beer. Drove another 25 km or so to William A. Switzer Provincial Park. The first campground there was full (meaning, packed with children and RVs), so we stopped at the visitor center and the nice lady directed us to Cache campground. There was only 1 other group of campers (a couple more came in later) so we decided to set up camp here. Decent scenery and it was fairly quiet.
- From the campground, we drove down to Gregg Lake and did a 3.5 mile hike through the woods. Along the way, interpretive signs taught about kettles and kames.
- We were back to the site by 5 pm or so, where the family a couple spots down had begun chopping down small trees for firewood. Some people just don't get it. Dinner was BBQ chicken thighs, potatoes/onions and beans. Last camp night :-(
- Mileage: 191 km, 2096 km total
- Drink of the day was a horrible white wine from a BC vineyard (Laszo Pinot Blanc)
- Weather was very warm today - 30 C in Jasper.
BC and Alberta, Canada
MEM-YVR, YEG-MEM
July 1 - 9- We left the Sandman Hotel at 9:30 and drove back west via Hwy 1 toward Banff N.P. There were great views of the Rockies from the city and driving on the highway - very similar to the view from Denver toward the US Rocky Mountains.
- Entered Banff NP and went to the town of Banff.
We went to the Cave and Basin, but it was closed for renovations so we kept on through the town to Bow Falls, along the Bow River. 
Checked out the falls and got some photos, then had lunch at Timber Food Co, a restaurant downtown. Nick had a pot pie and salad and Brad had a ham and cheese panini with fries. It was a decent meal; surprisingly not overpriced like most places we've been eating. After eating, we stopped at the Post to mail a card (1.05$ CDN) and got gas (30$) then left the town of Banff via 93 toward Jasper N.P. - Drove about 70 km through Banff NP to Lake Louise, but there were so many people there that we just had to get the hell out. It's named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, daughter of Queen Victoria. Elevation here is 5,680 feet. We continued on to Moraine Lake, which sits in the Valley of the Ten Peaks, on the old version of the Canadian 20$ bill. Peak elevation here is 11,200 feet, making it the 3rd tallest in Banff.
- We followed Hwy 93 through Icefields Parkway, known as the most scenic highway in the world.
The color of the lakes and rivers (almost an emerald color) comes from the minerals in the water. We saw lots of wildlife (including several deer and mountain goats). Stopped at Sunwaptha Falls and took a short walk through the woods to the falls, which were really beautiful. Water cascades down and through very narrow canyons. We took some pictures and then got back on the road.
- We finally arrived in Jasper National Park, still on the Icefields Parkway. The area, comprised of about 200 square miles, is one of the largest icefields south of the Arctic Circle. In the park, we checked out Jonas Creek campground, which was pretty bad, so we just settled on Honeymoon Lake campground.
- Mileage: 395 Km, 1905 km total
- Beer of the day: Canadian Molson, Pilsner, and 2 bottles of sauvignon blanc.
- Dinner was salad with sausages, sun-dried tomatoes and vinaigrette.
- Dark at 11 PM.
BC and Alberta, Canada
MEM-YVR, YEG-MEM
July 1 - 9- We left Dunbar Lake around 9 AM and went south via Westside Road, which connected to 93 in Radium Hot Springs, BC. We drove from there through Kootenay National Park and connected with Hwy 1 (Trans-Canada Hwy) in Banff after we crossed into Alberta. From there we went into Banff National Park and then on to Calgary.
- We arrived in Calgary around 3 PM and checked into the Sandman Hotel downtown at 7th Ave and 8th St. Finally able to shower! The hotel rooms here were kind of a relic from what seemed like the 70s and 80s but the lobby was fairly modern and renovated. We felt the money could have been used to provide a soft, non-caving-in bed, as well as a tub that actually drained so as not to have to stand in one's own filth.
- From the hotel, we walked downtown to find something to eat; we were starving. Not a whole lot of decent options were available. The downtown area is large but it's more of a corporate/business area rather than a residential mix, so there wasn't a lot going on, even with Stampede coming up in a week. We ended up finding a place to eat. Had a mojito and beer, Nick had a margherita pizza (sent it back) and Brad had a salad. Waitress sucked.
- After we ate our slop, we went to the Calgary Tower and rode up to the observation deck. It had great views of the city, but not a whole lot of information about the town, which would have been helpful.
- Almost ready to call it a night, we decided instead to have a go at a beer at an Irish pub near the hotel. We weren't really in the mood to do much, so we just ended up going back to the hotel and calling it a night.
- Mileage: 294 Km (1510 Km total)
BC and Alberta, Canada
MEM-YVR, YEG-MEM
July 1 - 9- Woke up, packed, and left camp around 9 AM. We were planning a long travel day (about 7 hours), so we wanted to get on ASAP.
- Crossed the Continental Divide around 11 AM and continued on via highway 3 to Cranbrook. Had lunch at Cancun Mexican Restaurant, owned by an El Salvadorian man. Lunch was good, and inexpensive (16$).
- Stopped in Canal Flats, in the Kootenay River Valley, for gas (45$). Once past Canal Flats, we pulled off the highway for a photo of Columbia Lake. We drove up on a sandy pull off (may or may not have private property) to the top of a massive plateau-like overlook. Below was a coal train, running alongside the lakeshore.
- We arrived in Radium Hot Springs, BC and stopped at a visitor center there to look up some places to camp. We had tried unsuccessfully to find a place on our own and we weren't willing to settle for RV campers as neighbors. Radium Hot Springs is a very commercialized town, with resorts and parks and motels focusing on what we call the "RV version" of outdoor adventure. Not really our style. We were given a couple maps by the rangers and pointed toward Briscoe via BC 95 Hwy. We drove through Crown Land (similar to BLM land in the States) forest for about 1.5 hours trying to find a place to camp. We had a specific place in mind, but we were going from a map that was not to scale. Most of the forest roads were logging roads and were not marked well, if at all. In addition, the roads were dirt and extremely rough.
We were following behind some locals in a pickup truck and at one point they had stopped along the side of the road. We pulled up and asked what they were looking at (like nosy Americans should do) and they pointed out a small black bear in the woods, about 20 meters from the road. First bear sighting of the year! We kept driving a while longer then ran into the same people again, this time going the opposite way. They directed us to the Twin Lakes camping and recreation area that we were looking for initially. We ended up finding it, but decided to go a bit farther and came across Dunbar Lake and campground. There was no one camped out, so we felt like this was a perfect place to stop for the night and pitched the tent. 
It ended up being one of our favorite places that we've ever camped - definitely comparable to Bowman Lake campsite at Glacier National Park exactly 5 years prior (to the day). Amazing view of the lake (camped on the shore) with a great sunset that went down directly across the lake behind the mountains, some of which were still covered in snow. The lake was crystal clear. We had a great fire and played a few games of Chinese Checkers and drank a lot of beer and wine.
- Dinner was chicken, potatoes, and corn
- Mileage: 496 km today; 1216 km total
- Temperature ranged from 8 C to 21 C.
BC and Alberta, Canada
MEM-YVR, YEG-MEM
July 1 - 9- HAPPY AMERICA DAY. Fuck yeah.
- We broke down camp at 9:45 AM and found a trail within Cathedral PP (Ewart Creek Trail). Hiked in for about an hour (mostly uphill) then turned around and came back. We guessed about 5 miles total - and in that time, saw lots of deer and great views of the hills and forest.
- We left Cathedral and drove through Keremeos, where we stopped and had a fairly poorly executed lunch at some mom n pop place. Waited about 40 minutes for a couple sandwiches that certainly weren't worth the 40 minute wait. We also stopped at a local fruit stand on the side of the highway and got some fruit (cherries were in season and very good).
- A couple more wineries presented themselves, so we stopped in at Caslo, tasted (so-so) and bought a bottle of pinot grigio. After that we visited two others, buying a nice rose at Seven Stones Winery. We talked to a very nice couple there that ran the place for a while, then got back on the road.
- We continued on via Highway 3 east through Rock Creek (pretty resort town), Greenwood (pop. 625), and Grand Forks. It was a beautiful drive going up and down the valleys - nice views, lots of local produce and farmland.
- Our destination for the day was Gladstone Provincial Park. We secured one of the three remaining spots at the campground (#27, for 21$/night). We didn't have a view of Christina Lake, but it was relatively quiet and scenic. We took a walk down to the "beach" and hung out there for a bit. The shoreline was really just rocky outcrops and giant stones made up the beachfront.
- For an entertaining story about the region, click here.
- Dinner was chicken, corn on the cob, and beans. While we were cooking, the campground hosts stopped by and chatted for a while. They were really friendly (and talkative) and had some great info on places to go in Alberta, including a couple national and provincial parks.
- Beer of the day: leftovers, and the bottle of wine from Seven Stones (which was decent). Mileage: 241 km today/720 total.
BC and Alberta, Canada
MEM-YVR, YEG-MEM
July 1 - 9- Dined on waffles and powdered eggs (in scrambled form) at the Hampton, then packed and checked out of the hotel. We left Vancouver via Highway 1 (TransCanada Highway) and headed east.
After about 45 minutes, we stopped at the Fort Winery in Langley and did a bit of tasting. The winery had all fruit wines - apple, pear, cranberry - but no grape wines. The farm itself was comprised of 8 cranberry bogs. The valley is known for fruit-growing, but not necessarily grapes because the region is too wet for them to grow successfully. The owner told us that farther east in B.C. (Okanaga Valley) was prime grape-growing and winery country. 
- We continued on through southern B.C. Stopped at Abottsford for supplies (food, cooler, etc) and had lunch at a Red Robin. Brad was ecstatic about this as he worked as a server for the company in Charlotte while in college. The waiter at this one (Cory) was a CD-Bag (Canadian douchebag). Sunglasses on his head (why?), and kept using the phrase "no worries" as a go-to.
- Got back on the road and continued east. Stopped at a liquor store off the highway to get beer. A 6-pack of Busch was 11$. 12 packs were between 25-30 CDN$. Good 6 packs were 15$. We decided to skip it and find some elsewhere. Now on Highway 3 (Crow's Nest Hwy), we kept going east and stopped in Princeton, B.C. to make another attempt at buying beer. Again, we found outrageous prices...25-30 CDN$ for a 12 pack. Ugh. Got 2 bottles of wine (@ 9$ each) and a 12pack of Okanagan and a 6 pack of Red Racer white ale. 62$ total.
- Went to Dairy Queen (always 0ur weakness) and had blizzards to recover from the sticker shock of the beer.
- We reached Cathedral Provincial Park at 6 PM and camped at Buckhorn Campground - free camping! We had bought firewood from a riverside pull through campground...one load for 12 CDN$. Dinner was chicken and potatoes cooked over the fire. As a side note, the 2 bags of groceries we purchased was 70$.
- Mileage - 480 KM. Beer of the day was Red Racer, Okanagan Pale. Beers in Canada we've had so far are really bad. The pale ale tasted like Budweiser. These people are NOT good at brewing and should really leave this to the Americans, who know what they are doing.
- 3/4 tank of gas. Darkness at 10:30 PM.
BC and Alberta, Canada
MEM-YVR, YEG-MEM
July 1 - 9
- Got up and ate breakfast around 7:30 at the hotel.
- We planned on checking out Stanley Park, a large urban park northwest of the city. We drove there and got a good view of the city from across the bay.
Got some pictures, and drove through the park to the Vancouver Aquarium (27$/person!). We ended up spending a couple hours in the aquarium. There were lots of huge fish, cool jellyfish, and a bunch of other different aquatic creatures. 
There was also an Amazon exhibit with birds, butterflies, snakes, etc. We caught a bit of the dolphin training demonstration (it wasn't a show, just a demonstration to the crowd on how the trainers actually get the captive animals to do what they tell them to do). 
We also learned about the beluga whales and otters. The beluga whales were probably the most interesting, just because of their appearance. They are white whales about 10-12 feet in length, and up to a ton and a half in weight. From Wikipedia: commonly referred to simply as the beluga or sea canary due to its high-pitched twitter. It is up to 5 meters (16 ft) in length and an unmistakable all-white color with a distinctive protuberance on the head. 
- By the time we left the aquarium, it was packed with screaming, running children...we had gotten there pretty early in the day, which was perfect timing. At the car, we had a parking ticket waiting for us, but hey it's a rental (that means we'll pay it next time we're in Vancouver, of course).
- Drove from Stanley Park to Granville Island (not really an island) and went to the The Keg Restaurant for lunch...very poor quality food and 2 beers cost 50$.
After eating, we walked across the street to Granville Island Brewery and did a small sampler of beer that really wasn't the greatest in flavor, appearance, or cost. 
We so far were a bit disappointed by the beers in the city. Especially since this region, along with Seattle and the rest of the Pacific Northwest US is known for great craft beers. We went ahead and toured the public market, then headed back to the hotel for some rest (our dogs were barkin) then to the Convention Center area where the Winter Olympic Cauldron is. 
It was pretty underwhelming, but there was a nice view of Grouse Mountain, Stanley Park, and the bay. - On our way to check out Chinatown, we stopped for shushi. It was early evening in Chinatown, and there was a street fair going on.
Lots of junk for sale and tons of food. We were pretty hungry, so we just ate some greasy fried Chinese food for dinner and then took in a karaoke show (?). Definitely entertaining.
- Headed back to the hotel and watched "The Crazies" and then called it a night.
BC and Alberta, Canada
MEM-YVR, YEG-MEM
July 1 - 9- Canada Day!
- Arrived in Vancouver via Memphis through MSP around 11:30 PM. It was a pretty easy trip through customs and immigration, as expected.
- We checked into the hotel, a Hampton Inn downtown (corner room!), and then went to the Atlantic Trap and Gill across the street from the hotel for a drink. The bartender, Kevin, gave us some useful information about the city, where to go, things to see, etc.
- After hanging out and mingling with a few people at the bar, we went back to the room and got to sleep.
