June 3 , Tuesday

Learned a few new words since coming into Canada, eh?  Driving a few “clicks” down the road, learning to calculate the “looney” and “twooney” and making sure we’ve figured the liters/ mile and how tall our trailer is in meters.  Wow, I’m tired already and it’s only a few “clicks” we’ve driven from Lundbeck Falls to Canmore.  Parked at a beautiful park with views of the Canadian Rockies.  

   Dinner by the river looking at these mountains.  Lots of small wildlife, bunnies, ducks. We can’t get over that we sit around the fire til 10-10:30pm and it’s still bright sunlight outside.  We haven’t actually seen dark yet as we’re in bed by 10:45 with the darkening shades to get some sleep. Then up by 5am, as the sun is already up.  Wow and we’re not even close to Alaska yet. I'm all bundled up in the my "Mother's day blanket" that Rachel made.  It's been a life saver as it's still cold here when sitting outside. 

June 4^th, Wednesday

Canmore, spent a few hours getting laundry, bills caught up and on the internet as we have been without internet and cell service in Canada.

  Walking around this town with the backdrop of Rocky Mountains, snow on the peaks, is breath taking.  I can’t imagine waking to this every day!  I’d get nothing done only looking at them, eh?

   For my quilting friends, I did drop into a quilt store here, but so far, nothing is much different than what I would see at home, so waiting to buy anything.

  So we met another Texan in a pub that lives here, she is practicing saying,  “I reckon y’ll need a drink, eh? “

    Perry and Lin this evening are Rednecking around on the river which is just behind our RV site.  Not sure what they thought they were going to catch?

June 5^th, Thursday

   Banff NP, Banff township. 

Woke up to Ice coming off the top of the RVs this am in Canmore.  Bundled up with lots of jackets and headed up the road to Banff NP.  Just a few “clicks” up the road and we parked the RVs in a wonderful park here.  The mountains are foggy this am, so we don’t have the best views as we head up.  Decide to just drive around the town, have picnic at Lake Minnewanka  with the back drop of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and then drive the scenic loops.

  Have to call the day our “Day of Wildlife”

     Prairie Dog, Bull and Cow Elks, Mule Deer, Big Horn Sheep and the 2 most elusive, Grizzly Bear and Wolf!!  All in one day just around Banff town and the surrounding NP. 

Of course we have a thousand more pics of these animals, but wanted to get a few on the blog so everyone can enjoy them with us. 

Can’t get over all the wildlife here.  That was so exciting.

   Only saw a few history areas today as we had too much time taking pics of the wild ones!!

   June 2nd, 2014  Monday

  

  Slept very well in our WallyWorld RV park last night, aka, Walmart.  Traveling friends, this was their 1^st night overnighting it at WallyWorld.  View this am out my kitchen window is Cosco, and the Garden Center is my LR view.  This must be Canada’s finest! Across the street is the “Real Canadian Superstore”, the competition must be fierce for those RVer’s from the US.

   Heading out this am to see “Head Smash Cliff”.  The Indians forced the buffalo off the cliffs in massive herds for food and skins.  After a day exploring, we plan on heading to Banff NP.  More pics of this to be posted:  Got to Lundbrek Falls after the Cliffs as the guys are really tired.  Found a wonderful place here, no water hook ups but electric so we’ll be fine.  Was a bit tight getting the rigs in around the trees.  I don’t think many people here travel in such large RVs as ours.   We have seen a lot of people taking pics of our rigs when we setting up.

June 3rd, 2014 Tuesday

  Learned a few new words since coming into Canada, eh?  Driving a few “clicks” down the road, learning to calculate the “looney” and “twooney” and making sure we’ve figured the liters/ mile and how tall our trailer is in meters.  Wow, I’m tired already and it’s only a few “clicks” we’ve driven from Lundbeck Falls to Canmore.  Parked at a beautiful park with views of the Canadian Rockies.  

   Dinner by the river looking at these mountains.  Lots of small wildlife, bunnies, ducks. We can’t get over that we sit around the fire til 10-10:30pm and it’s still bright sunlight outside.  We haven’t actually seen dark yet as we’re in bed by 10:45 with the darkening shades to get some sleep. Then up by 5am, as the sun is already up.  Wow and we’re not even close to Alaska yet

WallyWorld Parking

June 1, Sunday

    Continuing to Travel with our fellow RVers today across the border into Canada at Alberta Crossing.  Stopped for our 1^st meal in Canada at the Alberta Visitor Centre, enjoying all the scenery.  Several other RVers from Texas were stopped here, so all y'all left in Texas must be just the ‘Yankees”!!   Ok, my kids will tell me you’re not supposed to talk to strangers on the road, especially not inviting them in for dinner, traveling into another country with them and spending the night beside them in RV parks, some people might play creepy music about now if this were a movie???

    The RV parks are a bit more expensive here, so decided to “rough it” in the WallyWorld parking lot.  Thought that would bring a bit of Redneck Texas to Canada.?  Wondering what my Canadian friends will think of this??

                This is our RV friends, Perry and Tanya pulling up to the Canadian border crossing. 

 Please tell me what the Canadians think of their US friends, if this is the first thing you see at the border? 

          Thought my Canadian Friends would like the first pictures of the border crossing signs. 

               

                                                      Welcome to Canada!!

                                    Visitor center in the first town we stayed at in Canada. 

                           Just to bring a bit of "Texas" to the North!!  Sleeping at Walmart!!

                                             you can see our Garden Center view!!

                   Propane heater and drinks by the fire, nothing better in the Walmart parking lot!!

June 2, Monday

   Slept very well in our WallyWorld RV park last night, aka, Walmart.  Traveling friends, this was their 1^st night overnighting it at WallyWorld.  View this am out my kitchen window is Cosco, and the Garden Center is my LR view.  This must be Canada’s finest! Across the street is the “Real Canadian Superstore”, the competition must be fierce for those RVer’s from the US.

     Heading out this am to see “Head Smash Cliff”.  The Indians forced the buffalo off the cliffs in massive herds for food and skins.  

   What a great place to stop and learn some history of the Indians of the area. The stories say that the Indians set up this area for watching the great herds of buffalos.  They knew the behaviors of them and would set them up to run towards the cliffs after a young boy that was dressed as a "hurt calf".  The buffalo would follow him along long pathways that the Indians set up with rocks and bushes.  At the last minute the Indians would hide behind these same bushes, jump up and wave buffalo hides to get them to stampede ahead.  They would follow the lead buffalo off the sides of the cliff, where now the Indians could butcher them for the hides, meat, bones for tools, etc.

Our next RV park site, in the Canadian NP system, the camp host was building his own storage under the RV. 

Got to Lundbrek Falls after the Cliffs as the guys are really tired.  Found a wonderful place here, no water hook ups but electric so we’ll be fine.

Just amazing seeing and hearing all this water.   Was a bit tight getting the rigs in around the trees.  I don’t think many people here travel in such large RVs as ours.   We have seen a lot of people taking pics of our rigs when we setting up.

We saw this barn leaving our RV site this am, had to stop, take a pic and laugh!

(Internet in Canada is only when we have any at RV parks, so will be updating the blog when we get internet service.  Until then, I am keeping notes on where we are and descriptions of all the pics.)

Great Falls, MT

May 31, Saturday

      Met another couple in our RV Park last night in Garryowen MT, also heading to Alaska the same route we are planning to head up.  Decided to “sort of” Caravan with them, just to have another couple to see Canada with and if any troubles along the way, someone to help out with.  They are full-timers for 3 years.   Heading north to Great Falls, MT –spending a night before crossing the border.   Malstrom AFB RV park for the night.  Lovely park and they allow you to sponsor another RV also, so a pretty cheap night.  Met quite a few others going our way this week, sure we will catch up with them on the road.  Seems like this was a great place to stop and store up before the border. 

     Needed a few more pics, headed to the Falls the city is named for.  Not sure I would call them “Great” Falls, but they were very pretty.  Extremely windy, storm brewing close, a bit hard to get some of the falls in the pics.  Seems like there are 5 different ones as well as Great Springs.  Coming from normal heat of 90-100 degrees, the cool afternoons are very different. 

               We're not sure what this was on the road, but interesting barn? Silo? not sure?

This was Black Eagle falls, the first one we came across.  Apparently we are keeping with the "water" theme on this trip.

This was the Great Springs, they say Lewis and Clark discovered them in their expeditions across MT.

This is a few of the ducks and their new chicks!  So cute, had to get a few pics of them as they were beside the road.

This is the Great Montana Buffalo Fish, only rarely seen and we got a Great pic of him in Downtown Great Falls! 

This is the last of the Great Falls, but have forgotten the name, will have to find that and put in later. 

We just thought this old Church with a different steeple was unusual. The sign at the top says Chicago, Milwaukee and St Paul.