We're happy to report that the Rebel, FJ and the two occupants returned to Seattle in one piece following four weeks in Utah Spokane
For those that followed our stories last October, you know that we are forever up against darkness and/or weather in the pursuit of our little adventures, as we never seem to get an early start. Somehow, that wasn't the case on the initial day of 2012. We were out of the Doubletree with fresh coffee in hand and a fully loaded FJ at precisely 9am. With the Rose Bowl pushed backed to January 2 due to their agreement with God, January 1 became a travel day for us.
We both agreed that we would let the weather guide us on this trip. If the Northern Rockies were in the throes of Arctic air, then we'd head south to McCall,Bend Arctic , thus we headed north on Jan. 1.
Our intended destination was Banff, Alberta, the gateway town to many of Canada's most spectacular National Parks. The route would take us north from Coeur d' Alene on US 95 to a border crossing reminiscent of the one of Bill Murray and company used to gain entry to Czechoslovakia in Stripes.
With the Canadian Rockies in view, we hustled through Cranbrook to the Columbia River valley, where it's namesake river looks just like any other mountain stream. We checked out Invermere for future reference. It's a small resort town on Lake Windermere, where pond hockey passes the time until summer emerges. Then, a stunning transformation in a short distance . . . just a few miles from the valley floor, lies Radium Hot Springs. It's like being transported from Ellensburg to Switzerland in 10 minutes. The town sits on a mountain side, while a narrow chasm allows the highway to sneak through the cliffs to Alberta. We spotted many people welcoming the new year bathing in the natural hot springs near the road. With dinner plans in Banff with Terry & Nicole, Radium would also wait.
The route through the Candian Rockies was spectacular. Passages through the mountains in the Pacific Northwest tend to be tedious uphills, downhills and narrow canyons. Not the case in this part of the Rockies, broad valleys and gentle climbs with towering peaks just far enough away greeted us in Kootenay National Park. Finally we reached the Continental Divide and Banff National Park, almost there . . . oh wait, how did our FJ thermometer know to switch to Celsius ? It says 9 degrees, that's about 50 F, right ? Ha, nice try. We hadn't been out of the car since Cranbrook, we were not prepared for the unexpected Arctic Air that wasn't any where near the forecast we checked just a few hours ago.
We arrive in Banff just after sunset, a "not so bad at all" 7 hour drive from Spokane and easily located the Rundlestone Lodge on the main drag. We decided to walk to the main area of Banff for dinner. After about 30 seconds of arctic blast, we texted Terry and implored him to keep an eye out for two cold Seattlites walking down Banff Avenue. Thankfuly, Terry checks his messages while driving, he retrived us minutes later while we tried to negoiate the sheer ice sidewalk in front of the Shell Station.
The Rose & Crown was the closest eatery to our parking spot, thus our business went there. The Old Man and Terry quickly chose a table and positioned themselves with a clear view of the NFL game. We all enjoyed dinner and beverages, and those of us without a 2 hour drive back to Calgary might have enjoyed some extras. After dinner, the men suggested we go for a walk around town, that lasted about half a block before the aforementioned "men" decided it was too cold. Many thanks to Terry & Nicole for coming up to Banff for supper. We exchanged a few laughs, stories, books, and some contraband chew that the Old Man snuck past border patrol.
Tomorrow brings the Rose Bowl and our first day to play.
For those that followed our stories last October, you know that we are forever up against darkness and/or weather in the pursuit of our little adventures, as we never seem to get an early start. Somehow, that wasn't the case on the initial day of 2012. We were out of the Doubletree with fresh coffee in hand and a fully loaded FJ at precisely 9am. With the Rose Bowl pushed backed to January 2 due to their agreement with God, January 1 became a travel day for us.
We both agreed that we would let the weather guide us on this trip. If the Northern Rockies were in the throes of Arctic air, then we'd head south to McCall,
Our intended destination was Banff, Alberta, the gateway town to many of Canada's most spectacular National Parks. The route would take us north from Coeur d' Alene on US 95 to a border crossing reminiscent of the one of Bill Murray and company used to gain entry to Czechoslovakia in Stripes.
With the Canadian Rockies in view, we hustled through Cranbrook to the Columbia River valley, where it's namesake river looks just like any other mountain stream. We checked out Invermere for future reference. It's a small resort town on Lake Windermere, where pond hockey passes the time until summer emerges. Then, a stunning transformation in a short distance . . . just a few miles from the valley floor, lies Radium Hot Springs. It's like being transported from Ellensburg to Switzerland in 10 minutes. The town sits on a mountain side, while a narrow chasm allows the highway to sneak through the cliffs to Alberta. We spotted many people welcoming the new year bathing in the natural hot springs near the road. With dinner plans in Banff with Terry & Nicole, Radium would also wait.
The route through the Candian Rockies was spectacular. Passages through the mountains in the Pacific Northwest tend to be tedious uphills, downhills and narrow canyons. Not the case in this part of the Rockies, broad valleys and gentle climbs with towering peaks just far enough away greeted us in Kootenay National Park. Finally we reached the Continental Divide and Banff National Park, almost there . . . oh wait, how did our FJ thermometer know to switch to Celsius ? It says 9 degrees, that's about 50 F, right ? Ha, nice try. We hadn't been out of the car since Cranbrook, we were not prepared for the unexpected Arctic Air that wasn't any where near the forecast we checked just a few hours ago.
We arrive in Banff just after sunset, a "not so bad at all" 7 hour drive from Spokane and easily located the Rundlestone Lodge on the main drag. We decided to walk to the main area of Banff for dinner. After about 30 seconds of arctic blast, we texted Terry and implored him to keep an eye out for two cold Seattlites walking down Banff Avenue. Thankfuly, Terry checks his messages while driving, he retrived us minutes later while we tried to negoiate the sheer ice sidewalk in front of the Shell Station.
The Rose & Crown was the closest eatery to our parking spot, thus our business went there. The Old Man and Terry quickly chose a table and positioned themselves with a clear view of the NFL game. We all enjoyed dinner and beverages, and those of us without a 2 hour drive back to Calgary might have enjoyed some extras. After dinner, the men suggested we go for a walk around town, that lasted about half a block before the aforementioned "men" decided it was too cold. Many thanks to Terry & Nicole for coming up to Banff for supper. We exchanged a few laughs, stories, books, and some contraband chew that the Old Man snuck past border patrol.
Tomorrow brings the Rose Bowl and our first day to play.
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