Surprise along the river bank

About mid way through our morning hike along the Bow River in Sundance Canyon we were startled by a movement in the brush. This majestic elk was grazing and watering very calmly, gave us the once over look and carried on with his business and we did the same after taking a couple of photos - this one taken by Margaret....

Tasty little lunch!

Found something tasty in the local market - wild boar pâté - indulged myself with thinly sliced baguette toasted for a real treat. Very distinct game accent! A great local specialty discovery so will carry on searching for elk, bison and venison!

Lock out!

Helped a fellow Airstreamer try to get back into his van after his latch lock bolt fell out! He had to spend a night in the hotel! Next morning we tried access via an outside storage compartment but the gap under the bed would have been suitable for a two year old to squeeze through. Then looked at window forcing which was expensive in terms of replacement! Lastly we asked the locksmith to drill a second hole in the latch and we could easily insert a screwdriver and move the latch! Success!

Doe skin outfits!

Love these Native American or First Nation (as we should perhaps say) clothing items made from the skin of does - young female deers. Soft and flexible, warm and attractive! Reminds me of a long leather jacket I once had in my 20's but nothing like the quality of these fine outfits....

Meet our traveling companions!

Traveling with the entire cast of Game of Thrones but they are slowly but surely being decimated! Splurged on the complete Season 1 through 6 of Game of Thrones - that's 60 episodes plus the nearly 60 episodes rerun with directors, writers and actors commentary plus features... well that will last us for a few months! Never seen any of the series before so this more excitement than we can deal with!

Glamour Tourism

The early days of Rockies tourism promoted by CPR Canadian Pacific Railways to lure tourists to Banff... some of these lakes and mountains take your breath away!

Sunwapta Falls

You can't believe the configuration of a waterfall with an island right in the middle of the fall so that the river had to split and form two streams to the fall. Just a quirky evolution of nature and a very pretty sight! Check out the 1 km trail to the lower falls and see how the river is tortured through all these rock challenges before heading down the valley. A bit overcrowded but worth taking your time as the crowds move you can swing into action and get your shot! A must see on the Icefield Parkway!

Elk invasion!

About 20 elk decided to visit our campsite and enjoy the tender grass around the Airstream. No aggression just a gentle evening stroll through the campground and one decided to try out our neighbor's mat to rest on!

Jay and Emily!

Our wonderful co-campers on loop 53 of Whistlers campground Jasper National Park, Jay deploys his selfie stick and now I appreciate the versatility and advantages of this device! Emily and Jay cooked us a scrumptious Chinese chicken clay pot dinner and we enjoyed their stories and retirement philosophy! Their travels all over the world inspired us! Little did we know that 4 decades ago we spent many years in close proximity in the U.K. while Jay and Emily met in Worcestershire just a few miles north of us while we were starting our life together in Cheltenham Gloucestershire!

Pyramid Lake

Checking out where Chris and Amy were married on the Pyramid Lake Island just close by Jasper Alberta

Five Lakes hike

About three miles, 9,000 steps and 11 floors according to iHealth and it proved to be beautiful walk in the woods with a bit of scrambling! Started along 9a and checked out on the swimmers in lake 5, turned north-east and strolled by lakes 4, 3 and 2 before returning along trail 9b. Great way to see the beauty of the glacial fed lakes in the Rockies.

Windows of opportunity!

Great chart showing optimal dates to visit National Parks! Basically if the kids are on vacation avoid it!

Elk

Had to try out the "Specialty of the Region" as French menus would say to promote local culinary delights! Elk is very tasty, not too gamey and not overwhelming but you do know you have something special on your plate! To start I ordered an appetizer plate of elk, bison and boar meatballs in a rosemary and Port sauce which was outstanding! A dining treat now and again gets you inspired to go back to your own grill and be a little more adventurous!

Jasper Wild Life!!

A great day out in Jasper means encountering the local residents! Mountain goats come down from the mountains to lick the mineral glacier salts and elks graze without taking any notice of the human attention!

Maligne Lake

Started the day with a modest hike along the home bay western end of Maligne Lake located some 30 miles east of Jasper. The lake is fed by three glacier waters and sits in a valley blocked by glacial moraine deposits at some 5,500 ft altitude. We had reserved a spot on the cruise boat which was just as well since they were booked solid for the next three days. Cruised at speed up the narrow but lengthy lake and stopped for the world famous iconic photo opportunity of Spirit Island - which is actually a small peninsula mound with tall pines connected to land - made famous by a Kodachrome promotion in the '60's. Last two days have had spectacular weather conditions with exceptional visibility!

Mt Whistler Jasper

Took the tram to the upper station which is at 6,800 ft then slowly hiked the trail to the summit at 8,100 ft enjoying the magnificent views on either side of the trail. On the way down we deviated from the main trail and found numerous rock creations on the trail overlooking Jasper and lakes.

Jasper National Park

Finally arrived at Jasper and found our site that we reserved back in January. We are here for ten days and have an activity plan that includes lake cruises, aerial trams, long hikes and some serious Canadian cuisine. The pine forest has taken a hit from a beetle invasion that is killing many trees which is rather sad - those pines should not be brown! Got to take care not to leave any food items or food residue like our gas grill out at night because the grizzly bears roam around looking for anything that smells good!

Winthrop frontier schoolhouse

Winthrop is a frontier style town in the North Cascades and the museum features a classroom from the 1890's. I grew up in rural northern France and went to a one room schoolhouse 1952 to 1956 and I have to say the Winthrop 1890's was a lot better looking and equipped than mine half a century later! So many museums I visit are full of the things we used in our early life!!

North Cascades

Made a deviation from plan and headed east across Washington state rather than head north to Vancouver Canada.... Forest fires abound in BC and we are marking time by traveling along Route 20 that parallels the Canadian border before we make a decision based on the latest fire maps. We have ten days reserved in Jasper and another ten days in Banff. North Cascades are beautiful with turquoise lakes colored by fine rock powder in suspension and ground by the movement of glacier ice across rock!

Meeting my new neighbors

Not ready for this! Best get acquainted with a stuffed version at the Visitor Center rather than the real thing on the trail! We do have bear spray that we carry with us when hiking!

Pacific NW

View from Lummi Island looking north-west towards Orcas Islands in the San Juan Islands between Washington state and Canada. The fishing boats form a line across the narrows and run nets boat to boat to catch the salmon running up to their breeding grounds up the Frazier River in British Columbia.

Lummi Island, San Juans, WA

Visiting Robin and Marsha who have retired and built a home on Lummi Island, Washington, for a few days in preparation for our return visit beginning of September for Cariad and Chris's wedding - Cariad is a SMS alum originally from St Barths and her family have stayed in touch and we have visited many times including their hotel in Vieques P.R. and now their new wonderful residence on Lummi. What a beautiful spot to live!

Ferry to Lummi

Quick ten minute ride across the bay to Lummi Island. They give us a double width lane and fifty feet space so it ends up being $58 for the round trip. On the Port Townsend ferry the loadmaster went through a five minute major fine adjustment to the loading ramp so we would avoid bottoming out the rear end of the Airstream!

Lunch at Deception Pass

Great location for lunch as we move north along the Puget Sound islands we stopped the Deception Pass state park using our year long $30 Washington State Discovery Pass! Located just below the bridge between Whidbey Island and Fidalgo Island the park has a parking lot facing the beautiful and wild San Juan de Fuca Straits and frolicking seals in the torrent tidal stream going under the Deception Pass bridge.

This IS camping!

This IS the proper way to CAMP! The previous camper had left a bunch of half burnt logs to which we added our small log collection and massive amount of combustion accelerants! Well it lasted us for four hours and kept the sharp cool air from the Vancouver Straits at bay!

Point Wilson lighthouse

Point Wilson overlooks the seaway to Seattle and navy base Bremerton and was automated a long time ago in 1976. Although the light is still operational the lighthouse and keeper's buildings have the air of an abandoned ghost town!

Fort Worden and Port Townsend

Guarding the main entrance to Puget Sound, Fort Worden overlooks Admiralty Inlet and the San Juan de Fuca straits with Canada Vancouver island in the distance to the NW. The campsite is dead center on second panoramic shot. We are surrounded by sea in three sides!

Trekking around Mt St Helens

Standing here 37 years ago you would have been fried as Mt St Helens exploded with the force of a 24 megaton nuclear explosion. The eruption took off the top of the volcano and collapsed the north side of the crater - the side the photo is looking at - with a huge avalanche and vast deluge of mud and rock flows rushing down the valleys and destroying everything in its path. This was the biggest volcanic event in US history! On the map we are on the red dotted line where the circle 1 is located just at the northern tip of the pyroclast flow - the location was the site of an unfortunate USGS geologist monitoring the volcano. The learning centers and museums do a great job of recounting the build up to and eruption saga and the reconstructive aftermath! Spent three days in the area with beautiful forests, flowers and perfect weather!

Silver Cove Mt St Helens

Silver Cove RV site is some 40 miles from the volcano and the waterways around the campground are connected to Silver Lake and full of lily pads and wildlife - very scenic!