We eventually rose at 7:45am and sorted out our stuff for the laundrette. We had showers there too. Then, while the clothes were drying we went to A&W for breakfast. Unfortunately though they don't serve burgers before 11am so Simon and I couldn't use our vouchers so we had sausages+eggers instead. We collected our washing, I listened to a message from Mum and made our way back to the van. First stop was Patricia Lake, nothing spectacular, then Pyramid Lake. Pyramid mountain was really nice and we attempted to find the overlook, but ended up walking for ages and getting lost! We found our way back eventually though, more by luck than judgement, and then we left Jasper.
Our next stop was Sunwapta Falls, yet another half-frozen waterfall! We stopped for lunch in a very picturesque lay-by and discovered leaking oil again! We only stopped once more before Banff - to visit the ladies room in Lake Louise. We parked near the Banff Springs Hotel and went and checked it out. It is really quite grand and we ended up sampling a few of the local beers there. Simon said he would take us out for dinner so we bundled up again and headed downtown. We went to a pizza place and had a really nice meal. We left and went back to the van at about 10pm.
Tuesday 11th November
We had Simon's alarm this morning so getting up wasn't so much of a problem. We went and had our morning wash i Banff Springs hotel, came back for breakfast and then checked out Bow Falls. Now Simon and Claire have gone to hike up Tunnel Mountain and I voted to stay here. It got too cold in the van so I ventured outside. I went to squat behind some trees, something I'm getting very used to, but my body thought "No! it's far too cold for that malarky". So I went to the theatre which was close by and used the facilities and called Darren's talky. I got back to the van and made myself a cup of coffee and started doing the dishes when Claire and Simon came back. After having a tea break we wandered into town, primarily to find a bakery for something for lunch. We couldn't find one so bought some postcards and headed back to the van. We met Sally and Kerry on our way back, they had just arrived for the ski season and were working at Sunshine Village. They told us where the supermarket was so we got back in Calvin and headed that way. We eventually found it and Claire and Simon jumped out while I kept looking for a place to park. We bought our lunch and then headed off to our last sightseeing round Banff. We stopped at the Hoodoos, some Limestone figures eroded out from a cliff, the Natives believe them to be evil. It was then on to the Buffalo Compound which unfortunately was shut so then onto mine and Simon's favourite lake, "Lake Minniewanka". We stopped at Johnston Lake for lunch and then had a backup Christmas photo taken at Minniewanka. We finished the loop and went on to Calgary. I drove to start with but got a bit tired so Simon took over. He drew the short straw really as he has to drive into Calgary itself. Before the city we stopped at the Olympic Park where Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards jumped and Cool Runnings was inspired. We stressed through the city and eventually parked near "Eau Claire" market. We walked around the city and then back to the market where after much decision making we watched "Gattaca". The film was really good and quite thought provoking about future gene selection etc. We drove out of a city and found a Canadian Tyre car park to sleep in yet again.
Wednesday 12th November
Got up early and was amazed to find no ice on the windows. We went straight in to Canadian Tire and actually ate our breakfast in the air on a hydraulic jack. While they were fixing what Salmon Arm Canadian Tire did we went to Zellers and bought our sampler stuff. The van was eventually done at about 11:30am and so we made our way out of Canada. We are now driving more or less non-stop so we can get Simon to Ottawa to get his flight to Vancouver. We went through immigration and entered Montana ending up about 60k from North Dakota by the tie Simon finished driving at 2am.
<these are extracts from my diaries written whilst travelling and working in Canada and the US in '97-'98>
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