We crossed the border into Canada with barely any questions asked...we simply showed our passports and we were through - welcomed by a well-fed deer munching unafraid on the grass at the roadside. How easy is that? And the natural beauty of the land we visited there - took our breath away!
 |
| Kinney Lake - Mt Robson |
 |
| Looking for mountain sheep - white spots on green |
.JPG) |
| Canadian Rocky solitude |
.JPG) |
| Drama epitomized - Athabascan Falls, Jasper |
.JPG) |
| Steps as an art form! |
After provisioning in Cranbrook, we headed for Kootenay National Park which we explored for two days. We camped right on the Kootenay river with the sound of water rushing by as our evening entertainment. The mosquitoes welcomed us enthusiastically (the campground was virtually empty) and the deer quietly hung around our campsite all day (perhaps for protection).
 |
| Rough day pondering... |
 |
| Suspension bridge across the Kootenay River on our hike to Dog Lake |
.JPG) |
| Dog Lake - Kootenay - our reward |
 |
| Just help yourself, but purchase a fire permit first! |
In the evening or at dusk (defined here as between 7:00 and 8:00 pm - though nightfall here isn't until much later), we drove around searching for for animals . We were rewarded by both a grizzly and a wolf siting - good job spotting, Ernie!
 |
| In the center - A young male Grizzly, watching us watch him |
 |
| Gray wolf - roadside - sauntering along |
Banff had a major fire so we headed north to Jasper to escape the smoke. We camped at Mt. Kerkeslin - a primitive campground south of the Jasper mega-campgrounds (1400 sites - all of which were full all week). Our little campground was a delight and basically empty for much of the week. The word "primitive" was a gift, since it filtered out the crowd. No big rigs dared enter, due to the heavy tree coverage and narrow windy road. Again - our little rig made it easy for us to find the perfect place.
 |
| Jasper heaven |
 |
| Finally - the rains extinguished the fires - now gorgeous skies! |
 |
| Maligne Lake dusk |
 |
| Up close and personal.."uggh - Ernie, please drive on!" |
 |
| Mountains here rise abruptly from the valley floor |
While there, Ernie had a minor disagreement with a ground squirrel, who after an argument, eventually "stole" E's generator towel cover (possibly for a nest, or ???). The squirrel won. Though, we figured it was better to lose a towel than to have him chew through some electrical wiring.
From there we journeyed to Mt Robson Provincial Park and had a wonderful two days relaxing and hiking there. The trail to Kinney Lake (8.4 mi. RT to the campground) was busy, but provided beautiful vistas of the mountains and the lake.
 |
| Mt Robson's glacial pastels |
 |
| Pride of workmanship for picnics |
 |
| Cow Parsnip and Fireweed flourished here |
 |
| Common Paintbrush |
 |
| Purrrrfect campsite |
 |
| Lush trail to Kinney Lake |
 |
| Kinney Lake waterfalls |
 |
| Dusk settles quietly over the mountain |
We had visited Mt. Robson park about 20 years ago and it held very special memories for us since the kids had loved it so. It was fun to return to see that the magic is still here...
Next stop...Prince Rupert or near there...
Boy you guys deliver the goods.....great photos, local wildlife included, just doesn't get better than that on a RV'ers blog about camping in the Great Outdoors! Loved the scene of the "perfect campsite", wished there had been a dinner photo and the campfire smells to accompany it all.
ReplyDeleteYou get ***** stars for a excellent post this time as well.
Your Pros....keep'em coming..your making summer 2014 memoriable
From Wine Country
Dottie & Alice
We promise to do one on our menu's and what we eat soon! keep busy with little "R" and we can't wait to meet him!
Delete