Canada was breathtaking. We stopped in Vancouver to visit with a friend and found some great places to have fun in the city. We explored a beach with the friendliest cops we have ever met. They were patrolling on ATV’s and said we’d be welcome to spend the night in the beach parking lot. There was a large volleyball match right on the beach and 15 giant shipping freighters pulled into port in the background.
- Beautiful border crossing
- Our “parking” spot
- Parklet
- Window art
- Freighters coming in
- Friendly Cops
- Wood art
- Wood stock
- Earnest
Out in the countryside we encountered the most wildlife we had ever seen. We even found some peoplelife.
- Camping spot next to some train tracks
- Peoplelife
- Elk
- $2 packable shish kabob grill
Entering into Jasper and Banff National Parks we had plenty of sights to see.
- Jasper free camping spot
- Best recycling facility ever
- Tent living
- Wildlife bridge
- Baby bears
- Slot river
- Calcium buildup
Back in California we had started getting interested in natural hot springs. Canada was a great place to take a dip is some more. We found some great out of the way spots.
- Old hot springs bath house
- Natural hot spring
- Food
- Hotspring waterfall
- Hot Hot Hot
We had gone back and forth about whether to make the trip up to Canada or not. We are so glad we did. After the mountains of Yosemite, the vistas through Big Sur, and the waterfalls of Oregon we thought we’d seen natural beauty. Even after getting used to seeing beautiful things, Banff and Jasper hit it out of the park. It had the mountain beauty of the Colorado Rocky’s with the grand scale of Yosemite. This certainly will be on our list of places to visit again.
When you crossed into Canada you came through the area where our grandson, Sterling, is working at a ski resort winters and on the power lines in summer. He loves it and sends great pics like yours. about ten years ago I traveled in a truck camper with friends through much the same route you did. A few years ago on my bike I did the other side of the range from Pincher Creek on up to Jasper and then headed East via the northern route to get back home. Not bad country, hey?