Canada: September 2014

After Montana, BB, Henri and me headed North into a whole 'nother country; Canada.  We were worried that we would be given a thorough inspection at the Canadian checkpoint to insure that we were not bringing in guns, un-vaccinated doggies, or conservative leanings into this vast country, but our crossing at Coutts (Sweetgrass on the  American side) was uneventful and anticlimatic.


From Coutts, we headed up to Calgary, home to BB's cousin Dr. Jane Kelley, and her kids Becky, Megan and Dennis. of "field archeology," after receiving her PhD from Harvard.  Jane spent most of her career a a professor of archeology with the University of Calgary.  Jane conducted extensive studies on the Yaqui Indians, and had studies in the Mexican State of Chihuahua.  While on her trips from Canada to Chihuahua, Jane would often favor us with a visit when we lived in the Austin / Georgetown area of Texas.  We promised Jane that, upon retirement, we would visit her in Calgary.

Jane, Becky, Megan and Dennis are delightful hosts, and were proud to show us the sights of Calgary and the surrounding area.

On our first outing, we went to Banff, Alberta, Canada, and took a gondola ride to the top of the sectacular Canadian Rockies for views of the most impressive scenery I have ever seen:

We took a few pictures from the observation tower at Banff:

L-R:  Megan, Jane and Becky Kelley; Bonnie Bell

Megan, Jane, Becky, BB (and me thrown in for comic relief)

After our gondola ride down, we toured the administrative offices and gardens of Banff:

Jane

Jane and BB

 And what tour of Banff would not be complete without a tour of the famous Banff Fairmont hotel:

Wow.  Looks similar to the La Quinta's I stayed in while working for TxDOT.

Then we looked at Banff Falls:

We had a wonderful time in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, visiting Jane, Becky, Megan and Dennis!  Before we left, we went to a local farmers market and stocked up on supplies for a nice family / friend evening in Becky's beautiful home.

Thanks Becky, Jane, Megan and Dennis!  We'll be back!

After Calgary, we headed East.  Our next stop was the Prairie Oasis RV Complex, in Moose Jaw, SK.  An impressive title for a very unimpressive RV park. For our next stop, we stopped in Brandon, Manatoba for a few nights at the Meadowlark Campground.  From there, we went to Kenora Ontario and stayed at The Willows RV Park and Campground.

In Kenora, we tasted a Canadian treat "Poutine."  Pretty good.

Poutine and Beer

Then, to Thunder Bay Ontario for a stay at the Happy Land RV, then to the Sault Ste Marie KOA, then to Toronto at the KOA Toronto West.  We spent a night at the Camparks RV Resort in Niagra Falls Ontario and toured the beautiful Horseshoe Falls.  After Niagra Falls, we crossed back into the US and spent a night at the Mayfair Campground in Blossvale, NY.

As we moved from the prairies of Western Canada eastward, the topography became more hilly and rocky.  There are beautiful rock formations along the Trans-Canada in Eastern Canada, and there are interesting stone sculptures, (we called them "Rocky's") that folks have created.  They are everywhere and some are very imaginative.  The local name is "Inukshuk."

We enjoyed the country around Lake Superior (the big lake they call Gitche Gumee), and even put our toes into the frigid water.

 BB was better at it than I was, as I got all wet.

Thunder Bay & Lake Superior

A local attraction west of Thunder Bay is the Kakabeka Falls.  This is a beautiful geologic feature, and is the 2nd highest water feature in Ontario.  Here are some scenes from Kakabeka Falls:

Of course you couldn't miss Niagra Falls!  We had not originally planned to see them on this trip, but being so close we couldn't resist.  Niagra Falls is everything I had imagined, and a sight not to be missed.

It was quite a ride through Canada, but we were happy to cross back into the good ol USA at Buffalo NY.  From here, we move into Vermont to visit our good friends Fred and Mary Anne Hoff.

Stay tuned.