Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Canada

​I got an early start this morning while walking Jo Jo. There is absolutely no one out here at the campsite this early. I had a joyous visit to the dump station this morning. My dump ports are really difficult to pull. I restrained my ribs. They hurt after my fall 11 days ago.

I was off to the gondola ride. There was hardly anybody in the parking lot, so I settled into a spot and just before I headed out, a man flagged me down and told me that I couldn’t park there. I was confused, but he said the RV parking is up the hill, on the second level. You would think there would be some signs for RV parking, but no! I’m noticing that signage is sadly lacking almost every place. I jumped on the gondola and was up on the top of the mountain before 9 AM. There were some gorgeous views here and there, and I enjoyed it. However, the lookout I did yesterday was an equally pleasant experience. Nothing seems to be cheap here as this ticket was $80. At least I can say I did the gondola, but if I had more time, and had a meal at the restaurant, or a relaxing sit in the Adirondack chairs, it may have been a more worthwhile investment. And of course I always worry about leaving Jo Jo, in the RV. Even though it was in the low 50s, and I was parked in the shade. I was eager to get towards Lake Louise. I made it there and secured a camp spot, and after a little bit of a hassle was able to park my RV for a walk down towards the lake. With Jo Jo in tow, I took


 my camp chair, lunch, backpack, along with my sketchbook, I spent a couple hours at the lake while enjoying mirrored waters turning into windy ripples, with every color of teal and blue that you can imagine. I sketched out the images until my pen finally ran out of ink! I’m using colored pencils to capture the colors. There were a lot of people here. There was no peace and quiet as a crowd will always provide noise. I enjoyed my time and headed back to camp. Were now it’s exceptionally quiet, hopefully for the rest of the evening!























Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

At home now… from the great 2023 Alaska Road Trip!

Image
​ Jo Jo and I are home, from the trip of a lifetime! 106 days, 11,539 miles, 675 gallons of gasoline, a ton of fun, beautiful views, and amazing experiences. Other than a brief head cold, no other mishaps, except my souvenir windshield chips. The Sylver Gypsy performed wonderfully. She kept me safe and warm. My last days were drive heavy, but I managed a quick stop at Bryce Canyon National Park. My last night was in the Coconino Forest near Flagstaff, where I also made a brief stop at Sunset Crater. I’ll need a few moments to adjust being back to reality, but it’s nice to be home!
Read more

Bryce Canyon National Park, then almost home

Image
​ A great night in the Utah desert, and a rather chilly morning, surprisingly, but I got up and hurried out of there with the intention of getting to Bryce Canyon National Park. I wondered if I would have enough time and decided it was only 20 minutes one-way, out-of-the-way as I continued on my route home. This would be my third time visiting Bryce and I’m so glad I did. As with any National Park, there are some new changes and the Ranger told me that because I’m over 20 feet I would have to park in the main parking lot and take the shuttle bus in to see the viewpoints. She gave me a tag to hang in my window. My heart sank to the bottom, since I know the shuttle buses will not except pets, and I was not willing to leave Jo Jo. However, upon examining the tag, it indicated vehicles over 23 feet to park and shuttle. My Travato is 21 feet. Hmmmm, I was annoyed. So I ignored the directions and went straight to the parking area at the sunrise amphitheater and not only did I see other campe...
Read more

Beaver, UT

Image
​ Well, another day of long driving and just two fill ups, but then I did stop at a place called Rowley’s Red Barn farm market. I wonder why they were so many people and kids and then I realized it was Labor Day. They had so many goodies there I wound up getting a fresh peach, tomato, and corn on the cob, and some apples. Of course, I had to get the chocolate covered caramel popcorn and chocolate covered blueberries, just as a souvenir from leaving the blueberry season in Alaska. Leave it to me to justify all my purchases. I kept driving and driving and got to a dispersed spot in the desert, just nearby Beaver, Utah. The first directions lead me to a very narrow roadway, which I elected not to take. Though further on down the road, about a quarter of a mile, I found a pull out intersecting between two roads and this is where I stayed. Except for a few farm vehicles, it was a restful night and a chilly morning. It’s near the highway full of sage, juniper and rolling mountains. I enjoyed...
Read more