Are we there yet??: Spring in Canada - not quite what we expected

It was a relief to land in Vancouver after a 13 1/2 hr flight. Despite the Sky Couch (extra seat in the middle) neither of us really slept. We tried to keep ourselves awake and adjust to the new time zone by exploring the area around our hotel.

A snow storm welcomed us in Calgary the next day – not quite what we had expected. People keep telling us what a long snowy winter it has been and how late the spring is. We are not daunted though as we have our merinos, warm boots and puffer jackets. I guess it means the bears stay tucked up in their dens a bit longer too – but we are taking no chances, and have bought our bear spray. It’s $48 a can and has to be registered as a weapon! That should just about guarantee we never see a bear!

Back in the 1970's I travelled with a group of friends overland to the UK. Jim Blum, one of those old friends, met us at the airport. And in his garage I was re-acquainted with another old friend - the 1930 Model A Ford we travelled in. I am sure none of us look like we have aged at all! Hmmm

We stayed in luxury for three nights at Jim’s beautiful property on the outskirts of Calgary. Deer grazed outside the window in the evenings, a coyote travelled up through the valley and apparently there are moose and porcupines that visit as well.

After picking up the RV from Cruise Canada, a day was spent kitting it out with the essentials for 3 months on the road. We even bought cheap bikes and set ourselves up with a phone. It is going to be a bit of a challenge maintaining Okay2stay on the road but I guess we will visit a lot of coffee shops for the free wifi.

Eventually, we had to fly our comfortable nest and venture off on the ‘wrong’ side of the road into the mountains. The van is very warm and cosy. Jim loaned us a down duvet and I made some silver insulating screens for the front windows. They are not pretty but very effective. There is a gas heater that heats up the small living space and excellent heating in the cab when driving. Speaking of driving, it is on a Ford V8 truck and goes up the steep mountain passes with no problem at all.

Banff was our first overnight stop. It is a stunning winter wonderland. We camped among the trees, still surrounded by snow, and cooked our first meal on our limited facilities – just 2 gas burners and no grill or oven.

The next day we took a gondola ride up Sulphur Mountain to 2,285 m with views over Banff township, up the Bow Valley and lakes in the distance.

After a couple of hours the weather started to deteriorate so we headed northwards to Lake Louise. I was here in the 1970’s and have this picture firmly in my mind of a gorgeous blue lake surrounded by wooded mountains. Strange how the old images hold despite evidence to suggest something different. Even walking the snow-covered path to the lake edge I still expected to see blue lake …. but you guessed it .. we could have happily driven the RV over it! Frozen solid. Oh well, we will be back this way in June … but that lake has a lot of melting to do before then.