We left home on Sat June 15, headed north. Technically we went a little out of our way as our first destination was slightly east to Scottsbluff, NE but it was worth it to spend Father’s Day weekend with Mark’s parents. We knew Mon June 17 was going to be our farthest drive of the trip, roughly 750 miles planned, to arrive just shy of the Canadian border. We hit the road at 5:15am and drove through Wyoming and Montana. Wyoming is always a crapshoot, never traffic, but wind can shift from mildly frustrating to pull over for safety. Luckily the wind stayed below double digits and other than a couple random gusts, we were able to maintain a comfortable 70 mph. Countless pronghorn antelope dotted the range, as well as deer scattered here and there.
Crossing the border into Canada can be cause for a little stress and anxiety. We aren’t carrying any contraband (no cannabis products, limited alcohol, no fresh fruits and vegetables, no mace or pepper spray or handguns), but they could make entry a hassle if they choose to search the camper or trailer for any reason. We decided at 7:30pm that our drive went so well and there was still plenty of daylight left that we should go ahead and cross the border tonight so we wouldn’t have to in the morning. www.ezbordercrossing.com is a website that shows wait times at each port of entry and it showed no wait at all. The crossing for our route is called Sweetgrass. We arrived at 8pm and indeed found no one else in line. After answering all the questions, “How long will you be in Canada?” “What brings you here?” “Do you have any alcohol or cannabis products?” “Do you have any weapons or mace or pepper spray?” Mark declared a shotgun, already completing the paperwork before we arrived, and quickly was able to get that declared legally. We were in and out in about 15 minutes. We stopped for a quick picture of the Welcome to Alberta sign and we were IN!
Mandi found a campground within 10 km of the border. (Now that we’re in Canada, we’ve switched to the metric system.) Gold Springs Park Campground was basically a peninsula surrounded by river and with a horseshoe shaped lake, with the campsites in the middle. This would have been such an awesome campground to get drone video. However, Canada recently passed very restrictive law regarding drone flying which made it impossible to fly drone while we were in Canada (legally), so you’ll have to settle for the sweet picture taken off their website. We saw small trout jumping in the lake, as well as a deer right behind our campsite, and a stunning rainbow. A beautiful end to a productive day on the road, 800 miles in 15 hours.
After a much deserved sleep in morning, Molly insisted we start the new day. Northward we continued, toward Banff. It should have been a 5 hour drive. We needed to stop at a grocery store to get fresh fruit and vegetables so we pulled over in Lethbridge for groceries and gas. We tried to find a lunch spot but after a couple failed attempts (parking issue) we headed down the road in search on another place to eat lunch…bad idea. Mark wanted to avoid driving through Calgary because of traffic so we found a side route. After driving through agriculture and farm land til after 1pm, and not finding any place to eat we had to pull over and make PBJ sandwiches. Of course, 15 minutes later we drove through a town with multiple restaurants. Go figure!
Just before entering Banff, an elk crossed the road in front of us, foreshadowing all the wildlife to come…we hope! It was far enough away not to get a good picture, but still lifted our spirits after another long day of driving. We finally pulled into our campsite in Tunnel Mountain II Campground around 5:30pm.
After dinner, we took Molly and enjoyed a 2 mile walk around and through the campground, happy to be out of the truck and getting a little blood flow in our legs and booties.
The campground uses a parallel parking setup with close together spots and no fire pits, but we are surrounded by 360 degree stunning majestic mountains.
We were only able to book one night here, so we are absolutely not doing this park justice. But we’ve been here before (10 years ago in our very first Class C RV) and wanted to maximize our time exploring places we’ve never been. That being said, we could easily spend a week exploring this park. We’ve heard quite a few international languages spoken in our brief evening stroll.
Tomorrow we’ll make a a quick stop in Lake Louise (fingers crossed the rain will cooperate momentarily) and then drive the Icefields Parkway north to Jasper National Park. We don’t have any reservations except for Denali so from this point on, we are on a flexible schedule. We have a route planned and have researched stops and hikes and viewpoint opportunities, but not making reservations allows us to move according to our mood and weather and daily desires.