Bonnie here:

   A picture may be worth a thousand words!

A "Grande" Day!

Steve here:
Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2015 -
Our day started in Lake Louise, cloudy and 48*.  I was awakened at about 5:30 by the sound of a train.  It's interesting that they chose to build this nice campground within 100 yards of a very busy rail line.
Our goal today was to make it to Grande Cache, Alberta.  This is old trapping country, and if you google the place, it is quite interesting.
Well, we did an extra special day!  We passed through Grande Cache and decided we could make it to Grande Prairie by 7:00'ish.  (This is another interesting spot).
Along the way we drove the Ice Fields Parkway.   We arrived at a spot by the Athabasca Glacier, part of the Columbia Icefields, where they drive these funky "bus type vehicles with big tires" out on the glaciers.  We didn't join in, but Bonnie did whip us up some delicious sandwiches to nibble on as we enjoyed the view!
We made it to Hinton, and our savior - Tim Horton's - but they were sooooo busy that we grabbed our coffee and cookies and hit the road.
After checking in to our Camp Tamarack Campground in Grande Prairie, we went into town and found a new(?) chain, Swiss Chalet, and had a very nice dinner.  We did some shopping, bought fuel at "No Frills Gas Bar" and headed back to the campground.  It will be interesting to remember the name.  They had a grocery store and gas bar and very reasonable prices!  Watch out Wal-Mart?
Oh, yes!  We saw three elk RIGHT beside the road.  We would have loved to stop for a better photo-op, but they tell us to not do that.  The fear is that the wild critters will become too accepting of humans, and in the end it will not bode well for them.  One older gentleman - with a cane - was within 10 feet of one of the elk and I wondered if he had a "death-by-elk" wish!

Bonnie here:

     We have been without the Internet for the last few days so Steve and I are behind in sharing. Usually we share when we are getting a coffee at Tim Horton’s. We both love their coffee and cookies, but since we were staying at Banff National Park for a couple days, we didn’t have access to a Tim Horton’s. Anyway, a few days ago in Brooks, Alberta, we discovered an aqueduct that was built in the early 1900s to bring water to the farmers and ranchers who were settling the area after the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed. It was used until 1979. From the photo, you can tell that this part of Alberta is in the Badlands. It’s very different from our next stop, Banff, one of the prettiest places we ever have seen.

On To Swift Current

Steve here -
Sunday - Aug. 2, 2015

Our goal for today was to make it to Swift Current, Saskatchewan.  We made it!
The temperature ranged from 56* in the morning to near 90* mid-afternoon.
We left our Lions Club Campground at 9:00 and filled up at a Co-Op around the corner.  A nice man at the counter mentioned that he saw we were from Maine and told me they had traveled to New Brunswick and even Bangor.  He loved our area!
We had a picnic lunch in Broadview where there was a plaque stating that the first trans-Canada railroad passed by that point.
We drove south of Regina and loved how there are big farms right outside the city.  It also reminded us of a Prince Edward Island story.  We visited there in 2000 and the young lady that waited on us one day in her family's restaurant, on the beautiful coast, explained that she was going to college as far away as possible - Regina!!  So many kids can't wait to get away!
As the day progressed we slowly rose in elevation from the 800 foot area, through the 1,000's to the mid-2000's.  Mountains coming!
Bought some post cards in Moose Jaw, but missed the visitor's center with the huge model moose that we saw in '09.
Arrived in Swift Current relatively early, so we had time to find a Houston's Pizza (apparently a small chain), and to do some laundry.  Can't get more exciting than that!
Tomorrow we're shooting for Banff and Lake Louise!

Bonnie here:
     Saskatchwan is interesting -- great names like Moose Jaw, Swift Current and Indian Head -- and  fields of bright sunflowers and salt!

Bonnie here:

     When Steve and I visited Winnipeg, Manitoba yesterday, we discovered a Citizen Garden, 2015 blue flags representing 2015 Canadians. Each flag has a picture of a person and what he or she considers ‘cool.” I especially loved the photo of a boy who loves EVERYTHING! Thanks to the students in the Environmental Design Program at the University of Manitoba. Their goal was to explore and have fun with architecture, film making, music, theatre, and urban design. When we saw the blue flags blowing in the breeze, we hightailed it right over to investigate. I bet lots of folks are going to do the same thing. 

    It is fitting that this exhibit is located at the Forks where 6,000 years (yes, imagine that!) ago native people met in this exact location to exchange  goods and ideas. Folks still are meeting here to do the same. That is mind blowing.
    The third photo is just a building that I thought was beautiful. I surmised that some of my family and friends would agree!

Bonnie here:

     Another nice campground in Upsala, Ontario. This is near Thunder Bay. The town is so small that they have only seven children from grades K-12. The high school students have to travel an hour to go to school.Now we are in Central Time Zone, too!