Back in Banff

This is a quick post to bring you all up to date with where we are 

and where we've been.

We left you last in Butte Montana at the Fairmont RV Park,

next to the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort.

We spent a windy and  rainy Friday night.

40-50mph gusts shook the bus and the rain pelted the roof.

The morning forecast was mixed precipitation and snow....

Not the best for traveling.

We left on Saturday morning.

A dusting of snow covered the mountains surrounding us.

It was a cold windy morning and the early spring weather was threatening as

we departed and headed north.

Passing thru Butte on I-15, we ascended into the mountains.

The snow was coming down lightly, but fortunately was not sticking to

the road.

I knew that as we moved north we would descend in altitude and also

move north of the weather system that was causing these conditions,

so northbound we pushed.

I-15 North of Butte Montana

5 hrs later - and 250 miles further north we rolled into the Shelby Mt RV Park.

They call it the Shelby RV Resort, but the word Resort is stretching it a bit.

It's perfectly fine for an overnight.

Behind the Comfort Inn, and just off I-15 its convenient and has full hookups

with 50amps.

Only 35 miles south of the Canadian border it allows for an early morning crossing

before the traffic backs up.

You check in at the hotel desk.

Your night stay includes use of the hotel facilities including the pool, and in the AM

they have a $6 breakfast buffet.

We just plugged in so we would have the Electric Heat and conserve

our propane,  but other than that we didn't use the facilities. 

Shelby Montana RV Park

Sunday morning dawned crystal clear with moderate temperatures.

A good day to drive. 

We crossed into Canada quickly and I shifted into Metric Mode.

Along the way we saw a farm  with the big sign:

"Creepy Hollow"

We stopped in Lethbridge at a PetroCanada SuperPass Cardlock site to

make sure that my commercial fueling card worked....  It did.

That will make fueling the bus much easier in Canada as I can use the same pumps

that the big trucks use.

Our stop for the next 3 nights was The Bow RiversEdge RV Park in Cochrane, Alberta.

Its a nice park with all the usual amenities and is located right along the Bow River which

flows out of the Rockies.

Only 20 miles west of Calgary, its a great location for visiting the City

or attending the Calgary Stampede.

Bow Rivers Edge RV Park site # 55

The walking path behind the park is an off leash dog area and it seemed that every dog

owner for miles around was here to stretch their (and their dogs) legs. 

We took the doodles for some long walks...  but kept them on leash.

We didn't want them getting into anything that they shouldn't.

Bow River Park walkway - Cochrane, Ab.

Weds at 11am it was wheels up again.

We stopped at a Shell Station to top off our propane,  then a PetroCanada Cardlock

to top of the fuel tanks, then it was westbound on TransCanada Highway 1 omtp

the Canadian Rockies.

Our destination for the next 4 nights is Banff National Park.

The prior nights snow, and clouds created a dramatic backdrop as we climbed

into the Rockies. 

We are now at the National Park Campground known as

The Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court.

Our site is # 520

Full hookup with 30 amps.

I chose it carefully and we have a clear view of our dish satellites.

We are using Spokane, Wa locals as their spotbeam stretches

pretty far north and we should have it up past Dawson Creek on the 

Alaska Highway.

Banff Trailer Court site # 520

The weather is cool but dry.

As I write this the clouds are clearing and we are seeing some peaking sun. 

This Weekend is Canadas Victoria Day long weekend so the park will fill up.

The Bow River Valley.

The Bow River flows down from here and past the RV Park where we stayed previously.

One of our neighbors... a Cow Elk.

Sunday we leave here and will drive the Icefield Parkway north to Jasper National Park.

The Icefield Parkway is one of the

most beautiful drives in North America.

I will do a drive lapse video of our trip if the weather is nice.

Here is the drivelapse video that I did of our drive up the Icefield in 2012

Greeting from Banff National Park in Alberta Canada!