Kelly Date June 11, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!  

I turned the wonderful age of 49 today and I am loven life. On this morning I found myself in beautiful Golden, BC which of course makes me curious about where I'll be when I turn 50 - should be good.  I was actually able to sleep in today and woke up at 6:30 a.m. instead of 5:00 a.m. which was nice.  As it was so late already I wanted to hit the road asap and didn't get a chance to stop back at the 180 cafe for that coffee, but I did leave a nice thank you note on his door. 

I was on the road at 7:30 and heading for Banff.  I had asked a young lady the evening before 

how far it was driving time and she indicated that it was about an hour to Banff and another two 

hours to Calgary.  Ok, so  she was wrong.  What with all the construction and the stopping and starting I didn't get to Banff until 10:30.  Some of this was my fault though as there are so many gorgeous places to stop and take pictures.  I did see a bear and a doll sheep along the way but wasn't able to stop at that point.  There seemed to be more than enough vehicles on the roadside at the time and I didn't feel good about adding to the melee.  I did get to photograph an agreeable little gopher though lol.  He was so cute I have included his mug shot in today's blog. (Pic: Agreeable Gopher)

I decided to not go to Lake Louise on the way to Banff as I had been there a couple times before, but did take a detour to Moraine Lake which is in the same area.  I got some great shots there which is fairly easy to do as everything is so grand and amazing.  The mountains are so close and so huge its a little overwhelming actually.  Banff is great but its a pretty busy place even this early in the season.  I stayed only long enough to get something to eat and take Mr. Finnigan for a walk and headed out to Canmore to find an internet cafe that was more accessible than the ones in Banff.  I was in Canmore working for about two hours and headed off again for Calgary.  I would have to admit Canmore is pretty cool and the scenery is totally amazing. (Pic: Moraine Lake)

Okay, I hit Calgary during rush hour traffic which was exceptionally bad timing on my part but I did managed to navigate my way over to the Deerfoot and up to the northeast area of the city without incident. 

I met my daughter at a little gas station and we had a great reunion.  I've never visited her in Calgary before so she was excited to have mom come and stay with her for a change.  As it was my birthday she took me out to dinner and we had an amazing time chatting and catching up on all the things girls like to talk about i.e. men ha ha ha.  We solved absolutely no problems, but went to bed content and happy.  

Distance Travelled:  328 kilometers

Next Stop:  None, hanging out in Calgary with Celise.

Kelly Date June 10, 2009

    Rogers Pass                    Saddleback Mnt.                    Mr. Finnigan

After finishing up all my work in the morning and saying a last farewell to my almost lost relatives I headed out around 10:30.  My destination at that time was to make Revelstoke, but I actually exceeded my expectations and made it to Golden, B.C. later that evening.

The day went extremely well and I managed the winding road without incident.  I put on a total of 413.6 kilometers over the course of the day.  The various pit stops along the way included Cherryville, Needles, Nakusp, Revelstoke and of course Golden BC.  You have to take two short ferry rides to get over the Monashee highway to Revelsoke.  The first is in Fauquier and the second about 30 kilometers past Nakusp.  It was exciting actually as it is an open ferry that serves as part of Highway #6 east and as such it is free.  The body of water that you cross in both places is called Arrow Lake and is approximately 120 miles long.  The First Nations people call the area ‘The bay of quiet waters.’  

I met an elderly gentleman named Tom at one place I stopped to take some pictures.  He told me the mountain I was photographing was called ‘Saddle Mountain’ and he pointed out the last remaining forestry station on the highest peak.  He said he had worked in the area his whole life and when he was younger remembers using the waterway as a transportation route for logging.  It was a delight to speak with him.

After that I made good time to Revelstoke and Golden and got a bite to eat at a local cafe/restaurant.  The 108 Cafe has wireless internet service and a super friendly owner/operator who told me where I could camp out in my FFF (Ford Focus Fort) for free.  I am presently at that location which is beside a beautiful river and park area which I would never have found without his help.  

I plan to get another coffee there first thing in the morning time permitting.

Next Stops:  Banff and Calgary, Alberta (Approx. driving time 3.5 hours.)

Until tomorrow.......