Its snowing outside so hard we can't get out for the fudge ice-cream we had promised ourselves. We are back on the road by Greyhound bus. First to Kamloops then a change for Revelstoke where we stayed the night and then yesterday another bus through the most spectacular mountain scenery to here in Banff. We are staying in hostels, the Samesun Backpackers Hostel in Revelstoke and the Y Mountain Ridge here in Banff (actually the YWCA in disguise). Mind you this might mark the end of our hostel stays - our room flooded this morning and ruined the room underneath as well. We had reported a problem with the toilet which suddenly turned into a very serious problem as we had breakfast. Fortunately the hostel handyman was on the case immediately.
Revelstoke and Banff are both mountain places, a small grid of streets by a river but there the similarity ends. Revelstoke looked like one of those places you see in cowboy films and was full of really useful hardware, working clothes, marine and other shops. Banff is one of those resort places full of high priced knick knacks and clothing - for those with loose minds and wallets.
And the weather? Well I had thought that mid May might constitute Spring in these parts but here in Banff which is at about 1350 metres the temperature is not much above freezing and its snowing hard at the moment. Just as well we borrowed those hats, gloves and extra fleeces from Andre and Nicole back in Maple Ridge - they are getting well used. Mind you our treking sandles which have got us around the world and are our only footwear may not be entirely appropriate!
Brian
I am wearing my sandals with my DVT socks, plus another pair of socks, so my feet will stay warm as long as I dont go wading in snow and get wet.
In 1972 I came over to Canada for an extended stay with my sister, Rachelle and Andre were very small and it was lovely just outside Montreal in May. I traveled across to Vancouver by train, three days there and three days back and longed to get off at intervals, particularly in the majestic rockies. Now a chance to see a bit more of these odd, modern yet far from anywhere towns is really great though I wasnt expecting snowfall and mountain views hidden behind cloud again (a bit of a theme in our travels).
Tess
ps hope to add some photos later
Revelstoke and Banff are both mountain places, a small grid of streets by a river but there the similarity ends. Revelstoke looked like one of those places you see in cowboy films and was full of really useful hardware, working clothes, marine and other shops. Banff is one of those resort places full of high priced knick knacks and clothing - for those with loose minds and wallets.
And the weather? Well I had thought that mid May might constitute Spring in these parts but here in Banff which is at about 1350 metres the temperature is not much above freezing and its snowing hard at the moment. Just as well we borrowed those hats, gloves and extra fleeces from Andre and Nicole back in Maple Ridge - they are getting well used. Mind you our treking sandles which have got us around the world and are our only footwear may not be entirely appropriate!
Brian
I am wearing my sandals with my DVT socks, plus another pair of socks, so my feet will stay warm as long as I dont go wading in snow and get wet.
In 1972 I came over to Canada for an extended stay with my sister, Rachelle and Andre were very small and it was lovely just outside Montreal in May. I traveled across to Vancouver by train, three days there and three days back and longed to get off at intervals, particularly in the majestic rockies. Now a chance to see a bit more of these odd, modern yet far from anywhere towns is really great though I wasnt expecting snowfall and mountain views hidden behind cloud again (a bit of a theme in our travels).
Tess
ps hope to add some photos later
3 comments:
I think clouds are a 'feature' whenever you're wanting to look at mountains. It's something to do with the height I think.
Our first time in NZ, we drove along the spine of South Island expecting to see soaring mountain ranges and dormant volcanoes.
Nada. We saw cloud.
And we weren't even in the Rockies!
Bit of a bummer with the trekking shoes though. Have you thought of putting poly bags over your shoes? It does have the slight disadvantage of making you look like a tramp, but on the plus side, they probably wouldn't even let you in the high-priced trinket shops and hence you won't get tempted to buy useless stuff!
It's raining here this morning but quite warm. The weathermen are all confidently predicting that we're going to have a cracking summer this year, so if I were you, I'd bring all that Arctic clothing back with you!
Have fun! :)
The locals must already think you're lunatics wandering around in sandals, I don't suppose plastic bag would make much difference! You could wear the plastic bag between sock layers though.
Good job Canada doesn't have a mountie arm of the fashion police!
xxx
lunatics eh? How many people have we seen in shorts? Quite a few, they seem more than determined to believe its Spring. Anyway its sunny today although flecked with snow showers so still a bit cold.
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