Day 1

KURT, MARTHA AND LIBBY 

We hit the road a little after 8:30am.  Photo ops with bikes and Libby.  I was a little rusty at first, but fell into the rhythm by the time we hit the border.  I suggested a different route than the one we took to Banff a couple of years ago, thinking new scenery would be nice.  Big mistake.  Highway 1 was stop and go (mostly stop) and what should have taken 45 minutes took 2  hours in blazing heat on a bike on asphalt.  I quickly got cranky… Once we hit the 93 at Lake Louise, we started seeing some of the most amazing scenery.  We passed by Bow Lake and caught a glimpse of an old lodge on the shore and looked up at our first massive glacier.  As we drove by I suggested that we do a u-turn and investigate and at that point we made a promise to not let all these sights get lost in our journey on the pavement.  The lodge is called the Num-ti-jah and ran $350 a night.  We noted the beauty and headed in search of groceries and a campsite at $17 a night.  We made it to The Crossings to pick up dinner which ended up being an over-priced sandwich, chips and water.  Tested out my new waterproof tank bag, the Enduristan, took just a minute to expand the top to fit our groceries.  Nice, no re-packing.  So we ended up stopping short of Jasper, our first nights goal, but found a great little public campground at Rampart Creek.  Big sites, fire rings, picnic tables, river roaring in the background and nary a neighbor.  Set up new Nomad tent,  took no time – blew up mattresses, took more time.  Now time to open up a 2003 A Rafenelli Zinfandel – yummy – vacation has officially started.

A RAFANELLI A TOAST TO OUR VACATION