September 2011
Best of Canadian Rockies
We had a trip to Ireland planned at the end of the summer of 2011. But on the weekend we were supposed to fly to Dublin, Hurricane Irene completely shut down the east coast. Of course, we were flying through Newark on our way to Dublin, and our flight was cancelled. The volume of calls to Continental was so high that for three days I couldn't even get through - all I could get was a recorded message that said: "Due to the high volume of calls at this time, we can not take your call". When I finally did get through, the Continental operator said that earliest flight I could get to Dublin would be another 3 days of delay. Who wants to miss a whole week of vacation? Since Continental offered a full refund, we accepted that and will try to get to Ireland next year. Meanwhile, we looked around for a vacation that we could do close to home (Seattle).First I tried Glacier National Park, but it was impossible to get reservations just before Labor Day weekend. Same thing with Vancouver Island - there was no place to stay. I investigated flights to Alaska, but on such short notice the flights were quite expensive. I looked into the Canadian Rockies, and fortunately I was able to find a few places to stay. We had visited to the Canadian Rockies in 2006, but there is so much to see in those parks that this trip had little overlap with the hikes we did 5 years ago - only Johnston Canyon and Maligne Canyon were hikes we did twice. The weather was fantastic every day. Sunny and warm but not hot. We heard that the previous week and been much cooler, and indeed, their entire summer had been disappointingly overcast and wet. So we were fortunate to have perfect conditions. It was a great trip!
Here is a map of the Canadian Rockies National Parks. The combined area of these parks is equal to half the size of Switzerland, so it is a large area of
spectacular wilderness.
|
Item | Price | Description |
| Car Rental | $255 ccard | We rented a Yaris from Hertz and drove 1592 miles |
| Gas | $34 ccard | Conoco gas |
| Gas | $13 ccard | Last Mile gas (last station in US before Canadian border) |
| Gas | $38 ccard | Shell in Banff |
| Gas | $41 ccard | Petro-Canada in Jasper |
| Gas | $22 cash | Last of Canadian Cash used for Gas, Super Save Kamloops |
| Gas | $33 ccard | Super Gas in Bellingham |
Transport Total | $436 | |
| Motel Bavaria | $104 ccard | One night in Radium Hot Springs. No breakfast |
| High Country Inn | $440 ccard | Two nights in Banff. With breakfast |
| Lake Louise Inn | $515 ccard | Three nights at Lake Louise. No breakfast |
| The Astoria Hotel | $351 ccard | Two nights at Jasper. No breakfast |
| Super 8 | $124 ccard | One nights in Valemount. No breakfast |
Lodging Total | $1534 | |
| Subway | $18 cash | Subway sandwiches in Radium Hot Springs |
| Fruit | $5 cash | Breakfast foods from market in Radium Hot Springs |
| Dairy Queen | $21 cash | Dinner/dessert in Banff |
| Pizza | $22 cash | Dinner in Banff |
| Wraps | $19 cash | Cajun Chicken and Tropical Wraps for dinner at Lake Louise |
| Wraps | $28 cash | Cajun Chicken Wraps |
| Wraps | $28 ccard | Last day of wraps at Trailhead in Lake Louise Village |
| Donuts | $6 cash | Breakfast at bakery in Lake Louise Village |
| Pizza | $30 ccard | Dinner in Jasper restaurant watching Packers vs Saints |
| Fruit | $10 cash | Lunch supplies in Jasper market |
| Subway | $10 cash | We ate these sandwiches on shore of Pyramid Lake |
| Coldstone Ice Cream | $10 cash | A treat in Jasper |
| A & W Root Beer | $11 cash | Dinner in Valemount |
Food Total | $218 | |
| One Year Canadian National Parks Pass | $137 ccard | Good until end of Sept 2012 |
| Sunshine Meadows Shuttle Bus | $30 cash | Catching shuttle saved us a big hike up to the meadows |
| Canoe Rental | $45 cash | One hour on Lake Louise |
| OHara Shuttle | $20 cash | Shuttle bus 1 way out from OHara Lakes to parking lot |
| Geology books | $37 ccard | Books about Canadian geology |
| Mountain bike rental | $53 ccard | Four hour rental in Jasper |
| The Whistlers Gondola | $63 ccard | Ride to mountain top |
Entertainment Total | $385 | |
Grand Total | $2573 |
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