Day 6 - Calgary, AB to Lake Louise, AB

Day 6 - Monday, June 13, 2011

Travel Day –

Traveling from Cochrane, Alberta, Canada (Spring Hill RV Park) to
Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada--Banff National Park—(Lake Louise Campground)
Road Log – 101.1 Miles

By:  Dave and Lynn Coleman Rig #6  

Flexibility was the word of the day.

Some of us left before our fearless leaders.  This writer saw at least one rig leaving at 5:45am, and several others before “Adventure 1”. 

Ken and Carole (Adventure 1) were out of the park as scheduled at 8am, with the rest of us sometime after that and before Spence and Madi (Adventure 2).

It was 67 degrees (F) and sunny when we left Cochrane.  It was an easy drive west, with a bit of confusion as we got to the Lake Louise area.  Our road instructions referenced traffic lights and an “A&W” as a landmark—none of which existed, but ultimately, as always, we all got to our campground, which is lovely and treed. We are parking side by side (front doors facing).  This is our first experience on this trip with minimal hookups of (30 amp) electric only (no water or sewer hookups). 

Some of us gassed up at the Shell station at the RV Park in Spring Hill, and many stopped in Canmore.  I think we may have overwhelmed the gas station with so many rigs arriving at the same time. A bit of sight-seeing and shopping may have occurred in Canmore as well.

We entered the Banff National Park to get to our campground. While driving through the Park we drove under several animal bridges and saw the relatively new electric fences that have been installed to protect the animals from the humans and our machines.

There was a bit of construction on the roads, but no serious delays. I think many of us are still trying to figure out how to convert kph to mph!

After leveling and unhooking our toweds, most of us drove to Lake Louise to see the lake, glacier, and Chateau Lake Louise.

Many “Adventure Caravan” jackets were seen there as well in the town of Banff, about 35 miles East of our campground. A large selection of shops and restaurants are available in Banff.

It rained off and on throughout the afternoon, but the rain showers were interspersed with bright sunshine.  Cool breezes from the mountains made it “jacket weather” but not uncomfortable.

The Canadian Rockies are beautiful, and quite a different sight than the U.S. Rockies.  Lake Louise is a beautiful blue-green color.

This writer has heard no reports of wildlife sightings, however we did not have a social hour today and hopefully there will be some stories to tell when next we all get together.