At about midnight, we got up and went out to check the stars!  We were out of town and away from most lights and the moon was not up yet.  As you would expect, the sky was brilliant!   The big dipper and Polaris were most obvious, and we did pick out a few more constellations!   Kind of what we missed in Grasslands National Park! 

We woke up early with plans to head back down the Icefields Parkway.   We were packed up and ready to unhook. But when we opened the door, we were greeted with a small group of elk just outside our RV.  There were about 6 grazing in the center part of our circle.  They really didn’t seem to care that everyone was coming out to take photos.  I also spotted a coyote over near the wood pile, but he was heading into the trees pretty fast!

We talked to a camper who seemed to be familiar with the herd and mentioned that there were even more out near the road.  And sure enough, there were even more as we drove out of the park!  Pretty cool.

We drove south on the Icefields Parkway in reverse from our drive up to Jasper.   We didn’t need to stop for any specific reason but did pull out for some more views and photos.  It was interesting that the views were from the opposite side of the mountains.  

When we got back to Lake Louise, we took the TCH 1 toward Revelstoke, our next campground.  After just a few miles we crossed the border into British Columbia.  This marked the 10^th (and last) province of Canada we have visited since we left Miami.  We visited BC a few years ago so we had already recorded all 10, but this was the first time on this trip! 

And now we had one more Pursuit Pass ticket to use.  After about 50 miles, we arrived in Golden, British Columbia.  There is an adventure park with a suspension bridge to use with the tickets!  The bridge is about 500 ft long and is suspended over a gorge that is 426 ft deep.  Gail was a bit anxious, but we did it and stopped for photos as well!  And to get back across, there was a second bridge about as long but lower over the gorge by about 150 ft.  We were pros by then and made it back across easily! 

There were other things in the park like the zip line, the swing, the luge run go-carts, the axe throw, wall climbing, etc.  But we had a used up our tickets and had places to go and things to see.  So, we headed back to the RV and on to Revelstoke.

This was originally just planned as a halfway stop on the way, but it turned out to be more than expected.  After another 50 miles, we climbed up and crossed Rogers Pass through the Selkirk Mountains in the “BC” Glaciers National Park.  The pass wasn’t that steep or intimidating and we didn’t realize the significance until we Googled it.  The pass has been a tourist venue since the late 1800’s and a significant pass for the Canadian Pacific Railroad.  We didn’t stop but did enjoy the view.

On to Revelstoke, we got into the RV park, got hooked up and, since it was getting late, we took the tops off the Jeep and headed out to the Meadows in the Sky Parkway in Revelstoke National Park.

The drive up the mountain has about 18 hairpin turns over only a 17-mile road!   As you got higher, the views of the valley became pronounced until we reached the top and the meadow around Balsam Lake!  Interestingly, the lake, or more of a pond, is snow fed and this late in the season the level was relatively low.  But it’s still very nice with several hiking trails up to the Meadow.  We did the Eagle Knoll Trail and were impressed with all the alpine flowers along the way.  Then at the top was a bench to rest up and enjoy the view. 

The next day we were off through the mountains to Kaslo, BC.  We were meeting up with a friend who Gail had worked with for the past 5 years and met once at a meeting in Whistler, BC.  Deb and her husband, Kevin, own a resort property near Kaslo and are now developing it into a small home community. 

We had one potential hold up a few miles down the road where you must take a ferry across the lake.  It’s a free ferry and first come, first served.  We got there and were near the end of a long line.  But as it loaded, we made it with room to spare!  It was a quick crossing, and we were off near the end of the line.  So, there was no stress about people wanting to pass us.

The next stop was Kaslo. We stayed at a campground about 5 miles away from their property at their recommendation and got a spot right by the office looking out over the lake.  Nice!  And since it was our 41^st Anniversary, we had reservations for dinner in Ainsworth at the Ktunaxa Grill, also at the recommendation of Deb.

So, we got hooked up and dressed up and headed out for dinner. The drive was about 20 miles and about halfway there was Fletcher Creek Falls just off the road that we wanted to check out.  We pulled off, parked and found the trail.  But the falls were further than we thought, and we were dressed for dinner and had our good shoes.  So, we did a cursory hike to the closest viewpoint, took an anniversary photo and headed for dinner!

The restaurant was up a hillside looking over the lake.  We got a great seat at the window and relaxed.  We started with a cocktail and then added an appetizer of steamed mussels and an entrée of herb crusted walleye!  It was all great and the mussels were probably the best we have ever had!  And for dessert, we had flourless chocolate cake and ice cream.  The service was great, and our waitress made dinner very special.  The only issue was driving back on the winding road in the dark with oncoming headlights!  Not my favorite combination.  But we made it.  Happy Anniversary to the best navigator anyone could wish for!  And a great wife as well.

The next day we were to meet with Deb and Kevin at 2:00pm so we had some time to kill.  We decided to go back to Fletcher Creek with the proper attire and check it out properly!  And it was worth the effort.  The falls were impressive, and the trail continued down to the lake picnic area and beach. 

We made it back to Wing Creek Resort only 2 minutes late!   They had no more guests to check in or out and we had Deb all to ourselves!   And after a few minutes, Kevin came in.  They described the property, and their plans, then put us in their electric cart for a tour. 

They have 20 acres down to the lake, but most of the acreage is wooded and undeveloped.  There are 7 sold and one show home with about 12 more lots prepped and ready to sell.  The current owners are from Texas, Louisiana, California, Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan.  We can hook you up if you are interested.  And there are 5 cabins for rent.  Very interesting business plan and a lot of work!   We finished the day with dinner in “downtown” Kaslo and settled back into the park.

Then we were off to Waterton Lakes National Park on the border with Montana and the US Glacier National Park.  We had two more stops along the way.   First, another ferry.  Since we knew the process, we headed out with no expectations about getting aboard and were expecting to wait for the next ferry.  But when we arrived the ferry was there, all were boarded, and we got on as well.  Good karma!  Again, a quick crossing and we were last getting off.  Perfect!

Second was a Walmart stop in Cranbrook.  This turned out to be a much larger town than expected and a nice stop to catch up on some supplies, especially to find some cheaper DEF for the Mercedes engine.  Yea!

We had selected another halfway point in the small town of Elko at a small park called Mountain View.  It was a new park, large and rustic.  Not landscaped or mowed but with lots of grand mullein and other wild grasses, flowers and weeds.  Nothing fancy at all but it did have a nice view of the mountains! 

We have one more stop in Canada at Waterton Lakes, AB before heading to Glacier National Park in Montana.  But since the two national parks are joined together, I decided to also merge them together in the next blog.  So, this ends the 5^th leg of our trip, and we are headed back to the US.  We love Canada and are looking forward to next year when we again travel west.