Canadian Winter Rockies

January, 2016

Alberta & British Columbia, Canada

The first Journey

It was late October, 2015, by the time we took possession of our "finished" truck. It was three months after the promised delivery date, and still had issues that we would have to fix ourselves. Despite this fact, we left the builder behind us and headed home. We had planned to go over to the Phoenix area on the way home, but because we were delayed at the builder for several weeks while they completed the obvious deficiencies, our plans had to change. We drove straight home instead.

By the time we got home, organized and provisioned the truck for use, and got through the year end holiday season, it was mid January, 2016. Eager to try out the truck on a proper trip, we decided to take a trip over to the Canadian Rockies. It's beautiful there in the winter, and unlike summer, wouldn't have the crush of tourists everywhere.

A Circle Tour

The route we had planned would essentially be a circle tour of the southeast corner of British Columbia. The appeal to this route, winter or summer, is the breath taking scenery one sees along the way.

Below are some of the towns and tiny communities along the route. 

Our first night's camp was in the tiny town of Keromeos. We found a nice quiet parking lot in the community park. Mind you, at this time of the year, any farming community in B.C. is pretty quiet. The smart people have gone south for the winter.

The Kootenays and the national parks

Travelling east is time consuming for large vehicles. Like the Rockies, most mountain ranges in B.C. run north south. If you're going east, it's a journey of up one side of a mountain and down the other. For trucks and motorhomes, you either take it slow going up, or pull a fuel tanker so you don't run out of gas. The Salmo Creston pass is one of the more famous climbs as it's the highest mountain pass in Canada that is open year round. It provides a way for drivers to travel through the Selkirk Mountain range.

The next night was in Cranbrook, and then the third was in Radium Hot Springs. Radium is a gateway to the national parks. From this point on, one is travelling in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

Banff, Alberta

Being only an hour's drive from Calgary, Alberta, Banff is a favourite destination for skiers and tourists alike. A drive or walk down the main street proves that Banff caters to tourists. The amount of shops selling everything from souvenir spoons to expensive clothing and jewelry is beyond count.

We had to drive further east to the town of Canmore to fuel up. Although Banff is in Alberta, it has the same outrageous fuel pricing that's found everywhere in B.C. A fifteen minute drive east gets the cheaper Alberta pricing, which for vehicles that hold 250 gallons, is very desirable.

Tunnel Mountain Camping

Just east of Banff a few minutes is the large camping area of Tunnel Mountain. With two areas to choose from, hundreds of campers using everything from pup tents to 45' class A motorhomes can find a spot to set up. Even in winter, half the camping area is still usable, although there are no services to plug into. The freezing temperatures prevent any water hookups.

The big bonus in winter is that there is only a handful of hardy souls interested in camping. So the entire area is peaceful.

Hello Lake Louise, Hordes and all

Driving north from Banff, the next big tourist destination in the Canadian Rockies is Lake Louise. Compared to Lake Louise, Banff was a ghost town. The amount of people milling around at Lake Louise was astounding. In part we guessed because of an ice sculpture event that was going on.

Usually, having a large truck or motorhome in such a place is a nightmare because of parking. But in this case, it played to our advantage. There were no places at all left for cars to park, but the area set aside for buses etc. still had lots of room. So even thought they were turning cars away, we got to pull up and park with no problems.

Unfortunately, getting into one of the restaurants in the Chateau wasn't as successful. There were so many people waiting for tables that the hotel staff would only take names of people who were actually staying at the hotel. Luckily, we brought our own "restaurant" with us. So after looking around and getting some photographs, we headed back to the truck to get a bite to eat, and then head north on Icefields Parkway towards Jasper.

Icefields Parkway

Usually a heavily used highway most of the year, in wintertime it only sees a few vehicles per hour. So for us it was like heaven. It's kind of backwards, really, since the mountains are so much more beautiful with the snow on them. Without it, they are much less dramatic as all the surfaces blend together.

The Columbia Icefields and the Athabasca Glacier

Lying in the heart of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site, the Columbia Icefields and the easily accessible Athabasca Glacier is a sight to be seen at any time of the year. But in winter, the colour of the ice at the heart of the glacier is a brilliant blue that stands out against the fresh white snow. At this time of the year, however, the tourist activities offered in the summertime of going up onto the glacier are not available. So the only way onto the glacier is through ones own initiative. Something that can be deadly if done by inexperienced people, and not in a group. We were quite content to just marvel at the colours and majesty of it all from the safety of the parking lot.

Westward Bound, Away from the Rockies

Having returned along the same route used to reach Jasper, we now turned to the west on our way to Revelstoke to visit friends. Along that route are the small towns of Field and Golden. Field is the smaller of the two, and is a whistle stop for the railway. We always stop in Field, as there is a terrific little eatery there called The Siding Cafe, and they serve really healthy and delicious food. It's an absolute gem of a place.

With our bellies full, we left Field and headed for Revelstoke and our friends place. The get there we had to summit the Rogers Pass, another of the difficult sections of road in the wintertime. We drove it just as the sun was setting, and the colour on the mountains was really something special. Well worth stopping for a few quick photos. Unfortunately, the Rogers Pass lodge and facilities are all closed down and decrepit. But recent announcements from the government has suggested that they want to revitalize the area. So here's hoping.

After an overnight stay in Revelstoke, and a lovely visit with our fiends, we continued further west to Kamloops, and another friend's horse ranch. We stayed there for two nights and hung around with the horses, all forty of them. But before getting there, we stopped to wash the mud and salt off the truck. Thank goodness for Canadian Tire.

Dreamscape Ranch

Kamloops is one of the larger B.C. interior towns, and our friend's horse ranch is about thirty minutes south of it on the old highway. Dreamscape Ranch has a lovely location on a hill overlooking a small valley with a lake at the foot of their property.

They board horses for people, offer horse riding, and provide a loving home for old horses nearing the end of their lives.

For a person that grew up in the big city, the accomplishment Lea has achieved working out in the countryside with her husband is really significant. Especially when you consider they started the ranch after working a full career in Vancouver.

The horses certainly appreciate what they have at Dreamscape Ranch. I spent time with one that looked really happy there.

After a lovely, but short stay, we headed back to our home base at the coast.