Waterton Lakes National Park, AB

After driving on clear, dry roads through Fernie and the Crowsnest Pass, we encountered another blizzard just past Pincher Creek, AB. We continued on sloppy, slick roads to Waterton National Park and managed to find a spot to park the camper. We cranked the propane heater and settled down for a snowy night. When we awoke the next morning, there was over a foot of fresh powder on the ground and the sun was shining brilliantly in this winter wonderland. The girls made snow angels and snowmen before breakfast!

We ventured into town and visited the iconic Prince of Wales hotel on the hill where we were greeted with classical harp music. She gave us a brief tutorial on the mechanics of the Celtic harp and the girls decided that they might like to pursue that in the future. We hiked back down along the lake and played at the local playground while young fawns licked the salt of Waterton's snowy sidewalks.

Flathead Lake, Montana

We crossed the border into Montana and drove through the charming mountain town of Whitefish and the commercial hub of Kalispell to arrive at Flathead Lake State Park. The sun was shining and folks were out on water skis and jet skis to enjoy the calm waters of this massive lake. We went swimming and lounged around the small park for a few days while Mark tended to maintenance on the truck in nearby Kalispell. We had hoped to continue into Glacier National Park, but early snow had closed the roads and we ended up returning the way we came back through Fernie, BC.

Kikomun Creek Provincial Park, BC

We drove through a small blizzard on September 3 in the Crowsnest Pass to arrive at Kikomun Creek Provincial Park just outside of Fernie, BC. We hiked around Hidden Lake on the lookout for Western Painted Turtles, but we didn't find any until the sun came out the following day and they were basking on logs along the edge of Surveyor's Lake. Crystal clear warm waters and sunshine meant that we were able to catch bass, swim, and kayak in this pristine little lake in the park. We were lounging on the beach in the sunshine in 24 degree weather after driving through snow and -2 degree temperatures just days before.

Banff, AB

We spent a memorable afternoon traveling the iconic Icefields Parkway from Jasper to Banff. It is a stretch of spectacular Rocky Mountain scenery with massive overhanging glaciers, steep avalanche slopes and lakes of stunning turquoise blue. The one photo that I snapped at our picnic spot doesn't come close to capturing the spirit of this landscape. I think it has to be experienced to be believed.

We pulled into Tunnel Mountain Campground and then headed onto the bustling streets of Banff where crowds gather all year long from every place under the sun. There were many British, German and Japanese visitors there when we stopped into Beaver Tails to gorge ourselves on this Canadian delicacy. It is basically a huge piece of fried dough covered in sugar or icing and then sprinkled with your choice of candy toppings. Needless to say, the girls spent the next two hours running around at the playground to burn off the sugar high before bedtime.

We were now back on familiar terrain and the girls were eager to head into Calgary for the long weekend to swap our northern gear for our southern gear before hitting the road again. When we finally arrived, the girls ran through the house calling to each other from their own rooms shouting, "It's sooooo big! Our house is soooo big!" I guess spending three months in a 26 foot trailer can change your perspective on some things. It has certainly shaped ours.

Jasper, AB

The charming mountain town of Jasper was our next stop en route home. We saw mountain goats foraging along the highway, Canadian geese eating grain along the railway tracks, and elk running down the main street of town being chased by park rangers waving hockey sticks.

"There are two seasons in Canada: winter and construction!" This was definitely our experience as we spent over an hour and a half in road construction line-ups getting to the Miette Hot Springs and another hour and a half on the return trip back to town. Our soak in the hot springs was heavenly, but we were all starving by the time we pulled into Jasper. We stopped for pizza on the main drag and then wandered the town until night fell. The girls played at the local playground for two hours and we happened upon an impromptu open-air concert of mountain music performed by the park rangers. One violinist even managed to make a saw sing!