Canada

We got dropped off the next day and got our free lift back to Jasper with a guy that looked very much like the trucker guy in Wolf Creek but he was sound though..

We were booked into the HI hostel in Jasper which was grand as it was only minutes from the wee village centre. We had about 3 days to chill out here before we had to get the via rail train acropss the rockies to Vancouver, Ger even managed to find his mate...!

We immediately fell in love with Jasper, but it is very hard not to as it is just so idyllic you want to stay for longer, its not terribly big but the quaint shops, cafes and bars are gorgeous and all to the back drop of the snow capped rocky mountains.

We just chilled out around the town but we did go up the Whistler mountain cable car for the amazing views and then its optional to continue further on foot to the very top of the mountain and as it looked the world.
Obviously we did it and it was amazing, it took about an hour to get to the top but it wasnt that far it was more the altitude that slowed you down, oh and the fact that i had left the house in flip flops as it was about 35 degree heat but up the mountain it was windy and a lot colder and some parts were covered in snow - this didnt help!! But once we got to the top it was brill and it felt like a super achievement..

On the friday we were leaving on the 3pm train to cross the rockies, the train looked weel exciting as the roof was see through and raised so you could get the full experience of travelling through the mountains. We had booked our trip at home and didnt realise that we got a full 3 course dinner and free champagne when we boarded so it was a treat to be treated like first class as opposed to the travelling look we were used to.. i think we shocked the train ticketer as she advised us to buy our own food before getting on the train as it was quite expensive on the train haha... i guess we werent looking our best that day!

Our dinner seating was at 5pm so we headed for that first and a few glasses of free wine and champers.. meet 2 other girls that had actually won the same trip who were lovely. After dinner we got to go up to the viewing carriages and watch the mountains as they passed by, it was really brilliant we were both just in awe and i dont think we spoke for about an hour!

It was like luxury compared to the train journeys in the hard sleeper in China with Andy and Jane (... but we we were thinking of you guys!). They made up the beds for you at night - whch were huge and it was just gorgeous being able to fall asleep looking up at the rockies and the stars - very romantic lads!
We got into Vancouver the next morning at about 8am and had to wait then til 12 for our bus to Seattle where we stayed for a night before heading to Chicago and Ger's cousins house for a full week. We were kind of sad to leave Canada and would encourage anyone to go as it was definitely one of our highlights!

Our flight from san francisco had to go via dallas to get to calgary but oh yes because dallas had been flooded all week all flights in and out were delayed and then so were we.. When we did get landed we had missed our connecting flight and had to run to catch the last one of the day to calgary but via denver this time with a different airline!
We made it to Calgary that night 1am but our luggage didnt.. Nightmare! We were starting our tour the following morning up the rockies at 730am so the guide maria advised that the luggage should be sent ahead of us as they wouldnt find us up in the mountains and national parks.. So we had to go shopping for stuff to keep us going for the next few days, not bad really seeing there was a gap store next door!

There was about 9 of us in the group and once we got our shopping sorted we were away..our first stop was Banff and from here the famous beauty spot Lake Louise. It was a gorgeous day and the place was packed but it was absolutely beautiful, the lake was a green/glacier blue colour and the chateau lake louise was just as breathtaking...

we spent a few hours here so myself and Ger decided to hike up to the tea rooms right at the top of the mountain, after an hour of step climbing we made it to the top along with the other few hundred tourists! It was so busy we didnt have time to get a cuppa but the scenery and views had been worth it.

We headed away from Lake Louise and up the mountain to our hostel for the night called the Mosquito creek hostel - it lived up to its name but it was cool, very rustic, no electricity, toilet outdoors and just the company of the mountain animals - chipmonks, and a camp fire for the night - oh yeah and beers!. The Big Rock grasshopper, kokanee and honey brown went down a treat and by 12 midnight we were having a right laugh...so much so that when a small man approached our fire asking if someone needed luggage i nearly fell on him with delight. We couldnt believe he had found us,although he did say he had been driving around for hours looking, so he was as relieved as us to have the luggage!

The following morning up early, hangover city but with clothes! We headed for the Columbia icefield. This was a huge glacier that you went up to on huge big tonka trucks, each wheel apparently costing $5000.00!

We spent the afternoon here and it was gorgeous, although everywhere in the rockies is a picture postcard so its very hard not to love the place.
From here we headed to Lake Annette for an afternoon dip seeing it was about 35degrees in the shade! The Lake was a glacier lake so it was absulotely freezing but all the girls braved the water while the guys took pictures and got bitten by more mosquitos.. haha

After our swim we headed into the mountains again for our second hostel on Mount Edith Cavell. On the way we got to see Caribou and moose which was class.. but i was still holding out for a big bear! We had been warned what to do if we came across the brown or black bears and everyone had their eyes peeled - it was funny because when you spotted a group of cars stopped it was a free for all to try and get a glimpse as to what animal was there...

We arrived at our hostel which was inside a national park and they had had a mother and 2 cubs in the campsite a few days ago so we were all excited...usual routine though again, dinner on and get the fire lit and the beers cold and we all settled in for another campfire night. It was great craic, we met a couple from Cambridge Eoin and Corin and along with them and our leader Maria we managed to finish all the alcohol!

It had been a great few days and the following day Maria was kind enough to drop us off to another hostel and arrange for the owner to give us a lift out to Jasper for our next few days...