The Elk That Said Hello!!

June 11, 2022 / Ed Armstrong

I was so startled that this elk was eating dinner at my campsite!!

I was reading a novel in my campsite in Jasper National Park, we I looked up and realized there was a huge elk eating dinner in my campsite. I slowly grabbed my camera and she posed for several photos.

She was gracious and posed for a photo in front of our motorhome!

She was so quiet, I did not realize she was right next to me!!

She was simply enjoying dinner, regardless of me.

Here I maneuvered to to get a different angle and she thought I was getting too close so she walked toward me to get me to back off. I quickly scooted into the adjacent campsite.

Icefields Parkway!!

June 10, 2022July 2, 2022 / Ed Armstrong

This is Bow Lake. Very beautiful while still frozen!

Canada continues to amaze and inspire me. Today I drove between Banff and Jasper. This road is called the Icefields Parkway. Early in my RV travels I started meeting people and often RVers would say that the drive between Banff and Jasper is the most beautiful road they have ever traveled. I cannot disagree with this assessment. The photos below speak for themselves. It is simply one marvel after another. When you think there cannot possible be a more beautiful scene, you suddenly catch your breath again. God’s creativity is a marvel to behold.

Another view of Bow Lake with the sun breaking through in the background.

I love the light shinning on the mountain!

The mountains are beautiful surrounded by clouds!

I love this river flowing in the foreground with so much greenery!

The snow runoff produces gorgeous waterfalls!

The wispy clouds highlight the rugged mountains!

This mountain was in the shade, but moved into the sunlight just as I was driving by. I pulled over quickly to see the features in the mountain!

I love the contrast between the snow and the mountain structure!

This is Athabasca Falls. My campsite is quite near these falls.

These falls create quite a bit of mist. Take the photo quickly before the lens is covered by mist!

Water flows mightily with the snow melting!

Emerald Lake!!

June 9, 2022 / Ed Armstrong

I had a wonderful trip to see Emerald Lake! I left the campground before 6:30 am and drove for an hour in order to catch the morning light shining on the lake and the nearby mountains. I was absolutely beautiful! I was told that the minerals brought down by the glaciers produce the beautiful green color in lake.

This is my favorite photo of Emerald Lake.

I loved finding different viewpoints of such gorgeous scenery.

I was captivated by the colors of the green lake, blue sky, and white snow in the mountains!

It was a bit windy for a perfect reflection.

Boats could be rented to enjoy the lake.

As the sun went higher, the colors of the lake shifted to a deeper green color.

The nearby river also has the green color.

These rapids were powerful and impressive!

The Canadian scenery is incredible! I found myself just staring at so many beautiful areas!

This is “Natural Bridge” and has an impressive flow of water through it!

Moraine Lake and Lake Louise!!

June 8, 2022 / Ed Armstrong

In planning my trip through Canada and on to Alaska, one of my major bucket list items was to visit Moraine Lake and Lake Louise. I have heard that Moraine Lake is the most photographed lake in Canada. For weeks and weeks I have had a reservation of the shuttle system to see these two lakes. I woke up very excited today.

Truly beautiful! I need to visit again when all the ice is gone and it is a sunny day.

I first visited Moraine Lake. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, although it is June 8^th, Moraine Lake was still mostly covered with ice. I guess I simply must schedule another visit later in the summer. However, despite the ice and the clouds, it was a gorgeous site to behold!

I enjoyed climbing around the trail and looking at different viewpoints of Lake Moraine.

I loved looking at those rugged mountains!

The color of the water where the ice has melted is awesome!

Lake Louise was certainly not a disappointment! Although it was sprinkling rain and cloudy on the mountain peaks, it was still beautiful to see.

It is easy to understand why Lake Louise is so popular!

It has been said that the Canadian Rockies are prettier than the Rockies within the US. From what I have seen in Banff National Park, the Canadian Rockies are much more majestic. It is difficult to capture all the beauty of this area in a few photographs. Visiting here has truly inspired me!

I love the morning light on the mountains!

Banff!!

June 8, 2022 / Ed Armstrong

I had a wonderful time visiting Banff today. It is a very beautiful town! It is inside the Banff National Park, the first Canadian national park. I have heard many comments from friends that have described this area as one of the most beautiful settings in all of north America.

This fellow was enjoying the cool rain while eating lunch. I noticed him while walking to Bow Falls.

Bow Falls is surprisingly loud! The force of the water was impressive! It was only a 20 minute walk from downtown Banff to reach the falls.

It was a chilly and rainy day to enjoy this beautiful area.

This seemed like my kinds of place, located in Banff!

The views from my campground, just outside of Banff, are amazing. I loved the mountain views in every direction.

This is looking in 180 degrees opposite from the previous photo. I loved this rugged mountain! It was very cloudy and I waited for the mountain to peek out among the low clouds.

This was looking 90 degrees from the previous two photos. I was startled with all the different beautiful mountain views from my campground!

Calgary, Alberta, Canada!!

June 6, 2022June 6, 2022 / Ed Armstrong

It is wonderful to visit Alberta for the first time!!

I have always enjoyed my previous visits to Canada, but visiting Calgary has been extra special. This is my first time here and I enjoyed seeing the rolling green hills as I crossed the border and drove north to Calgary. It is a very clean city and the foliage is quite green. I could enjoy living here in the summer, but the winter seems like it would be too intense for me.

I remember watching the ski jumping competition and this tower. Note the Olympic rings on the top of the tower!

Although the sides are a bit broken down, I remember the pipe competition at this location.

I enjoyed seeing the bobsleigh and luge track!

This is the bobsleigh and luge track from the outside. It is sort of difficult to see from the outside, but this is curve 13 going into curve 14.

I liked this stature honoring the athletes and Olympic competition!

The Winter Sport Institute was an interesting place to visit.

They converted one of the ski slopes where people can “race” down the slope in a sort go-cart contraption. They had a great time!

After finding an ATM to withdraw some Canadian cash, I headed to one of the locations where the Olympics were held in Calgary in 1988. I enjoy watching the Olympics and it was interesting to see locations I recognized from TV in person. I met a couple from Arkansas that were here as part of a RV tour trip. They told me where they were staying and laughed when I told them I just arrived and had no idea where I was going to spend the night. Stay flexible and enjoy everything around you!

It is interesting to drive and try and figure out directions and get diesel in the metric system. I converted the motorhome speedometer to km/hour because I want to be extra careful not to speed. However, I am lost when a road sign says 85 km to a city, or the GPS tells me to turn right in 300 meters. After a few days I will get used to the distances, but it was a unique experience locating an ATM in a new city with street names that are new too. Another unique experience is buying fuel. It is priced as Canadian dollars per liter, so quite different from US dollars per gallon. When I used my credit card to buy fuel, I had to approve a possible $250 Canadian dollar transaction. It worked fine, but that large dollar amount was a bit unsettling.

I found a casino that allows RVs to park for free. It was super nice because they had a flat grassy area designated for us to park. I went into the casino to buy a couple drinks with different types of Canadian whiskey and watch the NBA finals game.

The weather here is quite different. A cold front moved in, and it has been raining off and on all day. It was 54 degrees in the motorhome when I woke up. Goodbye short and hello long pants and sweatshirts. I guess that beats 110 degrees any day.

I do not want to drive today. I have had several long driving days getting here. Today I want to rest and relax and plan my next adventure. Tomorrow, I have a reservation for a campsite in Banff National Park. I am very excited to see the Canadian Rockies in person!

Great Falls, Montana!!

June 4, 2022 / Ed Armstrong

I had a wonderful trip from Idaho up to Great Falls, Montana. It was very rural and very beautiful. I drove through a green valley for much of the day and then later weaved through mountains and then ended the day at the Missouri River in Great Falls, Montana. I crossed the continental divide 3 times during my drive today.

When I arrived in Great Falls, I first went to the visitor center to eat lunch and learn about the area. It was suggested that I visit the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. I had no idea that Lewis and Clark crossed through this area. The explorers ran into a series of 5 rapids on the Missouri River around the current location of Great Falls, Montana. It turned into a huge hardship to portage on land around the series of falls and took much longer time and effort than originally anticipated. This difficult portage around the Missouri River made Great Falls quite well known in history about the difficulties Lewis and Clark experienced.

The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center was quite impressive! It was fascinating to learn about the Lewis and Clark expedition!

This photo of the Missouri River makes it look calm and easy to navigate; however, it is a powerful body of water and the series of 5 waterfalls is near this location.

I liked this statue of the dinosaur looking out over Great Falls and the Missouri River in the distance.

I really liked this artwork of the bison. I loved all the colors!

Pocatello, Idaho!!

June 3, 2022June 3, 2022 / Ed Armstrong

There are many murals in Pocatello. This is the mural outside the Elks lodge.

I had a fun time visiting the community of Pocatello, Idaho today. I enjoyed the drive through Idaho into Pocatello. There are beautiful green rolling hills with snow capped mountains in the background. After parking the motorhome, I went on a walking tour of the local shops in downtown. Pocatello is very picturesque.

Idaho is certainly famous for their fantastic potatoes!!

It is always fun to learn about the local universities when traveling! Before today, I did not know the mascot for Idaho State. Go Bengals!!

This is intense and makes visiting teams tremble!

I thought it was nice that the city maintained some of the historic characteristics enjoyed by the community

I absolutely love ice cream!! This sign was special to me!

This awesome sign is outside a entertaining antique shop in Pocatello. I love small businesses and I especially enjoyed this owner’s enthusiasm!

I thought this message outside a local church was very powerful and appropriate. There are no perfect people and we all need Jesus!

Arizona Spring Football Game!!

April 12, 2022 / Ed Armstrong

It was great having my photo taken in front of the famous “Zona Zoo!!” This is the student section on the west side of Arizona Stadium. This sign did not exist the last time I was at the stadium.

I had a wonderful time visiting Tucson to attend the University of Arizona spring football game! It was a beautiful day and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting an old friend Bill at the stadium. It has probably been at least a decade since I have been at Arizona stadium. It was filled with memories for me. While waiting for the game to start, I remembered major wins as well as heart-breaking losses while in that stadium. It was great to visit again!

It was fun to attend the spring game. The music was pounding loudly in the stadium!

Some of the cheerleaders were gracious and allowed me to take their picture. It was fun to see all the excitement and pageantry of college football!

Being inside Arizona Stadium again brought back so many special memories!!

It was fun to watch some of the new recruits as well as many of the established players. Coaches for the game were famous players when I had season tickets for UA football. Now, the football team hopefully will be able to win some games! They have only won one game in the past two seasons, so hopefully the team will improve their win-loss record. Is it too much to ask to have enough wins to go to a bowl game?? We will see.

After the game, I drove the motorhome to South Tucson and enjoyed some wonderful Mexican food!! I think Tucson has some of the best Mexican food anywhere in the nation!

After eating dinner, I drove to Catalina, Arizona for some boondocking camping. After getting organized, I opened the motorhome door and was greeted with a spectacular Tucson sunset! Truly beautiful!!

This was a wonderful day!! It was great to visit Tucson, I had a wonderful time at Arizona Stadium, I enjoyed seeing the football team, I enjoyed talking with my friend Bill, the Mexican food was fantastic, and the sunset was awesome. (Now, hopefully, we will win some football games!!)

I think it is important to be grateful for special times and to savor days like today!

Quartzsite, Arizona Stars!

January 21, 2022 / Ed Armstrong

This is our motorhome in the foreground with the gorgeous stars shining brightly over the rural desert skies! Awesome!

I went to a RV rally in Quartzsite, Arizona and had a wonderful time. There was a photographer that held a workshop that showed us how to photograph stars. Being in the desert south of Quartzsite there are no major cities nearby and it was beautiful to see so many stars. These were my favorite photos.