Canada 2nd - 17th September 2009

The Hills' Round the World Trip ended in April 2008, but the Hills' desire to travel goes on.There's one destination in particular that we missed due to our grandson's arrival.So in September 2009 we flew to Seattle to set off on a Footloose camping trip in the Canadian Rockies.We spent the first night in a hotel and the next 13 in campgrounds in the National Parks, where we had to be mindful of wild animals such as bears, horses and rutting elks!

After a long drive from Seattle, we spent the first night camping at Pinantan Lake.On Friday we drove into the Rockies passing through Mount Revelstoke and Glacier N Ps, visiting Meadows in the Sky Parkway, and pitching our tents for a couple of nights at Beaverfoot Campground on the edge of Yoho N P.This was a spectacular setting with a backdrop of mountains, and wild horses grazing around the tents.On Saturday we hiked to Wapta Falls and then spent the afternoon white-water rafting on the Kicking Horse River - the highlight of which was getting stuck on the rocks!Next day we did a long hike from Takakkaw Falls over Yoho Pass to Emerald Lake, before driving on to Banff and the Tunnel Mountain Campground.We stayed here for 3 nights, another spectacular setting.From here we travelled to Lake Louise for a hike up to the Victoria Glacier where we were greeted by a heavy snow storm.We retraced our steps back along the lake to the hotel where we warmed ourselves with some delicious hot chocolate.That evening we visited the Banff Hot Springs before having a meal in town. The next day, Tuesday, was a free day so David and I walked along to the Hoodoos (glacial debris that looks like statues) and back along the river into Banff, where we were able to browse in the shops and relax.On Wednesday we drove through the Icefields Parkway, to the Athabasca Glacier where we met up with our guide who took us right up onto the glacier.This glacier walk was very different to the walk on Franz Joseph Glacier in NZ, not least because it was extremely cold! Our campground tonight is in Jasper NP and this is where we encountered the rutting elks!On Thursday we hiked at Pyramid Mountain with some stunning views, ending up back in Jasper in time for some hot chocolate before heading back to camp.Our drive the next day took us to Mount Robson and we were fortunate to have a clear day and a magnificent view of the mountain.After lunch we travelled to Wells Grey Provincial Park and met our guide who took us canoeing on Clearwater Lake, which truly lives up to its name.The scenery was awesome!We arrived back at Wells Grey Guest Ranch in the dark, but were pleased to discover we were spending the night in cabins - one for the girls and one for the boys!Luxury!We had a long drive to Whistler the next day, but the scenery is great.On Sunday we were free to explore Whistler and David and I went up Whistler Mountain on the gondola.We spent the day at the top doing a long circular walk in beautiful sunshine.To end the day we took a second trip on the "Peak to Peak" gondola and were lucky enough to see 5 black bears. Wow!The views from Whistler Mountain are stunning.We took the ferry to Vancouver Island on Monday and drove up to Tofino which is in the rainforest and was very wet.The next morning we took an exhilarating boat trip in the rain to see grey and hump back whales.The weather brightened in the afternoon and David and I walked the Long Beach before returning to camp for our final night camping.We had a great beach BBQ and watched the sunset.On Wednesday we returned to Vancouver on the ferry where we checked into a hotel before going out for a meal in "Gas Town".On our final morning we got up really early to walk all the way around Stanley Park before leaving for Seattle where we managed a quick visit to the vibrant Pike Place Market.

We travelled about 4,000 miles through stunning scenery with a great group of people.Can't wait for the next adventure……..