Next Stop… Lake Louise, Alberta

We arrive at the Tourist Center just outside of Lake Louise at around 15:30. The sun was shining but Km was troubled with an irritating headache. I decided to go into the center to see if they could help me with any information as where to camp at Lake Louise. They informed me that most of the campsites were full in the park but that we could most likely find a campsite just down the road from here.She told me that the 15 places left at the one campground at Lake Louise were updated at 13:30. She expected that they were filled by now.I really didn´t want to be outside the park again like we were in Yellowstone.I went out to find Km. I wanted to try anyways but we would have to hurry. I found Km who was still looking for a place to lie down until her headache disappeared.I felt bad for her but if there was to be a chance of finding a place in the park we would have to leave now.There was a 25 km drive to the campsite.My little Trooper Km hops up on the bike and we head out for Lake Louise.As we pass by the campsite that the lady recommended just down the road, I wondered if I´ve made the right choice.Km is not feeling well and if the campsite in the park is full, we would have to drive the 25 kms back again. My new name could be "Mud" if this happens. I drive by anyways and gamble with my new name.Twenty minutes later we arrive at the campgrounds and there are still plenty of tent sites available.Who´s the Happy Camper now!!??We pay the 28 dollars for a night + 8.50 for a fire permit including all the wood we could burn.They point us in the direction of our site and off we drive. As we get closer to the entrance, it kind of looks like a Concentration Camp. To start with, there are these iron bars you drive over with electrical wires in between and the electrical fence starts about 1½ meters high at the side of the road and goes all the way around the perimeter of the campsite.No bear boxes here but they can try and get in if they dare.They say that it not 100% bear safe but it makes a good deterrent. It sure made me feel safe so that was nice.It keeps the people in and the bears out. There were apparently 3 female grizzly´s with cubs living in the area. We soon found our campsite and set up camp.It wasn´t long before wemet another couple by the name of Paul and Jeanette.Paul like myself took 50 days off work for his 50th birthday. Okay, I took 93 but who´s counting?? I´ll take 50 for my 93rd. They were both very nice and we decided to have a beer together later that evening.Km and I sat up on the bike and headed into the town.There wasn´t much of a shopping center in town but once again, better than nothing. We walked around a bit and saw what we had to see, bought sandwiches for dinner, a six pack of beer and we were returned to our new home at Lake Louise campground. Upon our return, we found some wood to burn but everything was pretty wet.I let my fire expert Kmgo to work on that. It took a little time but thanks to her stubbornness, the fire was soon raging. We finished our dinner and then took some beer over to Paul and Jeanette's campsite. Had a really nice evening together with them and before we knew it, it was pitch black and we still had to clean up to avoid bears crawling into bed, together with us. They did have a lock-up for things in another building so we gathered up everything from food to toothpaste and headed for the lock up. They couldn´t tell us enough times the importance of following these simple rules in this area so we did just that.

The next morning after breakfast, we decided to explore the nature of Banff National Park . There was route 93 which would supply the best chances for seeing wildlife and nature.This we took all the way into the city of Banff. We saw three deer on the way but that was all. It was a beautiful drive though.Arrived in Banff around noon and parked the bike and started to check out the town. Banff is quite a tourist town but extremely charming.Lots of beautiful log buildings but I guess this is the right area for this sort of thing.Finally found our raccoon hats here. Hadn´t seen them since Quebec city. They were 78 dollars/piece set down to 58. I offered the owner 100 dollars for two which he agreed too. It was a relief to have more things to tie on to the back of the bike;-))) .I´ve reached the point where I´m checking the heights of bridges before I go under.The hats were bought withthe money we got from my aunt Bessie for our birthdays, so thanks for the hats my favourite aunt.The weather changes so quickly around here being so close to the mountains.. It begins to rain while we are having lunch in a quaint little restaurant. We have our rain clothes with us so it´s not a problem.We head back to Lake Louise after our stroll through town.We took the highwaythis time and set out to find Lake Louise.We were heading out the next morning so this was our last chance.On the way up to Lake Louise, we see many cars stopped along the side of the road and we just have to stop to see what they´re looking at.This usually means some sort of animal or an alien spaceship but more than likely it's an animal. There at the side of the road, in the bushes was this young moose still bigger than a horse. It had long legs like a spider.It didn´t seem to mind that all these people were there taking pictures. Itwas quite content just to munch on some grass and sip on some fine stream water. After gazing it for some time,we then left for the lake. Nowthis was just an amazing sight to see.This is more magnificent then the pictures we´ve seen in magazines. To gaze at the glacier on the mountain in the background was breathtaking. The sad part was later on hearing my brother-in-law Bill recalling in 1972 while visiting this very place, that then, the glacier reached all the way down to the water. It's not even close now in 2009. We did of course do the tourist thing and had someone take our picture in front of the lake and glacier. We can only hope that in 30 years, this picture will still be possible for others to take who visit Lake Louise. From here we just had to see this amazing Hotel by the lake. It´s called the Fairmont Chateau. We could only afford to walk through it.The poor people like us are camping nearby. After pretending we belonged there for a short while, we decided to return to the lake before we headed back to town.The sun just came out again and it tends to give the lake another look. Snapped a few more pictures then went town to do some shopping for dinner.While in the grocery store, I say something to Km in Danish. This man beside me says, your Danish is very good… in Danish of course.We talk a bit and meet again outside and continue our conversation.It wasn´t long before we discovered that he knew someone from the town we live in near Fredericia .He actually knew a lot of people we did as well as Jørgen we were going to visit in Calgary. His name was Steen Nicolajsen and was there on his own Road trip from Edmonton, Alberta with his sixteen year old son Mark.I´m not one for clichés but,it is a small world. It's just a matter of being in the right spot at the right time.We collected our hot dogs and some sort of canned soup with different things in it, and returned to our campsite to eat. The idea was that Karen Margrethe would start a fire and we would warm the can up on the fire and just add the hot dogs, cut up in small pieces of course. It began to drip from the skies again so while I tried to prepare a shelter with our green tarp. Km tried to get a fire going which was definitelynot an easy task with all the rain they received here during the day. Our wood was wet but she did succeed after a hard fight and luckily the rain never amounted to much. Once the fire was going and we had some nice red hot coals glowing, I placed the can of soup on the grill and then returned to my shelter project just in case it was needed later on. It`s nice to be prepared!! At one point Km mentions that the can looks as though it's going to explode.I assure her that everything would be okay.I then take a better look at the can again and it did appear as though it was a little bent out of shape but thought it was like that when we bought it.I decided it was time to eat so there was nothing else to do except to open the can. Now before I go any farther, Do Not Try This At Home, or at the campsite for that matter.I was lucky enough that when I released the pressure which had built up in the boiling hot can, it only exploded in my hand. You´re probably thinking that it must have been Hot… Yes it was, but still finger and hand licken good.Should remember to pick up some napkins next time we´re in town.Didn´t do anything special that evening other than make plans to leave Lake Louise and head out for Calgary the following morning.It was only a three hour drive so that was nice.We were off to see Mr. Brandal and Tara. We began early next morning and pack our very wet and dirty tent together. The rain began as were packing so we decided to move everything up to the little community house close to our tent sight. At least there, we could pack without things becoming more wet then they already were.After 2½ hours the bike was packed and ready to go. Our departure was then delayed once again as we began to talk with Twaila and her husband Ken.They were a very nice couple we met at the campsite.They were both retired and from California. They were traveling in a Mobil home with their two dogs and have been on the road for the last two months. We exchanged e-mail addresses and they invited us to stay with them if we ventured into California. They weren´t sure if they would ever make it over our way but they´re certainly most welcome.

It was a sad sight for me to leave this mountainous region of the west coast behind.The farther we got from Banff and the closer we came to Calgary, the mountains disappeared and were replaced by a flat terrain. The rain eventually stopped and it wasn´t long before we entered the city of Calgary.At 15:30, the Gps led us straight to the door of Jørgen and Taraat on 125 Bermuda Drive.Jørgen wasn´t home but Tara answered the door saying … You guys must be Ian and Karen Margrethe.Jørgens not home but come on in and he´ll be home shortly.For Km, it was a long awaited moment come true.All her family has stepped through the threshold of Jørgens house and now it was her turn.Jørgen returned shortly afterwards and hugs and welcomes were on the menu.We were invited out to eat with them but before this happened we asked for a shower. That was one of the things we didn´t find at the camping place in Lake Louise.It's not because they didn´t exist but that Km when sent out to find them, gave up and returned to the campsite.We walked up to the restaurant just around the corner and I enjoyed one on the best steaks I´ve had in a long time.Very enjoyable evening with them and then it was back to Bermuda drive once again. We were shown to our bedroom in the cool room in the basement. Nice…Wasn´t long before we were stretched out on the bed awaiting the start of a new day.

Jørgen asked us if we liked porridge for breakfast.If so, he would get it started the night before.It, like his internet, is a slow process.It must soak overnight and then heated to perfection in the morning. Not the internet, just the porridge . We are both adventurous so we said yes please to the porridge and went to sleep.

After a good night sleep, we awoke in the morning. I was feeling a little under the weather.Perhaps a cold was on its way. That would not be good so I decided to take it easy this day.We started the day with Jørgens famous porridge.It was a little different then I was used too but it did taste great.We had it almost every day after that. Even when I mentioned I would like to try Tara´s Raisin Bran cereal, he gave me porridge.After breakfast there was the washing of clothes and Km was put in charge of that.We all have to do what we do best and Km was best at that. Once again, Ineptitude has its own rewards and it paid off again for me. As the clothes are being washed, I set up the tent out in the backyard to wash and let it dry.It takes up most of the backyard but at the same time there´s not much grass to cut. Km phones her mom on Skype and Jørgen reminds me that I´m not leaving before his Skype is up and running. After lunch we decided to go to Bass Pro. For our Danish friends who don´t know what this is, I can tell you that this is one of the most amazing Outdoor Stores I´ve ever seen. Besides being able to find and buy whatever your heart desires, the stores our filled with real stuffed animals like Bison, moose, bears, mountain goats, elk, cougars, wolves, beavers, skunks, wild turkeys, raccoons and much more.They also have a huge aquarium filled with fish the size of a small swimming pool. They sometimes have small demonstrations of the latest fishing tackle and use the aquarium to fish in. They are found all over North America and the stores are a clone of each other.They even had a Sea Plane hanging from the ceiling in one store. If you ever get a chance to see one of these stores, do it. You won´t be disappointed !! Jørgen told us that the store was just around the corner.Km wanted to walk there but Jørgen insisted that we take the car. Good thing we did. It was a 45 minute drive to the store.Still… just around the corner for someone from Calgary. We returned home around 5pmand Tara was busy preparing our dinner. With the amount or food she prepared, I was sure there were other guests coming. After a wonderful dinner we all went for a walk to see the neighborhood where they live.It was a pleasure to walk off all that dinner and once again I´m feeling fat. It went so well before we came here and then Tara had to be a great cook. We got back to house and I decided to go to bed early to try and shake off this cold which was trying to move in and spoil my vacation. We talked about going to Bar U Ranch the following day. This was one of the first andmostenduring of the large corporate ranches established in the 1880´s. It was also chosen to commemorate the history of the ranching industry in Canada. I must admit that when I heard that Km wanted to go there, I kind of yawned to myself.I really wasn´t that interested in seeing a ranch. My idea was that if you´ve seen one, you´ve seen them all. That's the great thing about expectations.If you don´t have one, you can´t be disappointed.The next morning after Jørgens famous porridge, we head out to Bar U Ranch. It was a drive about an hour or so south from Calgary or as they say "over there"… just around the corner. We arrived around 11am, parked the car and headed over to the ranch entrance. After visiting the ranch, I was pleasantly surprised. Our tour started by hopping up on horse drawn wagon and being driven around while the driver told us the history of the ranch.It was a lot of fun and the story behind the ranch was quite fascinating. The ranch was started by Fred Stimson along with the wealthy Allen family from Quebec. They leased 147,000 acres of prime grassland from the Canadian Government for a penny an acre and formed the North West Cattle Company in 1882. The ranch was sold in 1902 to George Lane who later was responsible for starting the first Calgary Stampede in 1912 along with A.E. Cross, Archie McLean and Pat Burns. They were known as the Big 4. George Lane´s pride and passion were the Percheron horses he bred.He toured with his horses and showed them all around North America.People from all over the world would come to see and try to buy them.They later decided that the creating of the Calgary Stampede would be the perfect opportunity to show these horses without having to travel. Now people could come to see him instead and they did.Census Canada recorded that there were 18 people working at the Bar U Ranch, including a horse breaker named Harry Longabaugh. Longabaugh was the infamous "Sundance Kid" from the Wild Bunch Gang and later hooking up with the well known Butch Cassidy.We left the horse drawn wagon and were allowed to tour the ranch by foot.At one point we found some lassoes and some wood steers so we could practice our roping. It wasn´t long before a cowboy came to our rescue and showed us the proper way to rope a cow.His first task was to untangle us 4 before we could get started.We did real well at the end.

Time was flying by and before we knew it, we were off to Highriver to visit Clara.I believe that Clara is Km´s second cousin. Km´s father and Clara´s mother were cousins.Clara was looking very much forward to our arrival for afternoon coffee and we were looking forward to meeting her.We have heard so much about her and now we will meet her for the first time. On our way to Clara, we stop in at a Danish bakery and Jørgen picks up some Rygbrød (similar to Pumpernickel) .It was just around the corner from his house ( 110 kms) . We arrive at Clara´s and are served not one but two different types of cake with our coffee. With the cake and coffee finished, Clara left for the kitchen and started preparing dinner. It looked as though she was preparing dinner for 20 or so people. We were 11.We had an enjoyable evening and it was a delight to meet more of Km´s family.We arrived home in Calgary at 10 pm and played a game of Cribbage before climbing into bed.

We awake at 8:30 next morning and head upstairs for breakfast.Km and Jørgen shared the famous porridge and I joined Tara in some Bran Flakes and blueberries. Today we were heading for the town of Drumheller located about 90 minutes northeast of Calgary in the Alberta badlands . Our first stop was at Horseshoe Canyon just outside of Drumheller. This was quite a fascinating area.The terrain turns so barren and the rock formations and canyons appear out of nowhere.They call it the badlands due to the fact that nothing can grow here.After a quick look around, we hop back in the car and drive to Drumheller Museum.The Royal Tyrrell Museum is Canada's only museum dedicated exclusively to the science of paleontology.It houses one of the world's largest not to mention a very impressive display of dinosaurs in all shapes and sizes.

It was now late afternoon and we head back to Calgary. This part of Alberta is extremely flat. Trees and bushes seem to be a rare sight along this stretch of Highway 9. We see our first Prairie coyote in the far distance in the field. I guess it was out looking for dinner. Rats were apparently not on the menu. They don´t exist in this part of Canada. When we arrive back at Jørgens, we shower and get ready for dinner down at the Danish Club in downtown Calgary.The club seems very nice and they do have lots of meetings for different Danish events. It keeps the Danish spirits high and flying. On our way home we stop at a lookout point and gaze over the city of Calgary before continuing to Bermuda Drive.Km, Jørgenand Tara sit down and talk at the kitchen table and I head straight for bed still trying to fight off a cold. Tomorrow would be our last day in Calgary before moving on.We were heading for Sturgis, South Dakota for the Motorcycle Rally which would take place from the 3rd to the 9th of August, 2009. This will be the 69th anniversary.

Our last day in Calgary we decided to just relax and prepare for out departure the following morning. We pack a little and Jørgen reminds me that his Skype is still not up and running. This I assured him would take about 10 minutes so he´s not to worry.I hear from Tara that Jørgens upstairs with his pc so I guess this would be as good a time as any to install Skype.What was supposed to take 10 minutes, turned out to be 45. I forgot about the ultra light speed internet connection.I couldn´t help teasing him once again and explaining how life is too short for slow internet.Tara had been after him too for some time now about getting something quicker with no luck what so ever.While waiting for the download, I went out and shaved again.Jørgen finally became a new member of the Skype team.He seemed to be a happy camper. With that out of the way, we left for downtown Calgary to walk around town. I found downtown Calgary to be much quieter than I expected for a fairly big city.It was Saturday afternoon and the streets were more or less empty.Perhaps it had something to do with the crisis that's going on.I guess if we look on the bright side… We´renot falling over people.We take in the sights and decided that it might be a good idea to find a café to drink a cup of coffee.Ya right!!!It was a cold beerI was thinking about.The waitress tried to sell me a local beer which was supposed to be so refreshing on such a hot day. It was a beer with a touch of raspberry.I thanked her very much but it sounded like a ladies beer for ladies who don´t like beer.I ordered a regular draft beer instead. Thank goodness for that because she brought me out a little glass of the raspberry beer so I could taste it.My hunch was right.It was definitely a ladies beer for ladies that don´t like the taste of beer.After a last look in a souvenir shop we head back to Bermuda drive and Tara whips up another fantastic dinner.It wasn't long before we headed down to the basement and crawled into bed for our last night's sleep inCalgary Alberta.Tomorrow we were headed for the open Prairies in the province ofSaskatchewan.