Our next stop in the rockies is Lake Louise in Banff National Park. Getting there involved an amazing drive south through the mountains on the icefields parkway - so named because of the glaciers around. We visited the columbia icefields centre and had a distant look at the athabasca glacier. You can take a guided hike on this one or even a snow bus tour! We did neither, partly because of Sams ankle and partly because you couldn't possibly beat the heli-hike in New Zealand.

The campsite in Lake Louise was a relief for everyone because we could finally shower after 3 days of being smelly! It also had an electric fence around to keep the bears out. We stayed for two nights which was long enough to enjoy the beauty of lake louise and lake moraine which glowed an emerald blue. It was hard to take your eyes from it. At lake louise we saw a huge chunk of ice fall off the mountain in the distance and with it came the sound of thunder.

Talking of thunder, one night we were woken at about 2am to a roaring thunderstorm that travelled within a few km of our campsite. There was a lot of lightening and the last place we wanted to be that night was in a tent surrounded by trees near a fast river!

It was a short drive down to the town of Banff where we camped for another 3 nights. This town is busier and a bit more touristy than Jasper but its also very nice. Again, we narrowly missed a bear sighting as we checked in and set up. I'm not sure whether that's lucky or unlucky! There was a coyote running through at one point though, which we did see!

Whilst in Banff we treated ourselves to a nice meal, I had a gorgeous steak and guiness pie and Sam a hearty steak sandwich. Another night we went for a drink and happened to bump into Mohinder who i'd worked with at both Hampsons and GKN! That was weird. So far from home and we cross in the street! We also saw Get Smart at the cinema on a free afternoon from sightseeing.

We saw Bow Falls which is more like gushing rapids rather than a waterfall. Quite intriguing all the same though. This was near the fantastically gothic looking scottish hotel, the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel. There are yet more lakes around here such as Lake Minnewanka (no joke!) and the Vermillion Lakes, finding time to relax at both. We also enjoyed great views over Banff from Norquay Mountain.

We left Banff happy that we'd seen most of what Canada's finest national parks have to offer and drove to Calgary - east of the rockies. On the way to our campsite we stopped off at the olympic centre where they have ski jumps, a bobsleigh course and, in the summer, Canada's equivalent of New Zealand's zorbing, where you get into a giant ball and roll down a hill!

We also got enough info on the Calgary Stampede, which is currently on, to encourage us to go. We're still camping, even the rain and wind can't stop us! Our day at the stampede was excellent. The best way to describe it is a cross between the grand national (cowboy style) and the royal show. It's dubbed as the "greatest outdoor show on earth" and arguably so! It was recommended to us by quite a few people along the way so we're glad, and lucky, that we arrived in Calgary while it's on.

We got to the grounds at about midday and left about midnight! There's lots happening outside of the main events like live music, market stalls, a funfair, lottery competitions to win rv's and houses, bmx displays, an indian village filled with teepee's, galleries and extensive agricultural sections. As well as all this you have the main events. During the day is an ongoing rodeo tournament and in the evening is a grandstand show preceeded by chuckwagon racing. These were extra so we decided upon the evening show because we went to a rodeo in Bryce.

The chuckwagon races were great. You could feel the rumbling of the horses as 32 ran around the track at once. 4 horses would pull one wagon, there were 4 wagons and each wagon was followed by 4 lone riders that we have no clue what their purpose was! After 9 races, it was time for the big show.

We had no idea what to expect until they towed in a huge stage along with two big catherine wheels. The show lasted almost 2 hours and was fantastic. It was what we'd imagine a musical to be like complete with fireworks, stunt bikes, comedians and circus performers. No expense spared and truly professional. Maybe it really did live up to its tagline.

After an incredible day at the stampede, Calgary struggled to impress. Maybe it was because the weather deteriorated overnight or maybe it was because our expectations were so high after the stampede. Either way, we only needed one day to see the city before it was time to head back west.