As we re-traced our steps back through the rockies we decided that after 13 out of the previous 14 nights were spent in a tent, we deserved a break. We arrived in Golden, just west of the B.C/Alberta border, found the cheapest motel ($80pn) and booked for 3 nights! It was a much needed rest in a proper bed although Sam didn't mind so much because she had Becks' old inflatable li-lo to help her through the nights! For us 'mobility limited' people there isn't much in Golden to keep us busy so we took the opportunity to have a day of doing nothing for the first time in a while. Our other day was reserved for more exploring. We drove a 200+mile loop taking in Kootenay and Yoho National Parks.

Our loop began with a welcome bathe at Radium Hot Springs. Sam also enjoyed this as the near 40°c temperatures soothed her ankle no end. After withstanding the heat for over an hour we drove on through Kootenay N.P stopping occasionally for the views. The scenery is typical of what we've come to expect from the region with snowy mountains and endless pine trees. Marvellous.

The route took us back past Lake Louise and, just past the town on the highway we finally had our first encounter with a bear! Wow. We've been waiting so long for this and our 2 minutes of 'bear-time' was only interrupted by concerned truck drivers beeping horns to scare him away from the road.

We then drove through the equally pretty Yoho N.P and stopped to see Tukakkaw Falls, many more great views and a train that spiralled through the mountain. At one point you could see the same train on 3 different levels!

With just 5 days before the car is due for return we moved on to Revelstoke. We drove through Canada's Glacier N.P (the U.S also has one) without seeing any obvious glaciers and camped just outside Revelstoke in a campsite with a dangerously high population of mosquitos! Even when covering up we still managed to get bitten a few times.

Edging closer to Vancouver our journey brought us to Kelowna in the desert region. Endless warm summer days and exceptional soil makes this area a great place for wine lovers! We embraced this opportunity and went on a four hour tour of the vineyards.

Making sure we tasted as many wines as we could, we learnt how to appreciate wine the proper way instead of simply gulping it down! We visited five vinyards from the small family run to the huge international companys including mission hill, Canada's wine maker of the year. All of the wineries were set in beautiful locations with fantastic views over the lake. There are about 120 wineries in the region so we couldn't quite make it round them all but we had an excellent afternoon with great weather, buying a bottle or two along the way.

In our hostel, the ultra efficient cleaners decided to wrongly throw away our bag of food even though it was correctly labelled. We had half a box of strawberries, cream, milk, juice, leftover cooked mince & sauce and more. We weren't happy but the helpful manager took responsibility and gave us a full refund. This meant we had to walk to the store (because we'd been drinking wine!) which wasn't close! At least we got an extra meal out of it and strawberries and cream for 3 nights instead of 2!

We drove on to the outskirts Vancouver where we camped for the very last time on this trip. The campsite is in the "surrey" district where there are lots of huge expensive houses! The morning after, we drove into downtown Vancouver to return the rental car.

We had a nice & long, 5 night stay in Cambie Hostel to appreciate the city. We spent our days wandering the streets of the different areas, visiting the huge park and even finding time for a little shopping! Gastown is home to the worlds first 'steam clock' and is a big tourist attraction. This means fighting with the Japanese to get a good picture!

As much as I try and get her to rest her foot, Sam is able to spend the day walking around on it without too much discomfort. So our 3.5km walk around Stanley Park wasn't too much trouble! We did take it very slow, resting lots and ending up on a hot beach as a reward! There are good views of the city from the park, we saw a racoon scurrying nearby and there are a handful of native totem poles to grab your attention for a while. It's also a strange but good feeling to sit in a serene place overlooking a busy metropolitan city. Every city needs a place like Stanley Park.

Our last night in Canada will be spent having a celebratory meal as a gift from Babs to help us forget about our budget for one night! Then we shall catch the bus back down to Seattle ready to begin our final week away.