Mountains and rats

Where were we? Ah yes, in the car, sleeping on a residential street in Banff! You'll all be happy to know that we had a decent night in the Buick, complete with a sheet curtain, sleepingbags, and the windows rolled up as we watched deer and coyotes walk by; and what felt like 100 trains rumble down the tracks through the night. Banff was too rich for our blood though, so after a quick tour around town and a free breakfast at Subway, we were on our way to Lake Louise!

Lake Louise, as you can guess, was "Stunning!", "Beautiful!", "9 out of 10 tourists give it a big thumbs up with 2 peace signs!". Great reviews eh? It was a perfect setting for your typical tourist photo infront of the lovely turquoise, and freezing water, set against the towering Victoria Glacier. We picked the shortest of the trails and did the 6km hike that bordered the lake. A picnic lunch on a rock in a mountain-fed stream finished off our sightseeing- it was time to get back on the road.

The drive from Lake Louise to Golden was something out of Sandie's worst nightmare. Nails were dug into the dash as we flew along steep, death-defying hills, and past 'run-away' ramps provided in the event your car can't hack it. We had to stop in Golden for a breather, and to do a quick tune up and top-off of fluids, as Sandie looked for a used car lot. Luckily we met a nice BC man named Reg in an old yellow camper van, who let us use his funnel and provided us with a much-needed security blanket as he drove behind us all the way to Kamloops.



We also met 2 young hippies (16 and 18) lookin for a ride, and who smelled as though they'd been lookin for a while. Another animal surprise with this pair- as we turned around to chat with them in the backseat, we discovered a 3rd travel companion- little Greta, the baby white rat. "Oh, is that ok?" asked Melissa- Well, sure, we suppose. On Sandie drove as Greta ate some of our veggies and ran amok all over the backseat.


We found our couch surfing destination in Kamloops, with a 50-something host named Ruth. We enjoyed a delicious home-made plum crumble with 3 other surfers, and elderly lady named Flo. A good evening exchanging travel/WWOOF stories and off to sleep in the gazebo out back, thankful for a mosquito-free night.

Day 4
The smoke got thicker the further west we went, and so what was a mildly hazy mountain view eventually disappeared in thick clouds of smoke. Luckily it cleared up as we made our way out of the Okanogan valley. The drive was pretty- river, gorge, green, and less scary.


Considering how finicky the car is in city driving, we decided long before it wouldn't be taking us into downtown Vancouver. We parked in the suburb of Surrey, and took the Skytrain to Main Street to the C & N Backpackers Hostel. Dropped our stuff and made our way to Gastown to see the Steam Clock and meet an old friend. It was great catching up with Aly and reminicing about old Roots & Shoots times over Mexican food (our first real meal we've purchased since our roadtrip began... oi!). After supper it was over to the Sea Bus to North Van, just for the view. Met a couple of nice guys from Mexico and exchanged emails and a souvenier pen. Spent the better part of the evening exploring Granville and Davies downtown, which was full of buskers, food and fancy bars. Long day! Back to the hostel for our last sleep in Canada...









*Note: We realize we worried some family with our stories of hitchhikers, and we just wanted to let everyone know that we're driving by lots and lots of them on the road, and have only picked up twice- young ones that look lots like us.. of course it only takes one- so we promise no more, we don't want more worry! Sorry guys!