Day 14: Canmore to the BC Border
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Woke up to views of the mountains (a top 10 fave view to wake up to) and then finished the drive up to Banff for an early start. Walked around the town and was on Bane duty while the crazy old ladies did some shopping, which I didn’t mind because he garners a lot of attention and we all know I love attention (even if it wasn’t directed towards me specifically). The exclamations of passersby ranged from “Awww so cute” and a smile thrown my way to a small child coming right up to him and shouting “Oh Boy, now that’s a BIG dog!”. There were only 2 ignorant people that didn’t control their dogs and were rude about it, but their dogs weren’t as pretty as ours, so jokes on them anyways. Then we went out to Lake Louise and Lake Moraine, which was absolute mayhem Covid-wise (we found small openings in the throngs of people to take mediocre pictures before running back to the van), before trucking on to a campsite just on the other side of the AB/BC border.
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Nan got stuck climbing out our hotel window (rather than walking through the lobby), had quite a long conversation with a Magpie (which was cute), and refused to brush her teeth when we were trying to get her in to bed (and then refused to stay in bed just like a little kid).
Days 15-18: BC Border to Kamloops – Merritt – Jasper – Avola
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Pretty much freezing our tits off in the mountains to sweating our balls off in the valleys. We woke up freezing cold and decided to go back to Kamloops to do some laundry. Went to the ghost town at 3 Valley Gap and saw a classroom for 8 grades that looked exactly like Nan’s school, along with some old cars, and a lot of info on the opium trade and usage, as well as some lookout spots over Revelstoke. I was nursing a concussion and was in denial for a while about it but it all came to a head (literally) when I smoked my dome on one of the cabinets in the campervan (I’m alright, but it’s a fun #12 for sure. Leave it to 2020 to ruin an otherwise lovely roadtrip [covid aside]). I stayed in our dark hotel room whilst Mom and Nan walked around Merritt, and then we drove out to Jasper and stayed at Mount Robson Provincial Park during a wicked thunderstorm and Bane was super afraid. Gave Bane a lake swim in Jasper (which was super cold), Mom and Nan spent some time in Jasper whilst I slept in the van (and later that evening Nan decided to join me wearing sunglasses in the dark), and now we’ve crashed at a rest stop outside of Avola.
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Some fun quotes from the last few days:
Nan: “You just dropped something out of your pocket…oh it was your hand”
And
Me: “What’s the point of mosquitoes?” Mom: “They feed frogs”
Nan: “How do they eat frogs? They’re so little”
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Ngl, idk if I got the order right, and I’m sure I missed a bunch of stuff, but hey, I’m concussed, I have an excuse.
Days 19-21: Avola – 100 Mile House – Clinton – Loon Lake – Juniper Provincial Park – Lac La Jeune – Kamloops
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Avola to 100 Mile House – No sleep from mom and the dog fighting over the floor, Nan flopping around and being startled by the passing trains, and my usual night carryons, but hey, at least the passing trucks were rocking us back to sleep, MTL won, and I slept a lot.
100 Mile House to Juniper Provincial Park – Nan liked the shower at the hotel in 100 Mile House and has decided that she’s going to change her “flower head” when she gets home, we stopped at a big chasm, with quick stops in Clinton, Loon Lake, and Klaassen Farms for some yummy fresh foods, and then Juniper Provincial Park where the park attendant was absolutely lovely and from Logan Lake.
Juniper Provincial Park to Kamloops – Bane wouldn’t share the floor with me and none of us slept from either heat, trains, snoring, or Bane. Had the breakfast of champions in Sparkling Rose Lemonade, Blueberries, and Double Chocolate Cookies. Spent the afternoon at Lac La Jeune (I spent most of it in the van) and then had to take Bane to the vet clinic cause he was whimpering and limping (he’s now on some pain killers and flopped sleeping soundly. The vet couldn’t find anything wrong). And to cap it all off, MTL lost (what a waste of a good draft pick, but hey, was pretty decent hockey at least). Now it’s bed time and hopefully my brain with be better tomorrow.
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Nan drinking out of a bottle: Geez, someone put Orange Juice in my Water”, Mom: “That’s because it’s orange juice”
Days 22 – 24: Kamloops to Logan Lake
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Knutsford RV Campground: Had a nice flop outside on the grass all day. It was a big step in the realm of concussions to be able to be outside and not cooped up in the van. Was glorious all day, but then we froze our nips off that night.
Kamloops: Spent the day at Lincoln’s apartment, and I slept a lot. My eyes were all bruised from wearing my sunglasses all day everyday for a week, and God my face and head hurt a lot.
Logan Lake campground: Sat around playing cards and listening to stories from Nan about the old days, saw the biggest buck just chillin across from our site, widdled some wood and split a log like Captain America (I felt pretty badass not gunna lie, even if it was partially split), had my first campfire in over 2 years and I managed to light it without a lighter (Trip Logistics Intro’s still got it), locked ourselves out of the campervan and had to call BCAA, and for the first time managed to take my sun glasses off as the sun started to set. Here’s to a mostly healed brain.
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Nan: Looking at her corn “Hey, get out of here”
Mom: “Who are you talking to”
Me: “Her friend the Sasquatch”
Nan: “No, a fly was trying to eat some of my corn, and I wasn’t about to share”
Day 25: Logan Lake Campground
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It was a pretty good day today, and I was incredibly productive for camping, from dealing with the government and the bank, to a minor existential crisis spurned on by a week of being in the dark with my thoughts, to lovely chats with 2 of my fav humans. Had a bit of a nap ’cause last night I tried sleeping in the Rav to give Nan and mom more space in the Van and to get some privacy away from Nan’s snoring – and God that was a bad idea as it got SUPER COLD. Over dinner we had a lengthy conversation about the British Monarchy and the British family, went on a long walk with a pent up Bane who found and destroyed multiple sticks (and a bottle), and ended the night with a nice campfire and marshmallows (Nan hasn’t had a marshmallow at the fire in a long time, and she thoroughly enjoyed it). Now I’m sitting at the fire, listening to blackbear’s “everything means nothing” album, and having a good think about life.
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Nan: “It’s 8 O’Clock at night, why am I freezing to death? It’s not like it’s October. Geez”
Me: “May as well call it Aug-tober eh Nan?”
Meh, I think I’m Funny.
Days 25-26: Logan Lake Campground
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Had 2 long nights and very long days with my anxiety going thru the roof, but I managed to take time to settle down with some colouring, writing, copious walks, taking Bane for a drink in the lake, phone chats wih friends, and 2 nice long fires. The weather kept fluctuating, so we had to change every few minutes, and Bane was very distressed by the fact that Nan and Mom were eating marshmallows right off a stick (and how dare they have a stick when all the sticks belong to him to chew on). Some noisy youths (honestly all probably my age) pulled in across from us yesterday night, which was annoying, but they were mostly chill after 11 and are gone now, and a big Buck came and chilled near me in the calm of the night at the fire last night.
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Mom and Nan have no patience roasting marshmallows, and it hurts my soul. Also, on concussion watch, symptoms are all gone, and I went the full day with regular scheduled programming. Just in time for moving into the house tomorrow!
Tanya Packer 