A Canadian Rockies Photojournal (Part Two)

These pictures are from the homeward bound part of our vacation, so they'll include more than just the Canadian Rockies.

We drove west from Calgary, but this time we would be just passing through Banff, headed into British Columbia. We got one last look at Canada Olympic Park just outside of Calgary. (Several of the events from the Winter Games of 1988 were held here, including ski jumping - remember Eddie the Eagle? - and bobsled - remember the Jamaican bobsled team?)

As we headed into Banff National Park, we could see the effects of the light snowfall received not long before.

Welcome to British Columbia! Picture grabbed quickly as we drove by.

The weather was definitely on the gloomy side.

But there were fantastic views anyway.

Some views included evidence of past forest fires.

We were not the only ones passing through Radium Hot Springs - it was a popular hangout spot for bighorn sheep!









Here's the view as we left Radium.

And after driving a bit longer, we reached our destination for that night - the town that shares my name, Kimberley, BC. The picture I grabbed as we went past the town's welcome sign is not a good one, but it's the one I have.

I had managed to get a great deal on a one-night stay at this gorgeous ski and golf resort in the very town I was named for. It helped that it was essentially off-season for both skiing and golf, so the hotel was just happy to have guests. We had a beautiful and rather spacious suite, with a fireplace and a balcony. The resort had an outdoor pool and hot tub that the kids and I took advantage of that night.





At the hotel's entrance, they had this photo op ski lift chair so I couldn't resist.



In the morning, we headed into town for breakfast before hitting the road again. Kimberley is known for its ski hills and golf courses... and for having a Bavarian theme to the town. The entire town square is laid out to be reminiscent of a Bavarian village.

Kennady reluctantly posed with me at the town clock in the square.

We crossed the border into the US and enjoyed the scenery of northern Idaho as we drove.

On our previous trip through Idaho it had been rainy and overcast, while this time the skies were much clearer.

Whenever we go on a road trip, I decide that I'm going to take pictures of the "Welcome to -----" signs, but usually I am too slow to get out my camera, or I'm distracted by something and I just don't get the job done. I did get a picture of the Washington state signs though.

We stayed the night in Spokane, in preparation for flying out in the morning. That evening we headed to the riverfront park to walk around a bit. It was cold!

We even wound up on Canada Island!

Then we drove around until we found a coffee shop, which was a lot harder than it should have been! We finally found a Dutch Bros shop, and it was worth it. 

At last, it was time to return home to Maryland. Once again I allowed Kennady to take some pictures out the plane window.

Taking pictures while spending hours on a plane inevitably leads to silliness.

Exaggerating the thrill of take-off

Seeing a sunset from a plane is a whole new perspective.

These are all the previous photojournals of our vacation - A Wildlife Refuge Photojournal, A Kootenai Falls Photojournal, A Glacier National Park Photojournal - Part One and Part Two, A Southern Alberta Photojournal, and A Canadian Rockies Photojournal (Part One). Now that I've finally finished sharing our 2013 vacation photos, maybe we can start thinking about what we'll do for vacation in 2014. 

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