On Wednesday 20th May 17 couples met at the Delta Airport Hotel in Vancouver. A BBQ  buffet was greatly enjoyed and Doris welcomed the group and introduced each couple during a most enjoyable evening. The following day we were off to Canadream to collect our vans, all seemed to be very clean and satisfactory despite some extensive paperwork.  Having collected our “homes” the excitement of the tour was beginning to bubble up and having stocked up the vans and returned to the site at Burnaby we looked forward to the tour of Vancouver the next day.

Our excellent German/Canadian guide, humorous and full of information, took us up the gondola to snow covered Grouse Mountain where our first two bears, albeit enclosed, were frolicking in the snow.  Amazing views in glorious sunshine were enjoyed before being whisked off to Capilano Suspension Bridge.  We all walked the wobbly bridge originally built in 1889 to access prime forest lands.  On to Granville Island where the group went their own ways to markets, seafood lunches and shopping in the interesting art galleries and craft shops.  Stanley Park and Lion Bridge were visited on our way back to the campground.  A very relaxing and enjoyable day.  A free day followed with an excellent salmon BBQ in the evening provided by local caterers in a gazebo..

Sunday 24th May saw us on the short journey to Whistler on the Sea to Sky Highway. Wonderful scenery and waterfalls but many traffic cones and road works due to the upgrading of the road in preparation for the Winter Olympics in 2010.  Amongst  the forests there were many signs of Pine Beetle devastation now becoming a real problem. A Happy Hour in the evening to celebrate Jessie’s birthday. One night stay at Clinton Pines gave us a journey break before two nights at Clearwater.  A free day to visit the Wells Gray Provincial Park, 1.4 million acres of pristine forests, mountains, lakes and rivers where animals have no fear of man. Spahat and Dawson Falls and Mush Pot all quite spectacular.  Some RVs  ventured up a very narrow road to a marvellous viewpoint on Green Mountain.  Bears, elk and deer reported to have been seen. Alan and Diana’s Wedding anniversary celebrated at Happy Hour. An early start the next morning as we were booked for a Safari on the Blue  River.  Supplied with warm and waterproof outerwear we boarded specially designed Safari Boats and sped along the beautiful glacier-fed lake beneath clear blue skies.  Bear spotting was a priority and we were not disappointed.  Waterfalls, bald eagles, humming birds and snow capped  mountains.

 Our road to Jasper was spectacular and the campground in the National Park was a real gem with animals wandering around everywhere.  An elk gave birth within 50 yards of one van the following day.  As well as the National Park the surrounding areas were well explored on our free day, including the Jasper Tramway, Canada’s highest and longest aerial tramway.  Views of the Rockies, Mount Robson, the highest mountain, 12,970ft, Lake Maligne - still frozen, Maligne Canyon - very deep and turbulent, and Jasper all enjoyed in glorious sunshine.  Yet another Happy Hour as it was Eit’s birthday.  Doris briefed us on the Icefield Centre and the booked  Snowcoach - after which we were to be on our own for two days.

The Icefields Parkway, the backbone of the Canadian Rockies, is a 280 kms. drive of outstanding beauty.  Snowcapped peaks, valleys, glaciers and clear mountain lakes together with diverse wildlife. Athabasca and Sunwapta Falls lead us on to the Columbia Icefields Visitor Centre where the Snowcoach onto the Athabasca Glacier awaited us.  This purpose built snowcoach navigated steep grades and took us half way up the glacier where we walked on the ice and tasted the icy glacier water!  The glacier is 3.75 miles long and 1,000 ft. deep, at present it is receding 2 - 3 metres a year due to global warming.  Hidden crevices running streams of water and bitterly cold temperatures under overcast skies shortened our walk but not before a group photograph had been taken.  The Interpretive Centre was visited by most of the group and found to be well staged and most informative.

Members did their own thing for the next two days, many visiting Lake Louise, which was still frozen, Banff, the Mountaintop Experience by way of the Gondola and even shopping, finally meeting up again at Calgary. A tour of this sprawling rather unplanned town was arranged including the Stampede Ground and a visit to the 1988 Winter Olympics site, now being redeveloped as a Sports and Education Centre. The ski jump looked quite awesome and as this was where “Eddie the Eagle” performed many of us left having a lot more respect for him than perhaps we  had at the time!   Our next stop was at Glacier National Park but on the way we visited Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump.  Designated a World Heritage site this “Jump” is amongst the oldest, largest and best preserved jump sites across the Western plains. The last recorded jump was in 1850.  The excellent Interpretive Centre tells the story of how a buffalo jump works starting with the pre-hunt ceremonies, the gathering and driving of the buffalo herd to the dramatic kill as they charge over the cliff, a practice of the native peoples of the Blackfoot and other tribes for 6,000 years.

Progress was made across vast plains, wagon trails and views of majestic mountains with some members diverting to see Fort Macleod Museum, housed in the original fort built in 1874 by the North West Mounted Police, before arriving in brilliant sunshine for a quiet evening at St Mary.  Ben had recommended the special fruit pies at St Mary’s Café which proved very popular.  Glacier Park was a disappointment as the road was closed due to avalanches.  Our journey next day took us across more plains to Great Falls where the explorers Lewis and Clark portaged the falls of the Missouri River in 1804 on their trek to “discover the West”.  The interpretive Centre and the C.M.Russell Museum housing works of the famed western artist were also visited.  Following a large pancake breakfast we journeyed towards Butte (pronounced “Beaut”) with a stop at the Montana Capitol to view a Russell mural and parliament buildings. Butte, the home of Evel Knievel, was known once as the Richest Hill in the World at the time of the numerous copper and other mineral mines.  A very, very interesting trolley ride round the town, with an amusing and very well informed guide, brought this rather sad town to life despite only one mine now operating. Beautiful mansions, built by mining barons, still inhabited and maintained and in excellent condition lifted the town somewhat.  Despite heavy rain that evening our excitement was building as the next day we were to travel to Yellowstone National Park.  Ben had already informed us during a noisy Happy Hour that we were “Old  GEESERS” and that the GEYSERS we were to experience were actually pronounced  GUYSERS.  A Happy Hour with a lot of teasing over pronunciations between “Two Nations divided by a Common Language” - I think he won!

Yellowstone National Park, the world’s first, exceeded our high expectations with the magnificence of its treasures.  Hot springs with clouds of steam, mud pots, fumaroles and geysers led us all into a wonderland of changing spectacular scenery at every bend. Yellowstone has more volcanic activity than the rest of the world put together. Time spent animal watching was huge  and grizzlies, black bears with cubs, wolves, coyotes, cougars, elk, pronghorns and numerous birds and flowers were all reported together with large herds of buffalo which sometimes monopolised the highway!  On the second day in the park we awoke to 4 inches of snow which was still falling.  Needless to say this did not deter our vans from travelling, although some of the roads were temporarily closed.  The snow was a real bonus and made Christmas card scenery, quite, quite beautiful.  The real gem, many thought, was the “Grand Canyon” of Yellowstone - stunning and inspiring, a real dream for photographers and artists.  Old Faithful and the many other volcanic features made this a real highlight of the tour.  We were sorry to be leaving Yellowstone but the route to Cody was outstanding, lakes, snow-capped mountains and scenic valleys described by our American friends as the most spectacular route in the USA.

Cody is a real cowboy domain, founded by Buffalo Bill.  Fine museums in the Historical Centre featured Native American artefacts, chronicling man and the times. The Rodeo was a fun evening, despite the bitterly cold weather.  The riding of bulls, bucking broncos and lassoing of young cattle was not only entertaining but led to much discussion as to whether some of the performances were cruel, traditional or working practices.

Another spectacular drive brought us to Buffalo through Bighorn Country.  Shell Canyon was a delight and the steep, winding climb to Granite Pass, 9,000 ft., in heavy snow was a winter wonderland again. The historic Occidental Hotel and Restaurant, complete with bullet holes in the bar, was a museum in itself and visited by many of the group on our one night stay in this typically Western town.

Few people had heard of the Devil’s Tower but we were certainly aware of it on seeing it!  A huge 865 ft high rock flat topped monolith soared above our campground; a paved walking area around its base and several trails gave most members some exercise.  “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” was filmed here in 1978 and the film is shown at the campground at dusk nightly, unfortunately we were unable to see the end of it due to pouring rain.  We journeyed on through the Black Hills of Dakota to view the progress of the Crazy Horse Memorial.  This rock carving will be the world’s largest mountain sculpture, honouring American Indians.  It was started in 1948 by sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski and is carried on by his family.  Perhaps if we return in 100 years time it may be finished.  In the nearby mountain range is Mount Rushmore.  In 1927 the four presidents, Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt, were carved out of the rock depicting the birth, growth, development and preservation of the nation.  An immaculate National Memorial it is visited by three million people annually.  The lighting ceremony in the evening was performed under overcast skies.  No words of welcome for overseas visitors and we sat through an overly patriotic evening.  All servicemen and women present were individually introduced and made a great fuss of - but they did lower the flag with great precision!  The floodlighting of the memorial was a little disappointing.  Definitely an evening for the USA.

An excellent Buffet at Deadwood set the scene for a hilarious evening.  Firstly the Number 10 Saloon which gave us a flavour of the hard, old times of the Wild West.  The murder of Wild Bill Hickock, a shoot out in the street and finally the re-enactment of the trial of Jack McCall.  The performance of our seductive tour leader, together with Doreen and Alan, may well trigger a visit from an investigator from Equity.

One night at Medora with a brief stop to look at the Painted Canyon in the Badlands and then on to the remote Lewis and Clark State Park near Williston for two nights.  The solitude and quietness were quite bewitching.  Walking and bird watching were the order of the second day followed by an American Supper and a Golden Wedding celebration.  Our American fiends, Ben and Ann and McGinty and Marjorie were leaving us here to head for home.  They had all been such a tremendous help throughout the tour with an immense amount of local information and guidance and we were really going to miss them.  Ben, as humorous as ever, gave a very sincere “Thank You” to the tour leaders and presented them with gifts from the group.

The next three days back into Canada consisted of long straight roads across plains and prairies, vast cattle ranches and thousands of acres of grain plus, here and there, the odd “pocket money” oil well with the inevitable “nodding donkey”.  Oil is now becoming bigger business on the prairies.  Quaintly named Indian Head for two nights with a relaxing free day.   Qu’Appelle Valley, close by, with trees and picturesque lakes made a real change from horizon to horizon flat roads with bad surfaces.  Our longest drive was to Eagle Valley, but, sadly, en route we were unable to visit the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Training Centre in Regina as the barracks had been closed due to swine ‘flu.  Yet another Happy Hour to celebrate two birthdays.

Our last long drive took us to Drumheller - via, for many, Dinosaur Park with strange landscapes. Some of the most extensive dinosaur fossil fields in the world are found in this area.  The Red River Valley Road gave welcome relief from the long, flat, straight roads and stops were made to inspect Hoodoos -  5-7 metre tall rock pillars, some looking like giant mushrooms, which took millions of years to form and can erode rapidly if their capstones are dislodged.  The group split into two for the promised evening Hayrides, nobody knowing what to expect.  These turned out to be fantastic tours, a real surprise.  Firstly a visit to Rowley, a real Western village with a population of 6!  The saloon, “Sams”, reminiscent of Deadwood, was opened for us by a local inhabitant who happily dispensed drinks.  The bank, church, store, grain elevator corn store and railway station are as they used to be and are often used for filming.  The informative guide then took us to a buffalo farm where the ranch owner drove us out into the fields on tractor and trailer to be among the buffalos.  Feed was given to them and we soon found out who was boss of the herd!  An educational half hour was spent listening to the rancher who had recently changed from beef to buffalo.  Less work - more profit!  The following day was overcast and wet but cleared during the afternoon and the second Hayride went ahead.  Most of the group visited the under publicised Royal Tyrrell Museum.  A huge immaculately presented museum on several floors including an open mezzanine where you journeyed through time and came face to face with some of Canada’s mightiest dinosaurs.  So much to see and enjoy.  Perhaps we were lucky to have an overcast day and no wonder the Queen gave permission for the use of the word  ”Royal” during her visit in 1990.

A short drive the following morning through stunning countryside took us back to Calgary.  Van cleaning and household chores commenced, with a Happy Hour in the loft helping us to finish off numerous boxes of wine and other goodies from our vans. The campground ran an extra shuttle into Calgary enabling last minute shopping and sightseeing to take place.  At 5 p.m  we were all transported by coach to the Calgary Tower for our Farewell Dinner in the tower’s revolving restaurant.  After an excellent dinner final “Thank You” speeches and formal presentations brought a very happy evening to a close but not before Doris presented each couple with a glass Inukschuk, the first nation’s good luck symbol and mascot for the coming 2010 Winter Olympics. Returning the RV’s to the Canadream depot turned out to be a very easy and efficient operation.  Many of us had to pay for extra kilometres but this was a very small price to pay for what had been a truly memorable and very happy expedition.

So what are our memories?  Stunning scenery, snow, bears, buffalos, flowers, mountains, waterfalls and funny notices - like “Sod Shop - Turfs for Sale” and “Nervous Cows make Better Milkshakes”, snow coaches, glaciers, long roads, good company with Happy Hours, Birthday and Anniversary Celebrations together with excellent planning by our tour leaders, Doris and Charles, ably assisted by Tudor , Sue, Howard and Jessie.  Our many thanks for an amazing journey,