Monday, 8/14 – The Crossing to Fairmont Hot Springs, BC

It was a cool morning as we packed the trailer.

We opted for breakfast at the store.

As we rode to Lake Louise, we noticed lots of traffic headed north. Passing slow campers was not easy.

We parked in a pay-to-park lot at Lake Louise. The lot was almost full, so the attendant put us in an area painted with yellow lines. We are privileged! The parking fee was 21$CDN!!! per vehicle. We didn’t count the trailer as a vehicle.

We took the obligatory photos of the lake and glacier,

…a selfie with the lake and glacier,

…the crowd,

…the hotel,

…and gardens.

On a serious note: the glacier at Lake Louise and many similar to it will likely disappear in a few years. It’s continuing to get too hot for the ice to remain.

The 4-lane, divided highway from Lake Louise to Banff detracts from the majesty of the mountains. We mostly paid attention to the traffic.

Coming into Banff, we saw signs informing us we could park for free at the train station and take public transit. We did park at the train station but walked the half-kilometer to town.

We walked several of the streets and had lunch at a brewery/restaurant.

We rode up to Banff Center to see the hall where the Tesla Quartet competed a few years ago and have played since.

We continued on to Spruce Grove campground in Fairmont Hot Springs, BC. On this side of the mountains it was 92F. We could see smoke rising from several wildfires in the mountains west of the highway. This evening there are several helicopters operating, carrying water to the fires.

We chose a nice, shaded site.

After setting up, I noticed oil on the right tail pipe. It looks like the right axle seal is leaking. We’ll have to deal with it in the morning. There is a Roadsmith dealer in Kalispell, Mont., according to the website.