As expected, some weather will be coming in on Tuesday. After weighing the options, we decided to head out of Banff National Park today rather than depart on Tuesday and risk icy roads. We had considered driving about 80 miles up the Icefields Parkway to see the glaciers, but in the end it seemed best to enjoy a sunny day’s drive out of the park. We’ve gotten a taste of Banff, and now we know what we’ll want to do on the next visit (and when!)
The drive out was as gorgeous as expected. Heading west from Lake Louise the road passes through Yoho National Park, then Mt Revelstoke, and finally Glacier National Park. It winds through razor-sharp ridges carved by long-ago glaciers, along lakes, and following the transcontinental Canadian Pacific railway. Up above, several glaciers can be spotted, slowly sliding their way down the mountains (typically a few feet each year).
As we drove we spotted some very nice log cabins, probably vacation homes, and this kicked off a discussion that Eleanor and I have had a few times before. It goes like this: “Gee, isn’t that a nice cabin?” “Wouldn’t it be nice to have one?” “A nice weekend getaway!” “But where?”
And then we realize that although a getaway cabin sounds nice, and they look nice, we would already have one, with wheels. We like the idea of the log cabin but in less than a year we’d certainly be bored with it. We’d be thinking of all the places we’d like to go explore other than the same acreage around the cabin, and I’d get tired of the maintenance and expense “¦ and soon we’d be “getting away” from the cabin, too.
For a leisure vehicle, the Airstream is extraordinarily practical. It is much cheaper than a vacation home, requires less maintenance, and goes almost anywhere. I like the idea of living on a boat for a while, for example, but it would be much more limiting than the Airstream. I like the idea of a cabin in the woods, but it’s too much trouble. I like to stay in nice hotels once in a while, but they are vastly more expensive. That’s the problem with the Airstream. It’s just so practical that it makes the alternatives look like outrageous luxuries or financial traps.
Tonight the vacation cabin on wheels is parked in a less-than-exciting spot, a Wal-Mart in Kamloops BC. A light rain started almost the minute we pulled in, but since it’s much warmer (59 F) here at lower altitude there’s little worry about icing tomorrow. We are now on Pacific Time and will probably stay in this zone for at least several weeks as we meander down the west coast. Our short-term goal is Vancouver. If I can find good online access and a nice campground for a few days, we’ll stay and explore the city before crossing back into the US. Otherwise, we’ll cross back into the US and begin our travels in Washington state.
