Canada Part 1

With no further RV incidents, we safely made it to Anchorage to return the RV and then we headed to the airport to fly to Vancouver. There we had to say goodbye to Annie who unfortunately had to head back to Sydney to go to work, and then Mum and I headed off to Calgary for a night in a hotel and then the next day after a short and speedy bus ride to Banff, we met up with Mike and Katie who we had not seen for over a year!

The Banff Springs Hotel where we met Mike & Katie:
Family photo (just shortly before we got ushered off the forecourt of the hotel!)

He he, still funny after all these years...

It never takes long for my brother and I to revert to our childhood silliness... One day we might grow out of it, but I hope not!

Amazing mountain scenery

Mum and Katie at a waterfall on the way to Radium

Glacial streams

We are so posh and golfy...

What a great golf course!

Posing...

Mike got par!

Mum managed to tee off into that bush not once, but twice!

After the practice 8-holes (we were running late, so had to sacrifice a hole!) at a very relaxed par-3 type course, it was time to hit the big course, Greywolf, voted the number one public access course in North America, and in the Vancouver Sun "Top 10 places to play before you die". For Katie, the highlight was definitely the golf carts...

Katie going for a big shot!

Amazing scenery

Big houses too

The famous hole, Cliffhanger... I would like to note that I managed to clear the gully 3 times, while Mike hit 4 into the gully and Mum and Katie hit 2 each!!!!

One of my fabulous shots across the gully

Mum, not clearing the gully... oops

Ah, lovely family portrait!

Those are ski runs in the winter... funny, they look much steeper without snow!!

Mike hitting his best shot, straight on to the green!

Mum hitting off

Me, in an amazing demonstration of poor technique!

Oh dear! I mean deer...

When Katie nearly smashed into my golf cart!!!

Matanuska Glacier and a small disaster...

After a quiet night at a lakeside campground (well, the lake was apparently a swamp in someone's back garden), where the only entertainment was to play gin rummy, we headed up the Glen Highway to Matanuska Glacier, where we were able to walk on the toe of the glacier, and enjoyed some more amazing weather... it was all going so well... and then, disaster struck, as my estimation of the RV's offroad skills far exceeded reality... and so ensued several hours of digging, using only a tyre iron and rocks (and bare hands), before we were pulled to freedom by the nice lady with a massive 4x4... It was an adventure all right!

Mum and Annie with the RV

Me and Annie alongside the Richardson Highway

The pipeline, and some more amazing scenery

Annie and Mum in their viewing seats

A fantastic lake coming out of the big freeze

The view from my seat

Mt Wrangell, an active volcano

Playing gin rummy... if only we had had gin!

The Matanuska Glacier

More glacier

Annie on the glacier

The fantastic blue ice of the glacier

Mum on the glacier

Mum admiring her hiking boots on the glacier!

Mum and Annie by a glacial lake

Ah, disaster has struck...

Frantically digging...

Ah, the relief when help arrived!

Free!!! Just checking for damage... none visible, so all good!!!

Fairbanks

From Denali National Park, we headed to Fairbanks, Alaska's 4th largest city. We were naively expecting the weather to be in line with all the other places that we had visited, however we had not quite counted on the mercury hitting 30! It was soooooo hot!!!

Picnic by the Chena River


With a cooling glass of wine...

At dinner, on a lovely terrace overlooking the river, but fortunately under an umbrella, because it was just too hot in the sun! And given that the sun does not go down until after midnight, you can't wait it out!!

Mum's official birthday dinner (she definitely wins the record for spinning her birthday out the longest... it was in April!)

Annie with her King Crab!!

On the long, hot walk home!

Check out the sunrise and sunset times!!

Mum and Annie at Pioneer Park in Fairbanks, a sort of dumping ground for any historical buildings that were getting in the way of development throughout the city.

Interrupting a photo!

At a viewing spot for the Aleyeska pipeline which travels 800 miles, about half underground and half overground, from Prudhoe Bay in the north to Valdez in the south, carrying countless barrels of oil since 1977

Me at the pipeline

The Museum of the North, in Fairbanks, a great building and a fantastic museum

A long way from my next destination... in fact, the furthest of any of the places that they showed!!!! 15 days to go...