Roadtrip Underway!

Four days into our new nomadic life and everything is going great !  We are now up in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada for our third of four days.  Here’s a recap of the trip so far. 

Day 1 – Bend, OR

We arrived in Bend around 1AM after booking it up from the Bay Area.  We were really excited to test out our makeshift bed in the Suburban and it worked out great !  It might be a comfortable bed or it might just have been that it was 1AM and we were exhausted from a long day of driving after an even longer week of packing and cleaning to get ready for the trip. 

Our first day in Bend was awesome, as we went for a beautiful run along the river and then Suzie, Jen and Ronan took us to the Bend Brewfest.  One of our trip goals was to visit breweries and taste new beers.  A Brewfest with 60 breweries was a nice way to start.  We spent some time walking around Bend and enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the mountains.  Special thanks to Peggy and Suzie for tag teaming the hosting duties.

Deschutes River

Bend Brewfest!

Sunset from Peggy and Keith's deck

Day 2 – Bend, OR to Sandy Point, Idaho

Suzie took us out to an amazing breakfast at the Victorian Cafe in Bend.  If you are ever in Bend definitely check that place out and definitely get their 23 ounce bloody mary that comes with a grilled prawn, sausage and a cube of cheese.  We did not get one and think we will regret it for the rest of the trip. 

We drove from Bend to Sandy Point, Idaho with a stop in Cœur D’Alene to go for a quick hike on the lake and watch another beautiful sunset.  We also made a quick stop at the Slate Creek Brewery.  It was an adjustment to go from having over 60 brewery choices to just one, but their beer was excellent.  From their we drove another hour to Sandy Point.  Our plans to stay at a campground there were deterred by said campground being closed for the night.  There was a locked gate in the front preventing people from going in or out.  Since we were planning on sleeping in the Suburban anyways we just parked outside the gate of the campground/prison and saved $20.  

Sunset in Coeur D'Alene

Day 3 - Sandy Point, ID to Banff, AB

We got up and started driving at 6 :30 AM in part because we were really excited to get to Banff and in part because when we woke up we realized we parked just on the other side of the chain link fence from the camphost,  whose campground we had slept just outside of (not our fault, but still).  I (Bryce) was also peeing on the fence that bordered his home so we fidured best to get out of their quickly. 

The Canadian border crossing was quick and easy.  The drive through Southern Canada was beautiful and we arrived in Banff with enough time to do a hike along the Bow river and climb Tunnel Mountain.  Being so far north the sun doesn’t set until after 9PM, which makes for many hours of hiking and exploring..  We’ve got a great campsite that looks up at Mount Rundle (9,700 feet).  Since this is the first time we’re getting to settle in for a few days we set up our full camp with our tables, chairs and shade tent.  

Our campsite at Tunnel Mountain Campground

Looking down at the Bow River from Tunnel Mountain

View from the top of Tunnel Mountain

Day 4 – Banff, AB

Today we did a hike that may have ruined all other hikes for us.  The hike to Bourgeau Lake and Harvey Pass had everything on our awesome hike checklist : wildflowers, waterfalls, alpine lakes and spectacular views of the mountains.  Definitely a top five all time hike for us.  We also checked out the Banff Brewery and stumbled into their $4 pint day, which is an even better deal than it sounds, because the Canadian dollar is worth less and the Canadian pint is 18 ounces.  We had a couple at the Brewery and also filled up our growler. 

So far Banff has been amazing and Gina is even starting t develop a bit of a Canadian accent.  The weather looks like it might take a turn in the next couple days, which might force us to take some much needed down time.  

Waterfall on Bourgeau Creek

Looking down the Bourgeau Valley

Bourgeau Lake

View of the Canadian Rockies from Harvey Pass

B and G