After I had driven through Kootenay National Park the first time (pass #1) I entered Banff National Park and I turned left on the Trans Canada Highway and started heading northwest towards my next stop in Golden, British Columbia. I drove several miles on the TCH (still in Banff NP) and pulled into a rest stop at the border between Banff NP and Yoho NP. That border also represents transitioning from Alberta province (Banff) to British Columbia province (Yoho). One of the more bizarre half-hours I have spent on the road – in three National Parks, two time zones and two provisional border crossings.
And it got even stranger. I ended up parked in that rest stop for almost an hour, which the following photos, all taken there, will help explain.
This shot above is looking across the TCH and the vehicle you see is traveling northeast and about to enter Alberta. If you are paying close attention to what I just described it adds to the bizarre nature of what just happened. Before crossing back into British Columbia the TCH also turned left (for my direction of travel) and whereas I started out driving NW on it I was now heading SW. I’m sure glad my GPS knew what the hell was going on!
Here is a photo of the exit from the rest stop, with the sign welcoming me to British Columbia.
And further back in the rest stop, where my car was parked, a sign welcoming me to Yoho National Park.
Now, if you look at the middle photo above you will see what was happening that caused me to stay right where I was for a while. The tops of many of the mountains I seen thus far today were partially obscured by clouds. No big deal. Well, and I sat in my car watching, the mountains ahead of me were being overtaken by more clouds, and what appeared to be precipitation falling from them. And whatever it was appeared to be coming towards where I was parked.
I was parked at about 5,400 feet elevation and the air temperature was 56 degrees Fahrenheit. I wasn’t sure if the temperature was going to plummet and snow or sleet might start falling so I opted just to stay right where I was.
Well, it never did anything where I was and the clouds and whatever form of precipitation was falling from them never reached me. Once the clouds dissipated I went on my way and drove through Yoho NP to Golden.
I will make a separate post about what types of things can be found in Yoho, as I passed through it several times over the next few days.
As I post this early on Wednesday, September 3 I have just made my Airbnb reservations which will take me from Prince George, BC on the morning of September 10 to arrive in Anchorage, Alaska in the afternoon of Sunday, September 14. I will share the specifics of that trip in another post, and will start planning my itinerary while I am in Alaska. I’m sure I will spend 2 or 3 days in Anchorage getting acclimated and finding out what things are open full time and what things have adjusted to a seasonal schedule.
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