Week 30: Prairies to Banff, Alberta

This week was clashing with a high of being immersed in some of nature’s most beautiful landscapes and a low of spending three days at a vet hospital hoping for good news.

Canadian Rockies… First Sight
Partly due to the excitement of getting into the Canadian Rockies and partly because everyone warned me about the unlikelihood of finding a campsite without a reservation, I departed the Calgary RV Park at 6:30 a.m. on Friday (7/18).  It was a glorious drive on 1A (Bow Valley Parkway, a nice alternative to Trans-Canada 1) through morning fog, rays of sunshine and the majestic mountains slowly revealing themselves.  

What a way to start a Friday morning (or any morning!)

The mountains revealing themselves

And their magnificence

Close to Banff

Banff
I arrived in downtown Banff at 7:30 a.m. to find a sleepy village except for the deer and bunny that greeted us in the parking lot.  The Visitor Center didn’t open until 9:00 so I drove to the closest campground.  Tunnel Mountain campground is located about 1 mile up the hill from downtown and not only did I get a site, but I got a site with full hookups for three nights!  Brittany was awesome and explained that even though most of the sites are reservable, a handful are first come first serve.  Apparently, getting up before the sun was rewarded.  Banff National Park is Canada's oldest park, established in 1855.  It consists of 2,564 square miles of pristine wilderness, glaciers, wildlife, and the great town of Banff that I was setting out to explore.

Nice of them to send the welcome committee

Crowded? Yes... But I got a site with no reservations!

And what a fantastic view

Views all around

Since it was early and we were close to downtown, I put mascara on, changed out of my pajamas and headed down the hill with Trooper.  The staff and two locals I met on the way recommended Wild Flour for breakfast and coffee (and lunch… seems to be the #1 spot in town).  Sitting outside the cafe, I met a couple from Minnesota who after hearing my story encouraged me to write a book (a common theme lately so rather than telling people I am unemployed living in an RV, I’m going to introduce myself as an aspiring author).  The mocha was delicious and took the chill out of the morning.  The sky was hazy from a forest fire at Saskatchewan Crossing north of town en route to Jasper.  Even through the smoke, the town and surrounding mountains quickly became one of my favorite spots.  Walking around town, sitting in the park and chatting with locals and tourists made me feel like a local myself.  The Bow River may be the most beautiful river I have seen.  It’s glacial water is a color of icy turquoise that it difficult to describe but I was awestruck.  It is freezing (much to Trooper’s liking) and probably some of the cleanest water you’ll find.

Our walk from the campground to town

T meets a new friend along the way

T enjoying Bow River's cold glacial water

Wild Flour's velvety delicious mocha

The town's gazebo

Chillin' along the Bow River

Main Street looking south

Looking north

One of the plazas

T getting mobbed while I was in the coffee shop

Happy boy did his happy dance then jumped on the table... he likes Banff!

I chatted with a local woman while walking along the river and she told me to watch the bears.  After questioning her, she told me that due to the late spring, the bears came into the valley and for an unknown reason aren’t heading back up into the mountains.  The town of Banff was under bear warnings.  What an intriguing place I was in.  Trooper and I walked around town for five hours and before leaving, I stopped in the Visitors Center to really find out about this bear thing.  Jessica explained that indeed, it is to be taken seriously and shared two stories of park attendants recently being attacked.  One was a man on a mountain bike where a black bear came out of nowhere and jumped on his back.  Fortunately, the bear bit into bear spray which exploded and sent him on his way (the man is recovering from burns down his back from the canister’s liquid).  The other story was a young woman whose car was damaged ($5500 worth) after a big male grizzly rammed it (she got between him and a female mating and he was pissed!).  We walked back to the campsite and enjoyed less intimidating wildlife.

Columbian Ground Squirrel that taunted T everywhere we went

And this little guy wanted to do some taunting himself

Elk making their way through the campground

On Saturday (7/19), I met Shelly and Noel from Michigan who invited me to join them on a hike to the top of Tunnel Mountain.  Since it is highly recommended to hike in groups, I was grateful for the offer.  I left T in the RV since it was a steep climb to the top.  Along the way, there were tantalizing views through the trees but from the top, the views were truly breathtaking.  Looking down at Banff was proof that it is a stunning setting for a friendly and happening town.  

Banff from the top of Tunnel Mountain

Snack time at the top with Noel, Shelly and Shadow

View looking northeast (campground is to the left)

Looking southeast at the Fairmont Golf Course

Me in my element

After returning to the RV, I took Trooper for a walk to the Hoodoos.  Hoodoos are tall, thin spires of rock protruding from the bottom of a basin or badlands.  Typically, they consist of soft rock that is covered by harder, less easily eroded rock.

Meet Elk #519

View en route to the Hoodoos

Hoodoos (bottom left) and Bow River

Closeup of the Hoodoos

Selfie... what a background

I love these trees and they're everywhere (I believe they're Aspens)

Trooper
I spent Sunday (7/20) in town exploring the shops and buying a new pair of “city shoes”.  I took T on a walk later in the day but he seemed to struggle.  He had been struggling more and more on walks over the past month but I assumed it was the summer heat.  Monday morning, I awoke to thunderstorms and decided to postpone our travels north; fortunately, my site was available for another evening.  Trooper was not feeling well and became more lethargic as the day progressed.  At 6:00 p.m., I took him to Canmore Vet Hospital.  After two hours, they gave him a shot for nausea and sent us home.  When I woke up Tuesday morning, Trooper didn’t greet me in his normal manner and barely picked up his head.  I immediately drove back to the vet.  A different vet, Dr. Sylvia, ran blood tests to see what was happening.  She said it would be a couple of hours so I walked around town and went to the grocery store.  Canmore is a cute little town with less crowds but a similar feel to Banff with the imposing mountains.  While food shopping, Dr. Sylvia called to tell me that T was close to critically anemic and tested positive for Lyme Disease.  Lyme doesn’t cause anemia so they wanted to x-ray to look for tumors.  She said anemia that critical is typically from a massive tumor that has started internal bleeding.  I okayed the x-rays then tried holding it together while praying incessantly and finishing up grocery shopping.  It was surreal.  I arrived at the vet and was ushered into a room (of course my heart sank).  Sylvia told me that the x-rays didn’t show any tumors and better yet, he has ZERO signs of arthritis!  She encouraged me to call the breeder because an 8-year old Mal with no signs of arthritis is incredible… so THANK YOU CARMEN ROWE!  Since we had some good news, the plan was to start treatment for Lyme and come back in the morning to rerun blood tests.  If his anemia was the same or worse, she was going to send us to Calgary for a blood transfusion.  I said if that was the case, I would head back to Seattle.  I called my vet and family letting them know that I may be on my way.

My baby boy en route to vet hospital (and breaking my heart)

I spent the night on a side street next to the vet hospital.  It was a long and restless night’s sleep with frequent checks on Trooper.  Wednesday morning (7/23), Trooper woke me up with fresh eyes and a hungry stomach!  I was teary-eyed to see my baby boy looking like himself.  I took him in and as soon as Sylvia looked at him, she gave me a big hug and I broke down.  I can’t imagine losing Trooper and the impact it would have on this journey.  He is my best friend, travel companion and co-pilot (if curled up on the passenger seat snoozing counts as a co-pilot).  The blood tests revealed that his RBC (red blood count) was almost normal.  She was shocked!  Nowhere is it documented that Lyme causes severe anemia, but since that was the only thing we were treating him for (and only after one dose), it had to be the cause.  After three long days and a hefty price tag, Dr. Sylvia gave me the all clear to continue my travels, keep him on antibiotics for Lyme, and give him extra TLC.. no problem!  I cannot thank Dr. Sylvia McAllister and Canmore Vet Hospital enough for their genuine concern and great care of Trooper Bear.  Also, a big thanks to Lien Animal Clinic in West Seattle for their support on the phone as well as my family and friends who gave their support and prayers… THANK YOU!!

After three days, back in fresh air (sporting a nice bandage from all the blood work)

Final Thoughts
Bumps in the Road.  Obviously, Trooper getting sick was not part of my plan but when it happened, I slowly accepted that my journey may have to come to an end to get him home and healthy.  A part of me was sad but another part found joy in the idea of seeing my family and friends.  We all have plans and expectations but sometimes there are bumps in the road that postpone us, send us on a detour or completely put us on a different path.  I once read that you can either try like hell to swim upstream or turn around and flow freely down the river to wherever it may take you.  When I find myself getting frustrated or sad about the path I’m on, I remind myself to let go and float peacefully with whatever the universe has planned downstream.

Thanks and until next time!