July 27, 2001, Friday- another perfect day. Rocked and rolled up to Lake Louise, the most photographed spot in Canada. Still perfect turquoise water surrounded by glaciers and towering peaks. Susan and I and Hobbes did an hour and a half hike, while Debi, Steve and Becky did the full hike to the "Tea Room" for lunch, and then beyond. Susan and I grabbed a great lunch in the famous Lake Louise Hotel, originally a Canadian Railroad property, but now a Fairmont property. Elegant to the highest degree.

GLACIAL WALL OVER LAKE LOUISE	LAKE LOUISE HOTEL WITH SKI SLOPES IN THE BACK

 

Next on the list, over to Moraine Lake, a crystal blue lake, for an hour's canoeing. Wow, what a place to boat. Debi, Steve and Becky in one boat, Susan, Hobbes and I in the second.

 

WE CAPTURED THE GLACIER CALVING	TRANSITION LINE FROM SILT TO FREE FLOWING WATER IN LAKE LOUISE

FLOWERS AT THE LAKE LOUISE HOTEL	DEBI, STEVE AND BECKY AT MORAINE LAKE

WHAT A PLACE TO PADDLE	IS SUSAN HAPPY?

Back into Banff and the computer shell that Steve brought up, the Gateway body, got loaded with our hard drive and ram and we are now up and running. It will feel good to be up and running on a fully operating machine. When we get back into the states we shall try to get the auxiliary hard drive to be running in the shadows, and that way there will be no worries about backing up, I hope.

EVEN HOBBES GETS TO CANOE	A SPARKLING END TO OUR DINNER

 

Dinner at the "Keg Restaurant" finished off a perfect day. Also, it was my birthday night with the kids and the presents received were great….a black fleece vest and a combination REI shirt with zip off sleeves.

 

BECKY, STEVE, DEBI, SUSAN AND LARRY AT THE "KEG"	WOW...BACK TO 2 COMPUTERS, TIME TO CATCH UP

July 28, 2001, Saturday- after helping Debi pack, we all went for a walk over to the Banff Springs Hotel. First class property with more then first class rates. Several of the rooms in the "castle" were into the four figure range. I'll take the campground for $24 per night, thank you.

 

STEVE, BECKY AND DEBI AT BOW FALLS	LARRY, SUSAN AND HOBBES AT THE FALLS

A sandwich lunch and then Debi was off on the van to Calgary to catch her Denver flight. Steve, Becky, Sue and I drove up to Johnson Canyon for that great hike but, as we arrived, the skies opened up. So many cars were still in the parking lot that we blew off that place. Next over to the Ski area so that they could see the place…..still wet!

 

DEBI WAITING FOR THE VAN TO CALGARY	WHAT A RAINBOW FROM THE COACH

Dinner was at the coach where Susan outdid herself again. Shrimp, scallops, and clams in linguini, wine, beautiful. And best of all, there was a full rainbow outside of the coach. From the mountaintop on the right to the mountains out the in front. Strong colors ….more vibrant than any that I could remember.

 

COULDN'T RESIST ONE MORE RAINBOW

July 29, 2001, Sunday- after an hour's walk around town with Becky and Steve, we bid them farewell as they headed back to Calgary. Their itinerary for today was a change of planes in Minneapolis and then on into New York. Tuesday into Bismark, ND, and then back to Denver.

Spoke to Debi in mid afternoon and found out that she had just arrived in Denver, 20 hours late. He plane was delayed and delayed and at 9 last night was cancelled. After a dinner, room and breakfast at the airport hotel, United was not able to get her on the morning flight. She had to elbow her way onto one of the few seats on the midday flight. The old adage still rings true….time to spare, go by air.

For us it was catch-up day between laundry and computer.

July 30, 2001, Monday- as scheduled, Cummins Alberta service arrived at 10 AM, and by 11 AM we had a new starter motor under warrantee. Hopefully the electrical problems are now behind us.

This afternoon we took a 3 plus hour hike from the campground, down to the hoodoos, then through the woods along the Bow River, and finally, back to the coach. Lots of ups and downs. Hobbes had half of the forest in his coat.

HORSEBACK RIDING ANYONE?	THE HOODOOS.....

July 31, 2001, Tuesday- what an end to a month. Left Banff at 8 for our appointment in Canmor (10 miles down the road), for our windshield. I couldn't get the cruise control to work properly. Arrived at the glass shop and two ours latter everything was installed and we were on our way.

NEW WINDSHIELD COMING UP

As we headed towards Calgary, I noticed that our volts were down to under 10, instead of 13.5. At 9.6 everything shuts down. I called the Cummins people and get instructions to their shop on the far side of town. Our batteries are reading zero. The engine is running rough. Somehow we get lucky and manage to reach the repair shop. After a quick diagnosis, we have nothing coming from the batteries or from the alternator. It turns out that one little wire wasn't reconnected yesterday by the mechanic installing the starter motor. Reattached, everything was working well. Whew!

Arrived at our campground and tried to confirm our dinner date for tonight (with a fallback for tomorrow night). With Jamie. I knew that she was moved last Sunday, but assumed she would have the same phone. Not. Disconnected. No new listing. After two hours of phone calls, I left a message at her congregation and got her email address, followed also by a message.

All in all, it was a wonderful month, seeing the kids, and defeating the gremlins of the computer, windshield and starter motor.