We moved to Penticton where Vic water-skied while I drove the boat - good fun! We spent a hour on the lake which is the same lake as Kelowna over an hours drive north! We also did a bit of walking and sunbathing.

Yesterday we got back on the Moose bus and drove back to Vancouver, oh stopping at Abbertsford for a quick skydive!!!! What a laugh!!!

Well we're in Vancouver now and have walked around Gastown and Chinatown and will do some last minute shopping before heading to the airport early Saturday morning.

Vernon

Kelowna

Well this is the last week, and hopefully it will stay hot! We had a nice time in Vernon, borrowed some mountain bikes and rode to the lake, layed on the beach, went in the lake - cold!! and saw a car drive off the main road, down a steep bank and crash onto a railway sideing at the bottom!!! Some paddlers and a guy on a jet ski went over to help, flagged down a train and helped the paramedics get the driver to hospital on the locomotive! all very exciting!

We then went to Kelowna and went mountainbiking on the old railway 3000ft up a mountain, got a lift up - and rode down! I also had a slight accident and my face met the ground - again!!

We went to a vinyard - Mission Hill, and went on a boat on the Okanagan Lake - takes 2 hours to drive the length - a big lake!! It is very hot - 30 degrees plus - at the moment, last chance to top up the tan!!

We are currently in Penticton for a few days.

We spent 4 nights in Jasper in a B and B and then got picked up by the MooseBus and taken to a rustic hostel up near some falls for 1 night. No running water and loads of mossies but we survived!!

Then on a great scenic drive to Lake Louise through the Icefields Parkway. We saw a black bear at the side of the road and U turned to get some pictures and hopefully video before it ambled off into the bushes. Everyone on the bus was very excited!!

We stopped at a frozen lakeside for lunch, walked onto a glacier in the icefields and eventually got dropped off at Lake Louise hostel. There is literally just a couple of shops, an info centre and hotels here. Most of the trails were closed due to snow so our options were pretty limited. So we hiked up to the Lake, about 4km and from there up to a viewpoint on the mountainside - very snowy and icy, provided a few hairy/funny moments! Apart from that we did a river walk and not much else. It's a very beautiful area though and when the trails open there's loads to do!

So, now we're in Banff, pretty touristy but a spectacular mountain setting. We went on a couple of small hikes today with the moose group and saw some moutain goat and elk. Tomorrow we're planning to do a couple of local peaks and then relax in the hot springs! Hopefully we'll do some rafting on Sunday before heading off out of here on Monday. It snowed a lot this morning so we shall see what happens weather wise for our walking plans!

Banff National Park

Banff Avenue & Cascade Mountain

Lake Louise Ski Area

We're here in Jasper - a cool little town in the Rockies surrounded by snowy peaks. We're staying at a B&B in town for the same price as it would cost for the 2 of us to stay in dorm beds at the hostel 7 km out of town! So bargain luxury!

We left Vancouver on the MooseBus (a hop on hop off service geared towards backpackers) and first stop was Whistler for 2 nights so we went skiing again which was great. Then we stayed at a hippy type hostel out in the sticks near Kamloops and sat around the campfire by the river. The group on the bus are a great lot and we all got on really well.

Next stop was Valemount at a superb hostel which we had to ourselves. Huge lounge and free pool table so we had a barbie and some beers and played pool till 2. We also went of a horse ride up into the Rockies from a ranch which was great, except the owners horse had a bit of a fit and tries to throw him a couple of times but luckily the others horses ignored it!

We got off the bus here and will do a couple of hikes and a bit of mountain biking before we get picked up by the next one on Friday and on to Lake Louise for a couple of nights. The weather is pretty good - dry and not to cold, the sun is pretty warm when it's out but our Mexico tans are all but gone! Hopefully we can top them up again by the end of the trip.

We spent a very relaxing 4 days on Salt Spring Island at a hostel in the middle of nowhere! We did lots of walking and managed to hitch our way off the island and along the coast to Nanimo. We hired a car there from rent a wreck! They scared us silly about paying for cracked windows etc, but everything was fine. We drove to Tofino which is the other side of the island. The hostel there was great, it is right on the bayside with a great view of the islands (when it's not raining!) We went whale watching again and walking and wildlife watching. Saw loads of bald eagles, grey whales, sealions etc.

We spent 3 days there and drove back to Nanimo, dropped the car off and caught a seaplane across to Vancouver! Very small plane that got buffeted around a lot!! it landed right downtown and we walked to the hostel. It's a bit of a pain getting around here as there is a transit strike in it's 2nd month!! but we have been walking around the city and went shopping at the Mountain Equipment Co-Op! what a cool place! what we couldn't get there we got from the numerous shops along the road!

We're off on the road again tomorrow morning off to Whistler then to other national parks around BC.

We are now on the last leg of our trip.

We're having a cool time in Canada now! We got the ferry from Seattle to Victoria (cool name eh?!) and stayed there for a day. We hired a car and some camping gear and drove up the coast and camped on the beach and did a walk along the Juan de Foca trail - this is Black bear and Cougar country!

It was so nice camping on the beach. We saw a Bald Eagle fly past with a fish in it's tallons, followed some cougar tracks, and saw some seal / sea lions (not sure which!) on the beach.

We are now on Salt Spring Island, where hitching is the only way to get around! for 4 nights, really cool laid back place. Hostel has no tv or radio, and is in the woods an hours walk from anywhere!! So Relaxing is the name of the game for now!!