Canadian Rockies - Days 9 & 10

DAY 9 Calgary AB to Nelson, B.C. - Saturday, July 9th

We woke up at a decent hour knowing we had to travel who knows how many hours to get to Nelson, B.C. After bringing our stuff to the car in the nearby parking garage we tried to get directions to a McDonalds as it seemed the fastest place to get some food. The hotel AGAIN gave us bogus directions and we went around and around for a bit until we found it. Of course, by then it was 11:01 and they stopped serving breakfast. GRRR! So we grabbed some sandwiches at Subway next door and hit the road, planning on eating on the way. We drove back on the same road we'd been on seemingly every other day until we turned South past Banff. The ride down was really beautiful and I think the scenery in this part of the country is some of my favorite. The mountains are really big but all green and more rolling. There was a bit of mist in the air and it sorta seemed like the San Juan islands, if they were locked in my land and not by water. Beautiful stuff. We swung by a hot springs to grab some food and use the bathroom (but opted not to go in the water, its way too touristy). We decided that to get to Nelson we'd try and take a ferry that crossed a lake instead of driving around the lake. They both would have probably been the same amount of time but the ferry seemed cooler. As we drove up the lake to get to the ferry we went through this intense rain storm and then through it to some beautiful sunshine. The scenery was just AMAZING. Then we arrived at the ferry miraculously right ON time and they were able to fit us on this boat as the 2nd to last car. Talk about timing. The ride was really beautiful and we found out that we were on the longest free car ferry ride in the world. Cool! After landing we drove off and then headed down into Nelson. We had been there a few years ago with some friends and just fell in love with the town. It almost reminds us of Ithaca. We had eaten at this fantastic restaurant and couldn't wait to get back. So we hustled into town (which is nestled at the end of a lake surrounded by STEEP mountains, so the whole town is built on a hill - and tragically, the waterfront is the only flat land to be seen - so a Wal-Mart is there...GROSS) and checked into our hotel. Neat little place and its right in downtown which seems like one of the cutest and neatest downtowns we've ever seen. We dressed up and walked over to the restaurant. We were initially upset we couldn't get a set outside on the patio but then we sat down at this table at the wide door to the patio and it was perfect as we could look out to the big trees covering the patio. SUCH a great place. We opted to try new things and were not disappointed. After sitting there eating and drinking for several happy hours we headed into town again and grabbed some drinks at a local bar where we chatted and laughed for hours. GREAT evening.

DAY 10 Calgary, B.C. to Seattle - Sunday, July 10th

We woke up at a decent hour again and went downstairs for our free breakfast. This place did the 'free breakfast' right and we got to sit down and have a waitress and pick from a menu. Why don't more places do this? The weather was crappy out so we jumped in the car instead of doing any last minute touristy stuff and headed down to the border. What a SMALL border. There was one employee and we were the only car in line. Pretty painless. We drove down through Spokane which was a very odd drive - the NE corner of Washington is apparently the poorest part of the state and that was very obvious. The countryside was beautiful though. We stopped at a gas station / store for a shockingly good sandwich and then kept going. We got onto I-90 and ate dinner at a Jack-in-the-Box in Ellensburg. YUM. I love that place. The traffic the rest of the way wasn't too bad but it was a LONG day driving - almost 9 hours. We got home while it was still light and spent the rest of the night unpacking and doing the typical post vacation stuff.

Overall, GREAT trip and I'd do it again in a second. So...what should I do in August?! Stinks that Chris doesn't have the same time off I do!!!!