Road Trippin' with Paul Robinson - Part 6

All good things, like this road trip, come to an end ...

We just arrived in Boulder after driving straight through from Billings, Montana. The past few days were spent in Alberta exploring Yoho National Park, Banff National Park, Canmore and Calgary. After leaving Vancouver we began the trek to Alberta. We made it pretty far and ended up stopping for the night in Golden. The next morning we set off once again and made our first stop at Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park. We walked the 2 or 3 mile trail around the lake and admired the breathtaking sights. The water was a glowing aquamarine which is apparently from glacial silt. The lake wasn't as cold as expected and we had promised each other before starting the trip that we would jump into a glacial lake in Canada and we knew this had to be the lake. We held hands, planned to take five large steps before jumping and began the count down. The water was only clear in the very beginning and then we could no longer see the floor so it was quite scary jumping into a lake that we didn't know the depth of. We wanted to rent canoes but it cost $70 for two hours so we decided to pass and grab some ice cream instead.

After our swimming adventure we headed off to check out Moraine Lake and Lake Louise. Both, in our opinion, are overrated and Emerald Lake far rivaled the other two. The water at each of the other lakes was freezing and the crowd of camera clicking tourists was unbearable. We were soon sick of the tourist trap and went to the actual town of Banff for some food.

Banff was a nice town but it wasn't any better than the ski towns we live near in Colorado. I did, however, find the perfect pair of jeans, which as most girls know is nearly impossible. Paul also got his first visit to the Louis Vuitton store while wearing his Prana pants - a sight definitely worth seeing.

We had booked a hotel in Banff but it wasn't for another night so we decided to try and find a free spot off the beaten path where we could camp. The second I got out of the car to help Paul assemble the tent I was swarmed by mosquitos - for some reason bugs love to bight me more than anyone else I'm ever with. As usual, I started freaking out and swatting the air and after I had swatted Paul a few times I was told to sit in the car. As soon as Paul finished setting up the tent and blowing up our inflatable bed a park ranger showed up and told us we had to leave. Defeated and pissed off we decided to drive all the way to Calgary where the climbing gym was and get a hotel there.

We didn't know much about Calgary except for that Route 1 passed through it so when we saw a motel on the side of the road we decided to check it out as it was already 1030pm. The Olympia motel looked a little shady on the outside but Paul went in to check the price regardless. I noticed a busy bar adjacent to the restaurant and started to worry about noise as well as the safety of our car. I hoped Paul would notice the sketchy surroundings but apparently he didn't and ten minutes later he returned to the car telling me he had gotten a room.