Van Adventures

Sept 18-26   The first thing we did when we re-entered the states was to fill up the van with gas.   $4.89/gallon! Ouch! We were up early to get to the ferry and skipped breakfast. When we landed in Port Townsend, we looked for a good cup of coffee. We found a nice little coffee shop overlooking the water and ate our breakfast accompanied by our seagull friend. We stocked up on food for the week and then made our way to our friend Lynda’s home.   Lynda was the minister of our church and retired to Washington a few years ago.   She lives in a small community on the eastern shore of the Olympic Peninsula.   We spent a few days in her family’s yurt.   She lives in a trailer on the same property. The next day, we went to the Olympic National Park Visitor Center for a stamp and a sticker in our passport book. Mt Olympus is one of several volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest’s Cascade range.   Others include Mt Rainier, Mt St Helen’s and Mt Hood.   ...

Sept 12-17 We went directly to Banff from our stay in Glacier.   It was an easy border crossing and, with the exception of one construction worker we passed who flipped us the bird, the people have been lovely. We camped in the national park for 3 nights, which gave us 2 full days in Banff. We spent the first day on a full day tour of the beautiful lakes in the area.   Our first stop was at Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park in BC. It is a beautiful green color.   Next stop, Lake Moraine, a sapphire blue color, named for the many boulders or moraine left by the receding glacier.  We climbed to the top of the moraine pile for a different view of the lake. Pictures just don't do the colors justice. And finally, the famous Lake Louise, more greenish.   The different colors are caused by the different types of sediment carried by the water flowing into the lakes.   Most are limestone which produces the greenish hues.   Granite dust gives Lake M...