So the goats in the first shot are the kind that have the legs on one side of their body shorter than on the other side, right? ;) It's such fun to see wildlife that's so different from what's around here. Esp. the bears. I really like bears; so very intelligent and so very misunderstood. We are seeing increases in their population around here, something that amazes me, but makes sense. More people means more opportunity for such expert foragers to capitalize on a new food source. As ususal "problems" with them are rarely their fault... it's the ignorance of the human population.

haha...Annie...In 2010 I had never ridden further than 60 miles in a day. I took of with my trailer and rode with 2 friends from St Augustine to San Diego 3200 miles ! We avg 55 a day. Loved it so much that in 2011 a couple of us rode from Key West FL to Bar Harbor ME ...only 2800 miles !! Had a great time again. In 2012 only 2 of us and we started in Victoria BC...we rode up and over and down and when I was mid Saskatchewan BC I stopped as my DS 2 was ill and so was my cycling partner. Only did 1500 mi that ride. It is amazing what you learn about you and the country and the people on a bike ride. It is a life-changing adventure. Kelly...I sure do remember the hill country with great fondness. We rode almost exclusively on back roads. I loved the rivers and the "hills" which are pretty darn big ! And the fantastic food and people...and the amazing pecan trees ! All of it was fantastic ! I hope you do decide to take up camping . I camped a different place in Tx every night with my tent for 20 nights. It was amazing. c

I've been online for 3 days straight trying to sort this out. We are flying into Calgary (July) & staying 11 nights. Our flight arrives late & we are staying in a hotel near the airport & heading to either Jasper or Glacier National Park, the next morning. Jasper 3 nights, Chateau Lake Louise 2 nights, Glacier National Park, St. Mary's 3 nights & back to Moraine Lake Lodge for 2 nights. I don't have any nights in Banff. I know the Lake Louise & Moraine Lake hotel areas will be packed with people. I'm hoping by staying in on-site hotels we can enjoy less crowds in the mornings & evenings. Are we going to get tired of beautiful scenery? I'm also contemplating rearranging the order - maybe do Glacier first & then Lake Louise or Lake Moraine followed by Jasper & then back to Lake Louise or Lake Moraine.

Thanks for sharing your experiences SueB. I'm glad it's still nice and empty, that's great to hear. Agreed about the driving, it is white knuckle at times, but that's all part of the charm I guess. There is an (unintentionally) hilarious cartoon video about driving hazards on the airplane. Our rental car still had snow tires on it (in May) and we were super thankful for that. We ended up doing a few 'unconventional' moves on some of the tiny farm roads. The Swiss Alps are a close second to Iceland for a vacation spot, I agree! And of your next round of choices, I vote Vancouver. Went there last fall and was totally impressed.