Day 4 Part 1: Canadian Rockies: Kootenay National Park

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Today's Itinerary: Leaving Fairmont Hot Springs, driving through Kootenay National Park, and into the city of Banff (within Banff National Park).

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In Kootenay National Park we saw the trip's first grizzly bear, a small one along the side of the road.  Unfortunately the full glory of this park escaped us because of drizzle and low cloud cover all day.  But whenever the clouds lifted I tried to take a photo or two.  I think the clouds and fog added some nice drama in a few of these.

Our first Grizzly Bear siting

Biker's Solitude

Vermilion River

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Inside Kootenay, at Vermilion Crossing we stopped to chat with two bikers – Dan and Cody – who were on their way to Banff to participate in an 18-mile bike race, followed by a 2,800-mile trip down the Continental Divide to the Mexican border. They told us to watch the movie “Ride the Divide” on the topic.

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Lots of rain the prior day or two:

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These bear protected trash barrels are even found in downtown areas.  We would see them everywhere in Banff and Jasper.

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Next time we might want to rent an RV.  CruiseAmerica has pickup and drop off points in 130 locations across American. I see that Spokane (our starting/finishing point for this trip) is one of those spots.  CruiseCanada must be affilitated as the Web site is identical to CruiseAmerica.