quick update

from the road - we were out of Cranbrook after a morning breakfast special at the "Grill" where the special has been the same thing for eleven years!  LOL

then we went into the Kootenay National Park (stopped to buy park pass) made a number of photo op stops along the way- pulled into Banff around 12:30 - found "hostel" where we are staying... very very rudimentary but cheap for Banff in season... left immediately for lunch and a town tour. 

think dells with better level of shopping- by 2PM I was done with Banff.  so we headed out of town to a lake for a boat cruise for an hour or so- took scenic route back in and stopped at a couple of overlooks and then headed to the gondola for the "big picture" view of the entire valley.

tomorrow we are out of dodge early to get to Bow Parkway and Lake Louise sites before things get weekend crazy...

some photos -

more tomorrow......

mac n cheeseburger soup

after an ardous airport transit including the better part of an hour at security in ORD and a run to the plane in DEN arrived in GEG to find traffic jam on Xway- LOL

but all was cured when we stopped at Audrey's restaurant for their Thursday special turkey dinner - especially when we found out one of the soups at the soup and salad bar was mac and cheesburger soup... gotta love rural America!

before we left the US came upon the baber ship (not misspelled) and the mangy moose:

waited fifteen to twenty minutes to cross the border into BC at around 5:30 PM  and made it as far as Cranbrook where we checked into cheapish hotel and headed to Heidi's for dinner where you could get empandas and schnitzel along with papusas- LOL truly international cuisine in the heart of downtown Cranbrook BC!

to bed early as I was up at 5:30 Chicago time and it is "later" than it is in BC (for me)

the learning curve

is apparently quite steep- just before I left for Africa I figured out how to do these photo collages and when I went to do it again I found out I couldn't remember 1. how to do and 2. when I had done it how to save it...LOL 

so anyway I made one from the safari and I am not sure there will ever be another - this should be easier than this

no need to go

far to have a really enjoyable trip-

for years my buddy TB and I have traveled within these 48 united states of mainland USA... years and years back we started with LA and then a Key West foray and eventually we moved into a more regular pattern of what TB and his fiancee called (and now so do I) Disappearing America Road Trips (DART)

for my 48th state (Oklahoma) TB and I did a trip centered on US Route 66 and western art... before that we did a NM trip to the SW quarter of NM which is not exactly tourist Mecca...LOL

we did a trip to NE, SD, ND, MT, ID, WY and CO in a big loop and no, we did NOT miss Wall Drug- or Car Henge...

last year we moved a bit east for a change and saw eastern TN in depth with forays into KY, GA, AL, and NC along with an Indian nation where we ate lunch at the Indian Princess restaurant....

but the thing that got me started on this train of thought was coming across photos from two trips Phil and I made that brought the same "new things in your own bakcyard" kind of experience.

and here they are-

two photos from the west side market area of Cleveland...

 I think that guy's girlfriend told him "no Stogies in the house" LOL

and here are a few from another close by trip - to the Traverse Bay area of Michigan-
who knew you could combine functions so easily?

and finally- don't those Michigan peaches look wonderful?

some of my favorites

as we leave the Africa experience behind I want to close with a few of my faves from the South Africa part of the trip:

the salon at the Cape Heritage Hotel

gift shop cats at Tenikwa Preserve

Tired kitty....LOL

while not a huge fan on monkeys- this guy was cute and I felt bad for him as he had no one of his own kind to hang out with at the sanctuary.

a sunset just starting on the Plett River.

in the Bo Kaap neighborhood of Cape Town - an oriental hairdressing SALOON!

on the drive down to Cape Point

never realized penguin feet were so distinctive!

this guy certainly has a view to admire!

and here is a scarecrow that someone really made an effort with:

THAT'S ALL FOLKS!!!!

next week - new country!