Elevator Escape part II - To The Coast!

Travel Day

• Calgary to Banff via Highway 1
• Banff to Revelstoke via Highway 1

They say that a voyage of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Mine begins with about 60 steps, from the third floor to the parking garage in the basement. Thankfully Mike, Dion, and Dan took me down those steps.

Dixon was there too, helping with doors and details. And thanks to my daughter Kate for taking these pictures.

Here is the cause of all this trouble. The elevator in my building is still being repaired. It sounds like it will be out for another month.

Driving from Calgary westward, cracking the rugged ramparts of the Rockies, heading up the Bow Valley towards Banff. This shot is just outside of Canmore.

In Banff, I took the gondola ride up Sulphur Mountain. It's a long way up.

The view from the top, looking westward. That's the Trans Canada Highway out there, winding further up the Bow Valley.

Looking northeast, over the Banff townsite.

A different look, showing the long range of the Rockies, peak upon peak.

A look back east from the other side of the observation deck atop Sulphur Mountain.

Yep, that's me. I really did go up the mountain.

I went back down again too. It's quite a ride.

Heading westward along Highway 1, you see these animal overpasses, made to reduce the carnage along the highway. But I really like the mountains in the distance.

As I cross the provincial border, the weather gets worse, the mountains gets meaner, and the highway gets narrower.

Coming into Field, BC, these fellows were feeding along the roadside. This herd is often in the town during the spring and summer.

As you go from Golden to Revelstoke, you see a lot of avalanche warning signs, like this one. That line at the bottom is the highway. There are a lot of avalanches along this stretch of road.

And you can see why there are avalanches. Those are steep slopes, and that's a lot of snow.

No, Rogers Pass is not preparing for an invasion. These mortar cannons were once used to blast potential avalanches off of the slopes. They still use mortars, but they also use charges dropped from helicopters; it's more accurate.

You see that dome of snow up there? That's avalanche country, mostly in winter, but they can happen in the springtime too.