Banff Log, The Finale!

Note: This is the fifth installment of my Banff Log. For the first four go here, here, here,here and here. I know it's been long, but this is it! Then it's back to our regularly scheduled program!

Day 13 - Banff to Silverwood!

Time to leave! Wow it was wet. I am really glad that we packed up most of our stuff. I am even more glad that I brought a tarp and drop cloth. It helped when we loaded wet bikes into the camper. We were out of there in a little over and hour. Then I delayed things by wanting coffee from Starbucks. Say what you want about the coffee giant, they serve a consistent cuppa, which I very much appreciate. I never did get it though, since the Safeway we went to had closed their kiosk temporarily. Bummer. So we hit the road without coffee, but cheerful spirits nonetheless.

We then proceeded to stop about every 20 minutes for the next 2 hours. At least that’s what it felt like. It was likely less than that, but mileage was slim in the morning. There were potty breaks and then we had to stop on the continental divide for a few pictures. Then about noon we rolled into another hot springs, this time in Fairmont. We swam around for an hour or so and I made a fool of myself on the high dive. Then we (and by “we”, I mean Autumn) made lunch for the road and were off again. Then we had to stop for fuel since we didn’t want to have to stop while the kids were sleeping. Ugh!

We pulled into Canal Flats (the headwaters of the mighty Columbia River, by the way) since the sign said there was gas. It turns out that I exited a little early and we ended up in a dying town from a horror movie. All that was missing was a toothless local and his pet monkey offering us a ride to the nearest gas station. Creepy. But we finally found fuel and were off again, unscathed and unharmed by the local populace.

The kids crashed soon thereafter, but then we ran into another problem. The air conditioning quit and the temperature was climbing a degree every few miles. It was in the 80’s by the time we hit the border crossing. The kids were up by then, so we opened the windows for some fresh air. We crossed without incident and pulled off to check the A/C and have a potty break. Like a true IT professional (former), I fixed the problem by, you guessed it, turning the pickup off and then on. In other words, I rebooted and it worked. Whew!

Then it was off to Sand Point for dinner, where we indulged in a little Americana. Yes, Burger King. Sue me, I love a good Whopper (no cheese). The kids ran themselves silly on the indoor (read: clean) playground while I shoved greasy fries into my mouth as fast as I could. How’s that for an image? I then lured the kids away from the playground and back into the truck where they had already spent 7 hours. How did I accomplish this feat of brilliance? Easy, I used ice cream. Yessir, old tricks are still the best.

A bit later we arrived at our home for the next two nights: Silverwood! It’s an amusement park and water park. We quickly set up camp and now I sit typing this knowing that tomorrow will be a great last adventure before we travel back to reality. We will really show up back home pretty darn used up. It’s a great way to do it, ending a trip knowing that you used pretty much every moment to create lasting experiences and memories.

Day 14 - Silverwood!

So, I never really wrote about this day in real time. So, this is being written over a month after the fact. That's too bad really, because it was a day of highs and lows for sure. As a result you are going to get a more standard version for this day, that is, you are going to get some commentary prompted by the pictures. Overall though, the day was fantastic, there is simply no other way to say it. The kids both did great. Teagan and Trinity played there hearts out all day long. They were both zombies by the time we were done, and that was perfect. Teagan was brave and would have kept on going on rides. Loved it!

First rides: we stared easy on the carousel and train

First carousel ride!

Not her first rodeo, but she sure ha a great time!

The train ride was fun, we even were robbed by some bandits!

Bad picture, but our first roller coaster!

I was a little nervous about him and rides, but he hopped right on and never looked back!

And they're off!

This was a very popular one. Teagan loves planes...or anything that flies!

Of course Trinity loved it too!

the paratrooper ride proved a test in patience since they load it slowly so that it's always balanced. The kids did great and Teagan and I flew it like an airplane!

This certainly was a big hit as well, almost as good as the planes. Both rides had controls to take you up and down. The planes just looked better though!

Ugh, spinning rides. But I'll ride anything once. Seriously, there really aren't any that I wouln't accompany my kids on. Not sayin' I'd come out happy, but it's worth it!

Me, right before the tilt-a-whirl starts. Yeah, that's about how I felt!

Still feeling it, along with a cold sweat. Spinning rides just aren't what they used to be...

We made it all that much better with ice cream, Yay!

Day 15 - On the way home!

Not much to say here except that it was a long day in the saddle but we made it. Thanks for tagging along, wish you coulda come!