Banff National Park Oh Boy!

May 15, 2022 / marniesteve / 1 Comment

We love the National Parks in the United States. However, our first visit to a Canadian National Park has blown us away! Banff National Park in Alberta is truly spectacular, and our four days here only scratched the surface.

We arrived to the Tunnel Mountain II Campground in Banff National Park in a snowstorm and wondered if we’d see any of the beautiful peaks that define the area. But, low hanging clouds and cold air didn’t put a damper on the excitement.

But within hours, the blue sky began to show through and it was on!!

Our first hike was from our campground to the hoodoos overlook. Sweeping views of the snow drenched mountains with the Bow River below indicated something special.

With our traveling companions, Russ and Susan Shoemaker, we braved the cold, and a little snow, to finish the first of several beautiful hikes.

We headed to Lake Louise on our first full day and were greeted with more snow and low-hanging clouds.

The view was not what we had hoped for but Susan’s photoshop skills allowed us to see what it might have been like had the clouds lifted and the ice on the lake had melted.

On our third day here we were blessed with spectacular blue skies and a bit warmer weather (if 50 is considered warm). We set out to take on the popular, 1 1/2 mile Johnston Canyon hike.

Though much of the trail was ice-packed which made for slow-going, we made it to the upper falls with ease. The advantage of being here early in the season is smaller crowds. We were happy to have parts of the trail to ourselves which made it even more special.

Evenings are special too. We’ve been taking turns making dinner and have enjoyed several meals cooked in the Park’s cooking pavilions, around a wood-burning stove. Spending time with Russ and Susan is always fun, as we love to hear about their world travels.

We’ve known them since Susan and I worked together at the City of Phoenix in the early 1990s and being together is always so easy.

On our final day in Banff we tackled the Tunnel Mountain Summit trail which provided 360-degree, sweeping views of the town of Banff and surrounding area. We could have sat up there and soaked in the views all day.

We are sad to leave this beautiful area, with it’s many animals, sweeping views, and wonderful people, but we know there’s more spectacularness ahead!

The Smokies and Knoxville

March 29, 2022 / marniesteve / Leave a comment

We crossed another National Park off the list this week with a wonderful visit to Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMP). It’s a big place that could have kept us busy for months and months. Over 800 miles of hiking trails, including a portion of the Appalachian Trail (AT), hundreds of historic sites, and innumerable streams and rivers make this one of the most beautiful parks we’ve seen.

They say GSMP is defined by the 3 Ws: Wildlife, Wildflowers, and Waterfalls. We would add one more letter to the description: C for crowds. Even in the off season, which is what March is considered, the crowds at the popular sites were large. We can’t even imagine what it would be like in the peak seasons of summer and fall. It’s no wonder it’s the nation’s busiest national park…1/3 of the US population lives within a days drive of its borders.

On one day we explored Cades Cove, a verdant valley punctuated with historic homes and churches, abundant wildlife, and beautiful scenery. We drove the 11 mile loop road, stopping along the way to learn about the settlers who populated the valley in the early 1800s.

We also spent a day driving the Newfound Gap Road, which crosses the park from Tennessee to North Carolina. The mountain pass reaches an elevation of over 5,000 feet where the road crosses the famed Appalachian Trail. We enjoyed some short hikes along the drive but skipped on the AT (for now).

We also spent one day just hanging out at our incredible RV resort, Little Arrow Camping Resort, in Townsend, TN, right outside the entrance to the national park. We had a waterfront site that allowed us to listen to the rushing water right from the rig. Each evening we participated in activities, including Bingo, Trivia, and Smores night around the fire. Bob especially enjoyed the socializing.

From Little Arrow we were able to hop on several hiking trails. One took us to a viewpoint that overlooks the cute town of Townsend. There a local carver is installing a giant Sasquatch, and we were able to chat with him about his work and admire the grandeur of the piece.

Just down the road from Little Arrow we did a hike in the national park which we learned is one of the best trails to see the spring wildflowers.

After our four days at Little Arrow and GSMP we drove less than an hour north to Knoxville. Steve had been here back in 1982 for the World’s Fair, so we did some reminiscing. There are no RV parks near downtown Knoxville so we “camped” on top of the Civic Auditorium parking garage, which provided us with electricity and security!

The main reason for hitting Knoxville was to complete another marathon.

Steve braved the cold and wind to finish the marathon in less than four hours. This was his 25th state, so he’s half way to his goal of all 50 states!

From here we head west towards home and will not likely post anything more until we begin our next RV adventure in May when we head north to Alaska! So hang on…there’s big stuff ahead!

Moving Northward in Florida State Parks ++

March 13, 2022 / marniesteve / 1 Comment

Since finishing our time in the Ft Lauderdale area we’ve been slowly working our way northward and beginning to think about the final portion of this six-month journey.

We left Ft Lauderdale and traveled to the northern part of Florida over two days. Overnight we stopped at a very cool Harvest Host, Organicaworld, where they are growing hemp that is being converted to “hempcrete” to build houses. They also had a cool farm store, a mean brisket, and some very friendly donkeys.

Our next stop was a visit to Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, a unique property just south of Gainesville. Paynes Prairie is the only place in Florida where wild-roaming horses and bison can be found. We didn’t find them, but we enjoyed the paved 16-mile Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail, which runs through the park.

Florida is so different from our home in Arizona. You can see from the photos that the Spanish Moss is prevalent and the forest is thick. Yes, we’ve run into bugs once in awhile but nothing a little bug spray won’t take care of.

From there we headed to the coast and to one of our favorite Florida cities: St Augustine. We stayed in this area for about 10 days last year and were lucky enough to score a seven day reservation this year at Anastasia State Park, which is located in the middle of the action. We were even warmly greeted by a local critter when we pulled in.

From our heavily wooded, secluded site, we could easily bike into town, kayak the nearby waterways, and walk to the Saturday Farmers Market.

We toured the famous lighthouse and took in the sweeping views. Overall though, we weren’t very touristy…just enjoyed the nice weather and beautiful area.

We continued the laid back vibe during our four days at the Jekyll Island Campground. We visited here last year as well and wanted to explore a little more. We rode our bikes around the island and visited the local museum to learn about the impact of the Rockefellers, Morgans, and Vanderbilts on the island in the early 1900s.

One day we took in the local art festival. I even had a chance to learn to weave.

Unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate during our final days there but we kept busy in the trailer with reading, taking in a night of Bingo, and news-watching. The inclement weather also made for some spectacular sunsets.

We’re now in Savannah for a few days to take in the country’s second largest St Patrick’s Day festivities. We will actually be on our way west on the big day, but the fountains are dyed green and the party has started.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve kind of shifted into traveler mode, rather than tourist mode. It just means we aren’t trying to see everything and do everything possible. Traveling in the RV gives us the option to slow down, soak in the places, and go at our own pace. That’s the mode we’ve been in recently…and it’s kind of nice!

Marnie and Steve Travel

We're retired! Let's go!

camping

Banff National Park Oh Boy!

The Smokies and Knoxville

Moving Northward in Florida State Parks ++