Wednesday turned into quite the rainy day. Not wanting to be stuck in my car all day and night because of it, I grabbed a bed at the HI Hostel in Banff. It was a good choice as I spent the rest of my day alternating between looking out the windows at cloud-shrouded mountains and pines and reading The Fellowship Of The Ring. In the evening I was able to cook dinner in an actual kitchen and then get a good night’s rest.

I had planned to FINALLY sleep in on Thursday morning but I woke up at quarter after 6 and that was that. I checked my messages, saw that there was a good deal of fog out and predictions for good weather, so I hit the road. Taking whichever road I came to led me to this:

In several of the photos I took here I could just make out a single intersection in the town far below if the fog shifted a bit. It was like being on top of the world.

I spent the rest of the day following the Icefields Parkway up to Jasper National Park, and then following it back down to Banff.

Back and Banff I met up with Dani again and a friend of hers. The three of us camped out for the night and I FINALLY slept in…until 7:15. By the time the others got up I’d already cleaned out my car, showered and made breakfast for us. I decided to play “Top Chef” with my limited on-hand camping foods and made Mashed Potatoes with herbed vegetable boullion, sea salt and minced shallots; Herbed Black Beans with garlic; and baked agave apples. It was no four-star meal, but it was edible and better than clif bars (again).