I like to know where I’m going to sleep at the end of each travel day, so I make reservations for every night of my trips, in advance. And mid-Winter is a perfect time to make reservations for early Summer. Ahead of everyone else.
This year’s trip is going to take me into eastern British Columbia, over the Canadian Rockies via Banff and Calgary, then south through Yellowstone National Park and then home.
In my early calculations, about 26 or 27 nights, and on the order of 3,500 miles. Just about right for a summer trip. Last year’s trip was 21 nights and ~2,600 miles.
When I visited Nelson, British Columbia in the summer of 2008, I really enjoyed the atmosphere and culture, much like the lakeside resorts of my youth. People were friendly, there was lots to do, and plenty of scenic places to visit. When I left after only 3 days, I vowed to return and spend more time there, and to stay closer to town; in ’08 I camped on the Eastern Shore, a 40 mile drive with a 45 minute ferry ride, from town. This year I’ll stay closer, probably in town in the City Park campground.
From Nelson, I’ll travel over the Canadian Rockies to Banff, the famous ski resort. I’ll probably stay in an RV park there because most of the Provincial and National Parks near there don’t open their campgrounds until mid- or late-June. I know I can expect cold nights, so the 120 VAC hookup that an RV park offers will provide heat in the trailer. I’ve never seen the Canadian Rockies, but the photos show spectacular mountain scenery that I’m anxious to see for myself.
From Banff, I’ll travel through Calgary and south to Yellowstone National Park, arriving there in late June, hopefully before the summer rush, but…
I have never seen Yellowstone either, but expect that it, like Yosemite is worth standing in line to see. There are certain places on this earth that lots of people want to visit, and I’m just one of them, so I can’t rant too much about crowds of tourists. After all, I’m just one of them!
From Yellowstone, I’ll take four or five days to travel home to the Bay Area. After a trip like that, I won’t feel the need to travel until late August or September at least ;-)