BLOG 3 - From Washington Pass / USA to Banff / Canada

From Washington Pass, we drive downhill and soon through an agriculturally dominated landscape towards the Canadian border at Osoyoos. Since we have dutifully filled the 'ArriveCAN' app with a lot of data and our COVID vaccination certificates, crossing the border is effortless and done in a few minutes. The import restrictions listed by the Canadian authorities on many pages, for example, for food, are not addressed by the border officer.

We spend the next two days in the Canadian fruit and wine-growing region in the Okanagan Valley at the sx̌ʷəx̌ʷnitkʷ Provincial Park campsite. This Indigenous name is unpronounceable for non-Indigenous people, but Canada attempts to bring at least some awareness to the inhumane treatment of the "First Nations" in Canada until the 20th century through such (alibi) renaming actions and references.

Of course, we also visit a winery here. The Grey Goose is okay, although the red wines can't quite keep up with the great products from California, Chile, or Argentina.

We cover the nearly 600 km to Banff - our next "main destination" - in two stages, as there is plenty to see along the way. We spend some time in Yoho National Park, at the beautiful Emerald Lake, and also at the Takakkaw Waterfall, which plunges 384 m in four stages. At the entrance, there is a double 180-degree road bend combination, which, according to the sign (see photo), would require campers over 7 m in length to partially reverse. Unfortunately, I forgot that our truck camper is 7.5 m long, and so we had to reverse twice to take the normal route.

Unfortunately, the following Kicking Horse Pass is disappointing, as you can't even stop due to a major road construction site.

To be continued with Banff in Alberta.

From Washington Pass, we drive downhill and soon through an agricultural landscape towards the Canadian border at Osoyoos. Since we have filled the 'ArriveCAN' app with a lot of data and our COVID vaccination certificates, the border crossing is easy and done in a few minutes. The import restrictions listed by the Canadian authorities on many pages, for example, for food, are not addressed by the officer.

We spend the next two days in the Canadian fruit and wine-growing region in the Okanagan Valley at the sx̌ʷəx̌ʷnitkʷ Provincial Park campsite. This Indigenous name is unpronounceable for non-Indigenous people, but Canada attempts to bring at least some awareness to the inhumane treatment of the 'First Nations' in Canada until the 20th century through such (alibi) renaming actions and references.

Of course, we also visit a winery here. The Grey Goose is okay, although the red wines can't quite keep up with the great products from California, Chile, or Argentina.

We cover the nearly 600 km to Banff - our next 'main destination' - in two stages, as there is plenty to see along the way. We spend some time in Yoho National Park, at the beautiful Emerald Lake, and also at the Takakkaw Waterfall, which plunges 384 m in four stages. At the driveway, there is a double 180-degree road bend combination, which, according to the sign (see photo), campers over 7 m in length should partially reverse. Unfortunately, I forgot that our truck camper is 7.5 m long, and so we took the normal route with two reversals...

Unfortunately, the following Kicking Horse Pass is disappointing, as you can't even stop due to a major road construction site.

To be continued with Banff in Alberta.