6th Day (Kelowna - Golden)

At 9 o'clock in the morning we start towards Banff, one of the largest national parks in Canada. Our station for 2 days will be Golden, about 70 km from the park. It is very difficult to find an affordable accommodation closer to the high season, so the choice fell on a small lodge here in Golden, which still costs 150 euros per night.

The journey continues past Okanagan Lake, for the remaining 70 km of its proud 138 km length, always on Highway 97, until we reach Sicamous on the Trans Canada Highway, the third longest road connection in the world with over 7000 km length. It leads from the West Coast with some branches to North Sidney in Nova Scotia, before driving again after a ferry crossing to Newfoundland from Port aux Basques to St. Johns, where it really ends. I drove the latter route last spring during my visit to the island.

In Revelstoke we take a short break at Tim Hortons, the Canadian fast food chain, and I enjoy my first poutine, the famous domestic cult dish with fries, cheese curds and sauce. The founder and namesake of the chain was by the way a famous Canadian ice hockey player who tragically died in a car accident at the age of 44 in 1974, when only 40 restaurants bore his name. Today there are almost 4900 branches in 14 countries, 21 of them in Great Britain (for those who don't want to travel to Canada).

Afterwards we continue along Mt. Revelstoke National Park through the spectacular Glacier National Park of Canada, which offers mighty snow-capped peaks on the right and left. Despite the often single-lane road, progress is relatively quick, even though the traffic volume appears to be high - I don't find a lonely highway like in Newfoundland here. Numerous trails constantly invite you to go hiking, and mountain bikers also find an absolute paradise here, which is evident from the many bicycle symbols.

Golden itself is surrounded by a mountain range, and a walk along the Kicking Horse River makes you so hungry that we go to the Wolfs Den Restaurant, where the burgers are so big that I can hardly finish mine. The super nice bartender recommends a bison burger, and it's truly spectacular, with a very intense taste that is much sweeter than beef. Luckily, I don't indulge in the obligatory fries, and I just manage to eat the salad. In the evening, I relax in the hot tub outside our lodge, with a direct view of the mountain range, and a thunderstorm makes the stay even cozier. The wooden roof over the tub is reassuring, though.