Canada 2022 - From Vancouver to Glacier National Park, Montana USA

Finally the time has come, after days of planning and preparation we stand at Hannover Airport in front of the plane that will take us to Frankfurt.

The Condor flight from Frankfurt to Vancouver is not fully booked, we get an upgrade to Premium Economy for a small fee. This results in great seats, very good food, free choice of drinks and a premium entertainment program.

We fly over the southern tip of Greenland and it offers an impressive sight for us, although we expected more ice.

Entry into Vancouver is smooth, as is the pick-up of the rental car, an almost new Chevrolet Malibu.

Our first accommodation is located on the grounds of UBC (University of British Columbia). The drive there is difficult, the university's road network seems to consist only of construction sites. Six dead ends and twenty minutes later we finally arrive at Carey Centre.

Early in the morning the next day we set off on the first stage towards Glacier National Park. After about 200 km we take a short hike in a forest full of rhododendrons, which are just starting to bloom here. In Osoyoos we cross the Okanagan Valley, Canada's great wine-growing region. We will visit this part again later on. In Rock Creek we take a coffee break in the quaint Tradingpost. Our destination for today is Christina Lake.

Friday, June 17, 2022

Today we are going from Lake Christina to Glacier National Park in Montana, USA. In Creston we want to cross the border between Canada and the USA. We show our documents and are instructed to park the car and come to the office. There we go through the normal entry formalities, photo fingerprints and numerous questions. We pay $12 and are allowed to enter. When we are back in the car, the officer knocks on our window, Hans-Werner had left his cell phone behind. Remarkable is also that the border is only open from 8am to 5pm.

We drive a short distance through Idaho and then enter Montana and the Kootenai River Valley. We make a brief stop at the Kootenai Falls and the Swinging Bridge. We have been here 21 years ago. On the drive we pass through Marion, the Hilltop Bar still exists, here we met Nancy's brother Gerald back then. Memories come alive.

In Kalispell our navigation system (Google) fails, because Vodafone does not have a contract with the available providers here. So we are without mobile connection for the next day.

Our accommodation for three days is a cute little round wooden house. Even though it doesn't look like it, everything is there, kitchen, bathroom, bed and air conditioning, totally cozy.

In the evening we meet our friends at the Gunsight Saloon in Columbia Falls.