Hopeful Travels

Posted on January 14, 2024 by Grace Lessageing

It’s fair to say our time at Calgary Airport was not especially happy. Airports, on the whole are never wonderful places to spend time. Many hopeful travellers arrive and like to pass the hours quaffing beers in the nearest bar- even in the early morning- . Having dropped the deficient campervan off at Cruise Canada depot and been told that ‘we don’t supply that’ to the long list of missing items we’d compiled, we’d got a taxi to the airport. But since we’d had to deposit the van before midday, the remaining time until eight pm would have to be passed waiting for the flight, which would be overnight.

Our morning had been dogged by difficulty. I’d been trying [and failing] to upgrade our seats. Air Canada had, in its wisdom, allocated us seats in the middle of the plane [never my favourite] and one behind the other; also the middle of the middle. I’d managed to get on to what I thought was Air Canada’s website and had been trying to upload various documents and photos of things to a man I [erroneously, as it turned out] assumed to be an airline staff member. I had failed in this- and thank goodness I had! I continued to ‘hold’ [as instructed] until I felt like I was welded to the phone- and all the way into Calgary. The journey [which I’d been dreading] was nowhere near as difficult as anticipated, but even in the taxi to the airport I was still talking to the supposed Air Canada employee…

On our arrival it was far too early to drop the bags. At last I gave up on the upgrade, feeling exhausted. We went to get a coffee. My phone rang. It was someone from Air Canada. ‘Have you been speaking to a travel agent?’ he asked. I explained I’d been trying to upgrade our seats, to be told I had not been communicating with an Air Canada employee at all. I blanched, horrified. I’d need to cancel my bank cards straight away. This meant an extraordinarily long ‘hold’ once more on my phone. Once I’d managed to cancel both bank cards and get off the line my reaction was to burst into tears of relief.

Clearly we had to put up with the middle-of-the-middle seats.

The time passed and we rid ourselves of the suitcases then went to departure. By now I was reeling with relief that I hadn’t gifted a large sum of money to the scammers and was happy enough to sit somewhere and read or to peruse the meagre selection of gift shops [minus bank cards is by far the best way to do this].

At last it was time to board the plane and we located the seats. I sat down next to a portly Scot, whose wife was- yes- in the seat in front of him, and we chatted while the plane was readied for take-off. As it taxied to the runway Husband tapped my shoulder. There was an empty seat next to him! Once we were in the air I moved back next to him, freeing a seat so that the Scottish pair could sit together too. The plane was, otherwise, full and presumably the empty seat was a ‘no-show’.

We were served drinks and edible food. The cabin staff were affable and friendly. I was handed a second drink. We even slept.

Arrival home to the UK in late September heralded the start of a different, difficult kind of journey, involving many, many trips; one that I have not chosen, one that is ongoing but maybe… just maybe…the destination is drawing nearer and may even be in sight as 2024 begins.

Happy New Year to all followers and visitors. And may 2024 be filled with joyful discovery, adventurous travel and most of all, good health.

Novels by Jane Deans, author: The Conways at Earthsend, The Year of Familiar Strangers.

All Over Bar the Flying

Posted on January 7, 2024 by Grace Lessageing

We’d stopped briefly at the station for Lake Louise when we were on the Rocky Mountaineer, which seems like months ago now, so eventful have our subsequent days been. Now we’re back to explore it. Husband’s snotty ailment, Covid or not, has subsided to a degree that he’s feeling substantially better- no doubt aided by the excellent bakery products from Laggans- a happy discovery.

It’s time to leave the Post Hotel and go back to Banff for our last couple of nights. But first we’ll go and look at the lake, of course, because that’s why we’re here. Finding it becomes a little confusing though, in spite of our being right in the heart of Lake Louise, the community. Once we’re on the the right track we must negotiate the car parks; and they’re busy. On first sight it looks impossible, but by driving round and up we’re directed to a campervan and motorhome area and we do get a space. It’s all quite regimented and organised. Having bought our ticket, we walk down towards the lakeside. It’s sunny but quite chilly. The weather has been becoming much cooler since we arrived to Vancouver three weeks ago [was it only three weeks?] and layered clothing is necessary.

At the lakeside there are crowds of visitors, so many that here at the start of the path it’s impossible to see or take a photo without someone in it. Most are intent on selfies- the scourge of our age. I’ve written before about the hordes of tourists who love to pout, thrust and drape themselves over iconic sights so that nobody else gets a look, and so it is here. The lakeside beach is covered in stones and small boulders and when I see selfie-takers stumbling over them or balancing precariously for a photo, it is my greatest hope that they’ll tumble into the [undoubtedly freezing], blue waters of the lake. But it doesn’t happen.

We walk on round, past the lake chateau, now yet another Fairmont hotel, although it is vast and picturesque in its setting. The further we go, the thinner the crowd becomes until we’re able to walk unimpeded, the view back towards the Lake Louise Chateau is even better and photography is an option.

Finally we turn back, and back to the van, where we take advantage of the parking spot and have some lunch. From here, it’s not too far to journey on back to Banff for our third and final visit, returning to Tunnel Mountain campsite for our last couple of days. The last day or two of an epic trip place you in a strange limbo. The weather has become decidedly autumnal, the nights cold and the mornings chilly. We’re unwilling to get more groceries in at this stage, instead opting to eke out what we have. But it’s two nights- and what we have does not lend itself to two meals. We also have a number of items we’ve bought to augment the kitchen ‘kit’ we’d hired [which had been lacking several, vital components]. I’m not going to be donating them to the van hire company!

While we’ve had two good looks at Banff already, we decide to spend a bit more time there rather than on the site, and take the shuttle bus to town for our last day. There’s very little left to see, but there’s a pretty park, where the trees are showing some lovely autumn colour and a few streets we hadn’t walked before. After a late afternoon beer we decide to call it a day.

We still have to clean and sort the campervan. There’s a ‘housekeeping’ charge for vans returned in a grubby condition, although I’d have cleaned it anyway. My solution to the surplus items- including the unused bear-spray- is to take everything to the camp kitchen/washing up place and invite others to take what they would like.

A short wander around the environs of the site has revealed a lucky find in the shape of a hostel with a small restaurant offering an evening meal menu as well as beers, meaning that our last evening is catered for.

All that’s left to do is to get the van back to the depot in Calgary tomorrow before midday…

To find novels by Jane Deans, Grace’s alter ego, search Amazon, Waterstones, Goodreads and other book sites. The Year of Familiar Strangers and The Conways at Earthsend are widely available. Visit my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063988575981

Cold…and Hot

Posted on November 26, 2023 by Grace Lessageing

During the evening of our first night in the campervan on MaCleans camp site I begin to feel hot, then hotter…and I’m burning up. We’ve managed to concoct a meal with the help of our neighbours, who donated us a spare lighter for our non-self-igniting hob. The high temperature I’m experiencing is certainly not to due the outside air, which is cold, although one thing that does function in the van is the heater, for which we are to be very glad! The water heater and the shower seem to work, thank goodness.

Our neighbours stay outside long after dark, sitting by the log fire. The sight of camping Canadians toasting themselves by fires becomes familiar and it’s clearly a favourite activity for them as it happens wherever we go.

It’s clear I’m incubating something, so I take some Paracetamol, which eases it, and we consider how we’ll cope with the sleeping arrangement. There are two mattresses [thin, hard and cold] above the driver cab, which we do not plan to use. We knew when we booked that the van would be designed this way and had taken an optimistic view that we would cope, but we’re not going to be clambering up and down from the lofty bed.

The benches either side of the table convert to a bed, however it doesn’t accommodate two. Hmm… Since I’m not 100%, Husband volunteers to sleep on one of the top mattresses in the aisle, where there’s just about room, so we make the beds and settle down. The sleeping arrangement is far from perfect, the floor position, in particular making for an uncomfortable night.

The next morning is cold, with watery sunlight through the tall pines and I get out and stand in a patch of it.

The next challenge is to get to grips with emptying and filling the van. We’ve seen the video and we know where to stop so after stowing everything we trundle around to the van station and join a queue. Once it’s our turn we pull up by the drain and pull out the hose. The system is not like our own, where we’re used to emptying a cartridge which slots out of the side. Here there is a hose- first for the toilet waste then secondly the grey water. We learn our first lesson: ensure the valve is switched to the correct outlet before undoing the cap-

In a horrific gush, the effluent from our toilet floods out across the tarmac, to the accompanying shouts of disgust from fellow campers. Yikes! Husband manages to switch- but not before we’ve caused a substantial mess, which I must then use the water hose to clear up. We’re mortified, but were not to know and will not make the same mistake again. The water filling, more straightforward, goes ok.

We’re off back to Banff, because Husband has managed to secure us a pitch on a site in the national park called Tunnel Mountain. Besides the pitch price we must also pay national park entry and stay, but it’s a profound relief to have somewhere to park up. It’s easy enough to get back onto the main highway by retracing our steps and we’re even getting used to the van wobbles, but we narrowly avoid a serious incident as we approach Banff. The road in this direction splits and we find ourselves in a lane leading to some ticket booths- the park entrance. Somehow we’ve missed the [one] lane which is just the continuation of the road. Husband begins to reverse the van and then, at the highway, he signals right…but NO…no, no, no, no, no!! We’re on the wrong side- facing the traffic!!

There’s a lot of flashing and hooting as we make a swift reverse back round the corner, crisis averted, then look for a way. We need to turn left and take the exit road then cross the highway via a bridge, a diversion we have to take twice before we spot the one lane that’s a continuation of the highway- the extreme right, beside the park booth lanes. But at last we make it…

To find novels by Jane Deans, Grace’s alter ego, search Amazon, Waterstones, Goodreads and other book sites. The Year of Familiar Strangers and The Conways at Earthsend are widely available. Visit my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063988575981

Banff

Posted on November 5, 2023 by Grace Lessageing

I wake in the comfortable Rimrock Resort Hotel, Banff, having enjoyed the best night’s sleep since we arrived to Canada. We are here for two nights, which means a day to explore the town, although we’ll be back.

This first look at Banff marks a transitional bit of our trip, as we’ve now finished the train journey, but is also a mini-break in itself, as we are booked to travel up Sulphur Mountain on the gondola. But it’s not until the afternoon, so we can get a coffee from the hotel’s coffee shop then get the shuttle bus, for which we have passes, down into Banff.

The bus takes us through to the centre, where we alight, right beside the tourist information centre. We’re thinking it will be useful to get some information on camp sites along the route we want to take next, although at this stage we’re confident we’ll have no trouble locating them and checking in. How wrong we can be! Inside the tourist office I find a detailed book of our route which does have sites, however we’re keen to get a road map, which proves impossible- and at no point during our entire adventure were we able to buy a simple, paper road map.

The woman helping us can provide us with a tourist map of Banff area though, which she does. assuring us that we’ll have no trouble getting into camp sites as high season has passed. How wrong she could be! She also sells us a can of ‘Bearspray’- apparently a vital piece of equipment we should not be without in the coming days. Again- wrong!

Thus armed, we get a look round at the town, which is small but very charming and also thronged with tourists. streets are all named after local wild animals, which are also depicted on pavement plates. Of course the main thoroughfare is lined with gift shops, the majority of gifts being bear themed. Bears are everywhere, on T-shirts, mugs, keyrings, ornaments, fridge magnets and anything else the Chinese could think of.

There is no shortage of places to eat and drink, besides which, a supermarket with a fine deli counter can provide us with lunch, since we’re not going to be eating in our, undoubtedly posh, undoubtedly expensive hotel. In any case we’d prefer to spend some cash in the independent places down in the town.

After a lunch in our room we set off up the road towards the gondola station, which just happens to be a couple of hundred yards away. We’re soon ushered into one of the cars as it swings into view and we’re off up the mountainside, the views getting more spectacular as we ascend. We can see our hotel below, the river and best of all, a ring of white-topped mountains. It’s a crystal clear, blue-sky day for such a jaunt. When we reach the top we’re guided out and can wander out on to the walkways which afford views all round. It is all beautiful- a pine clad, mountainous wonderland as well as sightings of cheeky marmots that don’t stay still long enough to pose for photos and dart everywhere looking for crumbs.

But there’s a limit on how long we can stay and soon our time is up. We return to the gondola and make our descent. Then it’s time to get back on the bus and go into town for a meal and a drink. The streets are still busy with tourists and there’s more to see- but we’re planning to return…

Grace is the alter ego of novelist and short story writer, Jane Deans. To date I have two published novels to my name: The Conways at Earthsend [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Conways-at-Earthsend-Jane-Deans-ebook/dp/B08VNQT5YC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ZHXO7687MYXE&keywords=the+conways+at+earthsend&qid=1673350649&sprefix=the+conways+at+earthsend%2Caps%2C79&sr=8-1 and The Year of Familiar Strangers [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Year-Familiar-Strangers-Jane-Deans-ebook/dp/B00EWNXIFA/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2EQHJGCF8DSSL&keywords=The+year+of+familiar+strangers&qid=1673350789&sprefix=the+year+of+familiar+strangers%2Caps%2C82&sr=8-1 Visit my writer Facebook page [https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=jane%20deans%2C%20novellist%2C%20short%20fiction%20and%20blog or my website: https://www.janedeans.com/

On and On and Up and Up!

Posted on October 29, 2023 by Grace Lessageing

We’re up at five am after a sleepless night in the not-very-gorgeous hotel at Kamloops, to assemble for buses to go to the station to climb back on the Rocky Mountaineer passenger train. We are seriously tired but today we’re to be in the first sitting for breakfast, which will surely lift us. There’s nothing like a few calories to gee up a flagging body. We leave our luggage in the lobby, confident, now that it will arrive at tonight’s destination before we do.

Today’s journey promises to be much more dramatic, since we’ll be travelling to and within some of the very best scenery along the route.

While we are breakfasting- enjoying treats from the same delicious menu as yesterday- we rumble out of Kamloops station past sidings and rolling stock. Some of the engines here have snow plough equipment on the front.

Soon we’re back out into rolling countryside, which becomes wilder and more rugged as we progress, the hills becoming higher, the gorges deeper. Sometimes we cross a river on a spindly bridge, the open sides dropping away in a breathless swoon of steep drop.

At last we’re high enough for proper mountains and at last, white tops, clouds swirling above- the fringes of pine trees ending where bare rock does not allow.

During the afternoon- and following another gourmet feast of lunch- some of our fellow passengers succumb to a snooze and I find myself briefly snatching the odd five minutes as lack of sleep catches up with us. But the scenery is becoming more spectacular as we roll on and I’m reluctant to miss anything.

We’re near to a town called ‘Field’ when the train does a spectacular thing. In order to gain height and pass through the mountains, it must enter the mountainside and run up a succession of three ‘loops’ in the darkness. Each loop provides a little more height. Of course, we’re unable to see anything at all until the train emerges from the final loop, but we do get a brief glimpse of the entrance, below us as we exit the mountain. These are the ‘Spiral Loops’. What an amazing feat of engineering!

We’re much nearer to the snowy mountain tops now, the sunshine punctuated by some showers and we have the sense that we are really here- right in the Canadian Rockies.

A delicious afternoon snack comes around- a choice of salty nuts or chocolatey nuts and raisins. It’s a welcome treat when we’re flagging from tiredness. To descend the steps to the footplate feels much chillier now that we’re higher up. The afternoon is ebbing away and there’s late sunlight as we draw towards Lake Louise, where some of the passengers are to be disgorged. Lake Louise is a hot tourist spot- as we are to discover later on in the trip!

But we stay as the twilight descends and at last we’re slowing down for Banff, where our train journey is to end. There’s a last farewell from the four staff who’ve looked after us for two days and a welcome comittee waiting beside the tracks to pipe us in! Then we’re stumbling down off the train and up into buses again.

It’s dark and I feel stretched with fatigue. The bus is to take us to the Rimrock Hotel, which we’re dismayed to learn is up and out of the town. We’d been hoping it was near the centre and walking distance. When the bus pulls up, however, we’re given bus passes for the shuttle that makes frequent trips to and from the town.

At last we’re into the hotel, which is, even from glancing round at the lobby, a vast improvement on last night’s! Having found our vast, comfortable room and checked that our luggage is there, we go down to the lounge area and collapse into a sofa before ordering a bowl of fries and a drink- some soporific calories before bed.

Once i’ve showered I clamber into the huge, luxurious bed and sleep and sleep and sleep…

Anecdotage

Views from the Descent

Tag Archives: Banff