An Unwanted Hitchhiker

The night before we were set to head to Banff National Park, we awoke to the sounds of what could only be a mouse. We had never dealt with a mouse making its way into our van until now, and we were entirely unprepared. With no traps or any way to catch the rodent there was nothing for us to do that night and we went back to bed restlessly, knowing there was a very unwelcomed guest in our home.

The next morning we searched around where the scratching and gnawing sounds had come from. Sure enough, we found mouse droppings under the sink in our cooking pots and pans, in the drawers storing the utensils, and bite marks in the butter we had stored in the oven. Luckily, the mouse had not left that one particular kitchen area, but it was still going to be a lot of dishes to wash and disinfect.

There was no time to deal with that now though; we had to head out on our way to Banff. So, we added buying mouse traps to our list of things to do before we would be ready for our mountain escape. Slowly, throughout our drive we checked off the things on our list: dump station, potable water fill-up, gas, groceries. We made it to Canmore, a lovely mountain town, and we had about five minutes left until the store closed where we planned to purchase our mouse traps, but the clerk still let us get the traps we needed.

Now, we were pretty much set, the only item we had not been able to check off our list was to refill our propane. We had tried multiple stops along the way and each spot had turned us away or had been unable to help us out. But, all of the stores with propane were closed now, so we would just have to cross our fingers ours wouldn’t run out.

Leaving Canmore we had just a short drive to Banff National Park. The drive was spectacular! Mountains loomed in the distance and edged parts of the roadway, some glistening with snowy peaks. It was just as incredible as we had imagined this legendary park to be, and we were so grateful for the opportunity to take it in.

We had plans to stay outside of Banff and Yoho at a free camping spot, but we wanted to stop by Lake Louise first. So, we climbed the huge hill to get to the lake and walked the path to the scenic lake. It was after dusk around this time and the lake had only a few tourists taking pictures and enjoying its beauty. Its water glimmered a light turquoise color that contrasted with the towering dark blue mountain ranges it was wedged between. It was breathtaking.

After we had soaked in the views at Lake Louise, we headed off again to our campsite. We drove all the way through Banff and then continued all the way through Yoho National Park. On the edges of Yoho, we took some side roads that led us down to the edge of the river. There, nestled along the river, were like-minded campers willing to drive the extra miles in order to bypass the expensive park camping fees.

It was a lovely spot, quiet and peaceful and we stayed warm against the night chill by sleeping in our sleeping bags under our usual blankets. We heated up a dinner of chicken noodle soup and enjoyed a cozy night with the sound of the river by us, and we looked forward to the adventures we were sure to have the next couple of days. Oh, and we made sure that mouse trap was set!