Osprey Delay

"We only have the little one going, Osprey, the bigger Balfour is in the shop for its maintenance time. Osprey takes 26 cars which is usually two lanes. But nowadays we get these big campers. You will definitely miss the 2pm, my bet, you will be on the 3:40pm." The Ferry Traffic Controller advises. He continues his strut between lanes of parked vehicles, ushering in new ones and calling out miss-behaving queue jumpers.

   It is 1pm, we have chosen the scenic route along the 3a, North from Creston, on the East shoreline of Kootenay Lake. Making our way up to Kootenay Bay, where we now wait for the 'smaller' ferry to finish a couple more passes of the lake between here and Balfour. Two and a half hours wait for a free ferry ride across the lake might seem bothersome for others. We see it as a sign, to slow things down even more. We open our doors, gather some nibbles, lay on our couch and write/draw while overlooking a beach, forest and lake. Maybe we should offer our spot to other more eager passengers.

    Let's take you back to where we last left off. Camped at Two Jack Lake near Banff, our plan was to prepare dinner, then head into town later that evening to get some updates on the game. Fortunately, we opted to ignore the game being payed in Australia, instead, enjoying a cosy van as the temperature dropped and deciding to stay the night at the campsite.
   As has probably happened to many of you before, falling asleep, then waking up, in what appears to be an entirely new setting, is a somewhat surreal. Knowing the temperature was expected to be -4 that night, we were somewhat surprised at how warm we were. It wasn't until we pulled the curtains back that a glaring white light on the windows confused us. This wasn't ice, this was snow! What turned out to be a heavy snow fall overnight, kept Big Bird rugged up all night.
   We carefully opened the doors and were spellbound at the white carpet across the ground and cake like icing sprinkled on all the trees. Through sheer excitement, we were somewhat oblivious of the cold. Jamie did an amazing job shovelling snow from Big Bird as though Big Bird herself was stretching and ruffling her feathers ready to fly.
   Taking our time to enjoy the scene, we waited for several other vehicles to pull out on the snow covered roads to clear us a path. The drive back into Banff simply exquisite at the stark contrast from the day earlier. Also being delighted at the deer stepping through the snow, searching for grass underneath.

   Now making our way into Banff, a slow Saturday morning, we were looking for a place to park and explore the town. As it happens, parking spaces were limited, we were in no rush and ambling about the streets when on the main stretch, we pulled up at some lights. Before we knew it, some barricades were pulled across and a marshall wearing hi visibility clothing calls out to all of us, "At least 30 minutes folks."
   We had stumbled upon a town centre fun run. We looked at each other, then at some other vehicles, people were exiting and walking off. We had just uncovered the best parking spot in town. So we switched off and proceeded to walk up and down the main street enjoying ourselves. We had enough time to pull into a coffee shop and enjoy a waffle together. Runners came down the main street so we wished them well and thanked them for their timing.
   Shortly after, a time well spent, we return to Big Bird just as they begin removing the barricades and off we go. We continue to explore the town, however, come upon the race in a few more palces, which slowly becomes less enjoyable. So we decide to opt out and wish Banff farewell. We head out of town, towards Kootenay National Park.

   We say our farewell to Jasper and Banff National Parks, they were simply stunning. The weather retreats from snow back into rain as we drive through Kootenay National Park. We ended up choosing our National Parks Pass to accuracy, 5 nights was perfect. We were now in search of some slightly warmer weather, despite Banff forecasting back into 16 degrees celsius later this week!
   A brief stop in Radium Hot Springs Info Centre and we are recommended the Ainsworth Hot Springs, 4 hours drive, but along a scenic route. We say yes to that, and pick a camping spot 2 hours away near Yahk. We ended up finding a lovely hideaway slightly North of a small town called Kitchener. Provincial camping options are far greater than the National Parks, particularly the free variety that we are seeking.

   We enjoy our evening and make it slow morning. This may be another prompt reminder that we are putting in some impressive sleeping hours while in holiday mode. This night we ended up falling asleep at 8pm and rising somewhere after 9am. One can only expect our beauty looks are through the roof.
   Our Sunday morning drive takes us back to the start of this blog, along the scenic 3a North of Creston. We make one stop at a historic glass house, constructed by a Funeral Director as a retirement home in the 1950s. He used small glass jars that used to hold embalming fluid. Jamie found it to be a gorgeous little home, I was somewhat put off by where each of these glass jars had once been. Back in the 40s and 50s, on a table, beside a corpse, with a tube connecting them, slowly sucking, 'schluuurrpp... pump...pump.... schlluurrrrpp.'
   Well, that's how I imagined it anyway. Historic, nonetheless.

   Continuing on, we now find ourselves at the ferry dock, waiting. It is 3:22pm, we are now the 1st lane ready to board, when Osprey arrives. I look behind, through our window, our Traffic Controller is filling his 5th row after us, that must be for the 7pm or 8:40pm timeslot. Crikey, I'm not sure I could wait that long!