Bow Valley Prov Pk, Camrose, AB

Bow Valley Prov Pk
Site #E25 - $40, p/w

We were able to take advantage of the free Canada 150 National Park entry on Sunday with a partial drive along the Icefield Parkway.

We thought tourism might be slowing down for September but that wasn't the case. There was plenty of highway traffic, most of the pull offs were full of vehicles and tourists plus the shuttle parking lot between Banff and Lake Louise was jam packed. I can't even imagine what the two townsites were like. There were also a lot of bikers riding the path between Camrose and Banff. There is little doubt where the AB tourism 'hot spot' is located!

We stopped at Camrose to stock up on groceries and check the internet. This was another place that was humming with vehicles, people and activity. Everyone was out enjoying the last of the summer weather. (Yes, we did take a peek at the upcoming mid-week forecast -- yuk!)

And then it was on to Bow Valley Provincial Park. We like this campground and I am happy to have power and water hookups once again! It's the first 'fire ban' we have come across on this camping trip. We've been lucky to date. At least we can still have propane fires and we did just that! However we opted for an evening indoors and a game of Sequence after dinner.

We were warned of a bear in the area when we checked in and warning signs are posted in the campground. We also had an evening knock at the door with further warnings from the conservation officer. We have been told to stay off the park paths and to stick to the road. We did see a bear in the ditch along the Icefield Parkway. Of course there was a traffic jam with people out of their cars and crossing the highway trying to grab a photo. Crazy.

Monday was fairly windy but the temp warmed up nicely. We rode our bikes about the park and sat out for a late evening fire.  Hooray for propane firepits!

This tree intrigued us and had us stumped (hehe) for awhile. It looks like a pine tree with one branch of leaves growing out of it. It is actually a poplar tree with the pine tree snuggled up tight behind it so the pine branches are embracing it and appear to be growing from it.

We said our goodbyes to Bow Valley this morning.