Columbian ground squirrels

As I write this blog, it’s beautifully hot outside, about 30 degrees, and we’ve been spending a lot of time outdoors.

We’ve also been on a rather longer than expected drive to Old Wives Lake.

This is southern Saskatchewan’s largest lake and we set off to find it on Saturday evening, driving down very straight roads through flat countryside without a house in sight.

We spotted several deer on the drive and had to be careful they didn’t run out in front of us – although we did have an unfortunate incident with a chaffinch who lodged himself on to the windscreen wiper.

Last weekend, we travelled to Calgary for my fiancé to take part in the half Ironman. He completed it in five hours 20 minutes. I rather enjoyed the six-hour drive from Moose Jaw to Calgary.

The roads are very straight so you can just put the car in cruise control. In comparison to driving in Britain, it’s very easy and we have yet to meet a traffic jam. If the journey takes six hours, it will always take six hours – you don’t need to worry about major traffic on the M6 or M25 delaying you.

Our car - we're getting used to the vast distances of Canada

Driving in cities is also easy as you can find your way around because of the block system, but you must make sure you come to a complete halt at every stop sign and there are far more traffic lights than in Britain.

After Calgary, we travelled around the Rockies for a week. Unfortunately we didn’t see any bears but we saw plenty of other wildlife, from deer to Columbian ground squirrels.

Our first stop was in Banff, the largest town in Banff National Park, Alberta.

It is an expensive resort town but well worth a visit. We went for a bike ride along the Bow River. We have both been to Banff before so didn’t visit Lake Louise or the famous Banff Springs Hotel and hot springs but if you’re planning a trip, these are definitely a must.

We also tried sushi at the Sukiyaki House on Banff Avenue, which was delicious, especially the ‘love boat,’ which allowed you to try out all different sorts of fish.

We then drove on to Golden where we had a go at white water rafting in the Kicking Horse River and I managed to get dunked in the very cold water.

Our longest drive was from Golden to Nelson, which took about seven hours but the impressive scenery made it worthwhile. We stopped off in Revelstoke, which has a family of bears greeting tourists into the town, before taking the Upper Arrow Lake Ferry to Shelter Bay. It was a 20 minute ride and we were lucky to make it just as a ferry was about to leave.

We had lunch in a sleepy town called Nakusp, which may not look much at first but it has a beautiful water front and mountain views.

Our journey finished for the night in a town called Nelson, which is very vibrant and friendly. It certainly has a hippy feel and we smelt incense on almost every street. The town, built on a steep hill, has many historic buildings and overlooks Kootenay Lake. There are many restaurants and cafes and after a good wander round, we found the atmospheric and delicious Max and Irma’s Kitchen. It was packed with lots of locals which we took to be a good sign.

On our last day, we travelled to Fernie and explored the Mount Fernie Provincial Park. We found a great curry house called the Curry Bowl owned by a gentleman who happened to be born in Shrewsbury … although he hadn’t revisited since he was two years old. We advised him to take a trip as soon as possible.

We drove back to Moose Jaw, which took about eight hours. I found the driving quite hard this time as it was dark so you can see lights for miles on the horizon.

With petrol costing about one dollar a litre, about 60p, driving was certainly a good way to start exploring the Rockies and we’ll be heading back at the next opportunity – and hoping to spot a bear.