2026 Road Trip - Day 23

Friday, Sept. 4, 2026 - Visiting Lake O'Hara, then north up to Jasper! After 195 miles, Wendy and I checked into the Chateau Jasper in Jasper, Canada at 6 PM:

After breakfast, checking-out, and picking up sandwichs at a local grocery store, we drove an hour, 70.4 km (44 miles) up to Lake O'Hara Parking for 10:30 Bus:

As I discovered in 2021, the road is blocked for "private vehicles" - the only way to get up to the Lake (at the end of the road), is to make reservations for the bus that drives you up from the parking lot just off the highway. I made that reservation this past March, so here we are today! I want to see Lake O'Hara primarily because John Singer Sargent painted it back in 1916 (the Fogg Museum, Cambridge, MA):

I visited this Parking Lot again in 2024 (read that blog here). I didn't have a bus reservation, but maybe there was an open spot. There wasn't. So I hiked up (7 miles), did the "Alpine Route" (5.7 miles), then hiked back down. It was so beautiful that I certainly wanted to share this with Wendy someday. Well, TODAY is that day! So here we are, up at Lake O'Hara, ready for THE HIKE:

The plan was to hike around The Lake for a while, then up some switchbacks, then one long stretch follwed by another long stretch back to The Overlook. All the maps are different, but this one is the most accurate - but even it is missing the switchbacks (should be in the yellow circle):

This is the picture I took July 13, 2024 - I wanted Wendy to see this view!

Wendy posted a fun picture of me-taking-my-picture:

Hiking up next to an unnamed stream:

Stopping for lunch:

Three more turns up the trail, we decided to say "That's enough." This is the view I had when I turned around:

It turns out that I had made a mistake: Instead of a 3-mile-roundtrip, it would have been 3 miles one-way, for an overall hike of 6 miles. That really is TOO FAR for us hiking together (sorry).

At least we got a great bunch of pictures!

After The Hike, we waited for the 2:30 bus back to our car. We then drove up Icefields Parkway to Jasper:

At 6 PM we checked into the Chateau Jasper in Jasper, Canada. Thank you God for this wonderful CANADA Adventure Day!

Music for today:

Time to hit The Road:

Joni Mitchell - For The Roses, 1972 album, last heard 9/01/2025:

Gordon Lightfoot - Complete Greatest Hits, 2003 compilation album, last heard in a blog 6/24/2024:

Leonard Cohen - New Skin For The Old Ceremony, 1974 album, last heard 8/24/2026:

Neil Young - August 18, 1988, Toronto, last heard never. I ripped this 19-minute-song from on-line = an epic, early extended version of "Sixty to Zero" (later released in shortened form as "Crime in the City"):

Neil Young - Harvest, 1972 4th album, last heard 6/24/2024:

back in the hotel room - Pat Metheny - What's It All About, 2011 album, last heard never. Solo acoustic songs:

Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about Hiking the 4,000 footers in New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine/New York:
hyperlink: dixonheadingnorth
http://dixonheadingnorth.blogspot.com/

2026 Road Trip - Day 22

Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026 - Northwest to Calgary, then into THE CANADIAN ROCKIES! After 348 miles (and 13 Post Offices), Wendy and I checked into the Royal Canadian Lodge in Banff, Canada at 8 PM:

The 13 Post Offices cover from Cape Cod to Albany:

As you can imagine, it is still pretty wide-open country out here:

Brooks, Alberta prides itself on its outdoors-flower-displays, and they have some nice wall-art:

It was pretty cool going over the Bow River:

I picked up Wendy at the Calgary Airport!

We drove up into The Canadian Rockies, and Banff:

At 8 PM we checked into the Royal Canadian Lodge in Banff, Canada. Thank you God for this wonderful CANADA Adventure Day!

Music for today:

Hotel room - Quicksilver Messenger Service - Sons of Mercury: The Best of ..., 1991 compilation album, last heard never. thinned = keeping only 10 songs:

Time to hit The Road:

Joni Mitchell - The Hissing Of Summer Lawns, 1975 album, last heard 8/28/2019:

Gordon Lightfoot - Back Here On Earth, 1968 album, last heard in a blog 12/13/2025. This album, along with Peter, Paul, and Mary's "Album 1700" were examples that my teenage-music was not just loud guitars and rock n' roll (well, and of course Simon and Garfunkel):

Rush - Retrospective II 1981-1987, 1997 compilation album, last heard 6/24/2024. I never saw Rush, but they did some GREAT rock n' roll in the mid-80's ("Subdivisions”, "Distant Early Warning”, "New World Man"):

Bruce Cockburn - Stealing Fire, 1984 album, last heard 8/10/2019. Wonderful album:

Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen, 1967 debut album, last heard 6/23/2024. Masterpieces include "Master Song”, “Winter Lady”, and “The Stranger Song", which Robert Altman included in his 1971 movie "McCabe and Mrs. Miller", starring Warren Beatty and Julie Christie:

then time to just focus on The Driving - various - soundtrack to Cocktail, 1988 album, last heard 9/03/2026. Good songs:

various - soundtrack to Clueless, 1995 album, last heard 9/03/2026. Good songs - only place to get Counting Crows covering "The Ghost In You":

Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about Hiking the 4,000 footers in New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine/New York:
hyperlink: dixonheadingnorth
http://dixonheadingnorth.blogspot.com/

2026 Road Trip - Day 21

Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026 - East into The Plains of Montana, then north into Canada - WIDE OPEN COUNTRY! After 432 miles (and 20 Post Offices), I checked into the Super 8 in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada at 8 PM:

20 Post Offices. The "comparison map" shows the area extends from New York City to Portsmouth, NH:

Breakfast at Buffalo Cafe in Whitefish:

Hey - I'm picking up Wendy tomorrow! Got to get a CAR WASH!

I drove along the south-side of Glacier National Park, and there is a beautiful spot where Bear Creek runs into the Middle Fork Flathead River:

I found myself traveling alongside Amtrak's Empire Builder, which runs between Chicago and the Pacific Northwest:

Say GOODBYE to The Mountains:

and HELLO to The Plains:

Looks like "some weather is movin' in":

It is nice to get My Own Private Escort Vehicle:

Once again - "No problem with the neighbors.":

Up until now, I had dodged "train crossing problems":

I entered Canada at 4:15

I don't know - looks a lot like the Montana Plains, except for the occasional DINOSAUR!

BIG weather came through, with huge winds:

At 8 PM I checked into the Super 8 in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada:

Thank you God for this wonderful MONTANA and CANADA Adventure Day!

Music for today:

Hotel room - Acoustic Alchemy - The Beautiful Game, 2000 album, last heard 2/27/2017. Nice new-age music:

Time to hit The Road:

various - Vietnam: Songs From The Divided House, 2001 double-album, last heard never. 33 songs (and speech clips) from that era. Interestingly, the only place I have found "The Ballad of the Green Berets" by Barry Stadler, which hit #1 for 5 weeks in early 1966. Also in this collection are "War" (by Edwin Starr) and "Eve of Destruction" by Barry McGuire, which has some of my favorite lyrics:

Ah, you may leave here for four days in space
But when you return, it's the same old place
The poundin' of the drums, the pride and disgrace
You can bury your dead, but don't leave a trace
Hate your next door neighbor but don't forget to say grace

Bonnie Raitt - Give It Up, 1972 2nd album, last heard in a blog 10/17/2024. At breakfast this morning, I heard a man say his wife and a girlfriend went down to Missoula over the weekend to see Bonnie Raitt. Big smile on my face because I remember seeing Bonnie for the first time at Penn's Irvine Auditorium (with Little Feat) March 30, 1973. You Go Girl!

various - British Invasion (3 cds), this is actually 50 songs that I put together from various "British Invasion" cds, last heard never. FUN:

various - Back To Mono (1958-1969)(cd 2), 1991 compilation album, last heard never. Great oldies, with this cd ending with "Walking in the Rain" by The Ronettes:

And once I am in Canada, it is time for Canadian artists:

Neil Young - Lucky Thirteen, 1993 compilation album, last heard never. His "Geffen years":

Bryan Adams - Reckless, 1984 album, last heard 6/23/2024. Great Album!

Robbie Robertson - Robbie Robertson, 1987 debut solo album, last heard 6/29/2024. After The Band, he emerged with this GREAT ALBUM - supporting musicians include U2 and Peter Gabriel:

The Band - Stage Fright, 1970 3rd album, last heard never. With Levon Helm being the only American, the other 4 members were Canadian:

Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about Hiking the 4,000 footers in New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine/New York:
hyperlink: dixonheadingnorth
http://dixonheadingnorth.blogspot.com/