Riding Canada's National Parks

I just got back from touring Seven of Canada's National Parks and thought I'd share some observatios and impressions.

*NATIONAL PARK CONCEPT
Being used to National Parks that are, for the most part, left undeveloped, it seemed weird to have major hiways and cities within the boundries of the park. Kootenay, Banff, Yoho and Jasper parks are all ajacent to one another. Each has little towns, tourist traps, lodges and the like. Invision, if you would. Island Park and West Yellowstone annexed to Yellowstone and Jackson Hole annexed to Grand Teton Park. Then drop Park City in the middle of Yellowstone and build an Eight story, luxury hotel at Jenny Lake. That would give you an idea of what Canada's parks are like. Not bad, just different. As for beauty, you can't beat it! Amazingly tall mountains, carpets of pine trees that go on forever, gorgeous lakes and waterfalls everywhere. I really envy the locals who can do "day rides" in the area. Like in many of our parks, the best sights can only be reached by foot. This area is a hiker's paradise.

*MONEY
Beside the different look and having one dollar coins called "Loonies" and two dollar coins called "Toonnies", the difference in value hits you right off. The exchange rate is between 1.2 and 1.3 to 1. You think this is great! My $100 is worth $125! Believe me, they'll get back the difference. Everything costs more. Gas is about $1.00 a LITER. That's about $3.80 a gallon. Food, goods and services also cost more. The most extreme example I found was propane. A 16.4 oz. bottle that costs about $1.88 here, cost at least $5.95 there. At one place at Lake Louise, they wanted $10.67 a bottle. Then, besides the regular tax, they have something called GST. I'm not sure what that stands for, but it's an additional tax on everything. I must admit, we have things pretty good here and expensive is a relative concept. As I was chatting one morning with a man and woman from England, I got a better perspective. I was complaining about the high cost of gas and they laughed. They told me back home, they pay the equivilent of about $6.00 a gallon. In fact, the average person there spends about 30% of their income on "petrol". Kind of put a new light on things for me.

*PEOPLE
I love the Canadian people! Never once were we faced with a clerk, receptionist, server, or anyone that wasn't friendly, courteous and helpful. I got a bit irritated when we returned to the "the States" at how rude people were. It started right at the border with a surly border guard, then it seemed everyone we dealt with for gas or whatever was rude or irritable. It seemed like a sad commentary on our society. Fortunately, we started meeting nice folks again and helped restore my faith in our country.

*DRIVING
It would appear that there are no traffic laws in Canada. Posted speeds are merely a suggestion. If the posted speed is 80Km/h, you can do 95 and still get passed by evrything on the road. Oh, and speaking of passing, that solid yellow line, that here means no passing, has no function but separating the two sides of the road. It's OK to pass anywhere. On a curve, up a hill, on a curve on a hill, it's all good. Stop signs are also just a reccommendation. A four-way stop works like this; when someone stops, at least FOUR vehicles go the other WAY. Only once in 13 days did I see a Mountie have anyone pulled over. Can't imagine what that guy must have done.

*WEATER
It's a lot like here. If you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes. Never encountered any really hot temps. Seldom really cold. Most of the time a light jacket was plenty. All in all , great weather for riding. Be prepared for some rain, you'll surely get it. Just hope you haven't pissed-off the "Rain Gods" lkie we appear to have done.

Volusia/Boulevard Owners League - Utah Chapter

Riding Canada's National Parks