Reply to "Albert & BC owners unite-spring 08'"

If the four main days will be reserved for short trips as recommended by Blake, then I recommend we consider one or two longer circuits for the other four days.

One we should think about is the loop through Bragg Creek, Okotoks and south on 22, then west through the Crowsnest Pass to Cranbrook, north to Invermere, west to Banff and then back to Canmore. We can hit Fairmont Hotsprings on the way.

It is about 780 km, so we could break that up into two easy days by staying in either Cranbrook, Kimberly, or the Fairmont Hotsprings. If that is too long for anyone, they can opt out and do their own "free days". Or we could organize an alternative itinerary for them. Or we could meet them in Banff or Invermere.

Another possible circuit, but one with no obvious overnight stop, would be to go east to Ghost Lake, then north to Rocky Mountain House on hwys 40 & 591(lots of straight stretches and typical Alberta terrain), then west into the park (we can stop at Nordegg to see the Ram Falls (I'll check if there is pavement all the way in from the hwy to the falls)), south on the Icefields Parkway to Banff, then back East to Canmore. It is a 660km drive, which could be done in one day (in 4 hours if DEEB is in the lead). If there is an appetite to make this into an overnight trip, we could turn north on the Icefields Parkway to grab a hotel in Jasper and then back south the next day. This would turn it into a 971 km trip in total.

I'm not married to any one of these ideas - just tossing them out there to see what everyone thinks. I will be happy doing Blake's recommended easy days too -- I just want to run some scenarios by you and get some feedback as to what your preferences are. Keep in mind we have a full week to plan for, so limiting ourselves to short day trips will mean you will be driving the same routes and, obviously, not seeing as much of the country as you could if you were prepared to drive a little further.

If you are worried about the WAF (Wife Acceptability Factor), I suspect once the ladies see the incredible scenery they will be driving through, then any objections to driving distances will melt away. We will also make sure to plan for lots of stops at sites of interest as well as for good meals, and photo ops.