December 28, 2012 (Emo’s)
From Lake Louise we needed to drive some 231 km to Revelstoke for our overnight reservation. Revelstoke is a small town in BC, so today was a special day of crossing the border between Alberta and British Columbia.
On our way to Revelstoke we wanted to check out Peyto Lake, apparently worthy a visit. “Icefield Parkway”, a road leading to Peyto Lake was highly recommended by our on-line tourist guide.
Change of plans
It was late afternoon and due to the approaching sunset we decided against an “Icefield Parkway” trip. Instead of going Hwy 93 north along the east side of Rockies we continued on Hwy 1 west with the intention of getting to the other side of the mountains. Crossing Rocky Mountains was surprising. The road conditions changed almost immediately as we entered British Columbia. There was much more snow on the BC side. It was also much milder.
We continued along Hwy 1 with our normal winter speed, which Andi interprets as the number visible on the signs plus somewhere between twenty and forty. This number usually does not work for me, but I was on a passenger’s seat so I had “nothing to say”.
A long road to a 3-star stop
Between Lake Louise and Revelstoke there wasn’t much except mountain views. Golden was the only town marked on the map. However we managed to cross three different national parks: Yoho, Glacier, and Mt. Revelstoke. We planned to do some skiing in Yoho on our way back.
We arrived in Revelstoke long after sunset. Our already in October-booked Canyon Hotel was less than a minute off the Highway. It definitely wasn’t a five star Hotel. The owner gave us a $10 business discount, which reduced the bill to $67. We took it. The room was very small and not too friendly, but OK for an overnight stay without expectations.
Too tired to cook on an ironing board
The bathroom was too small to move around in, never mind cooking. We set up our cooking utensils on the hotel-provided ironing board but we were too tired to do groceries and cook. I asked the GPS for restaurants in the area. Emo’s Pizza and Grill came up well reviewed, inexpensive, and the word “grill” was something we wouldn’t mind having that night.
At Emo’s
It was late and I did not want to have a large meal, so I ordered French Onion Soup. I love French onion soup. Andi got himself some ribs. We took advantage of free WiFi and called Toronto on our Skype. I love technology.
I remember twenty years ago, when I came to Canada I had to write letters by hand. This was the only communication I had with my parents: one letter with outdated information every two or three months. And today… you press your parent’s face on the touch screen and 30 seconds later you are gossip-updated from the other side of the world.
Food at Emo’s was good and we can recommend that restaurant in case you ever get lost on the BC side of the Rockies. Full-bellied we crashed immediately after coming back to the hotel. We had a full itinerary ahead of us the next day, which we would start with a bacon and egg breakfast cooked on the ironing board … no kidding.
To be continued..
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