Royal York RV Park

Armstrong, British Columbia: The winds of yesterday have gone away and we woke this morning to another smoky day, actually the smokiest day! It was chilly too. Today, we had planned to pack up and drive over to Lake Louise to spend the day at the lake, doing a short hike and camping overnight at the campground... plans change.

Smoky Road between Banff and Lake Louise


My driver

We drove up to Lake Louise and were so disappointed in the view - so smoky - and the air was just choking us! Now, we have been here several times before and have seen the lake in sun and rain and consider ourselves lucky. It truly is one of the most beautiful natural sights (besides Lisa's face) we have ever seen! We felt SO BAD for all the other tourists at the lake - imagine flying all the way here from Japan or Italy, riding on a tour bus from Calgary and arrive during a horrible forest fire! So sad! Here is a rare photo of me (the trip photographer) on the shore of Lake Louise (in my new jacket!).

Your correspondent at Lake Louise

In the center of the photo, between the two ridges that drop into the lake, is the Plain of Seven Glaciers - one of our favorite hikes. You will just have to trust me - there is a mountain back there, Mt. Victoria, and two of the seven glaciers are visible on a "normal" day. So, no hiking and no camping - we wanted out of all that smoke - so we left Banff National Park one day early. Our throats were so sore again from the smoke. I told DT that we were now one day ahead of schedule and he said "What schedule?" True.
 
There was good news though: Banff had opened all the closed hiking trails - but only to parties of 6 or more hikers. Safety in numbers, I guess.

The fire is in Kootenay National Park, directly southwest of Banff National Park - the two parks actually border each other. The road south, through the center of Kootenay was open at this actual moment, though closed at night - but they had closed it on and off during the past few days due to fire and smoke, so we didn't want to risk that drive. And more good news: a storm is supposed to bring a lot rain to Banff and Kootenay tomorrow - hopefully it will put out the fire, as the rangers are just letting 'nature take its course'. But we wanted fresh air now, so we headed west on the Trans-Canadian Highway, Highway 1. We drove through Yoho National Park, Glacier National Park and just as we were leaving Glacier National Park did we finally leave the smoke behind. We even went through Revelstoke National Park - deciding not to stay in Revelstoke because it was a little early and we had gained an hour crossing into BC. I knew this because at 2:00 o'clock, I suggested we stop for lunch, as I was hungry. DT reminded me it was really only one o'clock, so I shouldn't be hungry. Driver logic, Y-chromosome working over-time, or he wasn't hungry... I couldn't decide. Anyway, we stopped in Glacier National Park for lunch at "14:00 PST" as the Canadians say.
 
We were going to regret not stopping at the empty campsites we passed, as we were shut-out in our later attempts and had to drive all the way to Armstrong, British Columbia, to find a campsite. Armstrong is just south of Highway 1, on 97. We thought we were going to have to drive all the way south to Kelowna before we would be able to find a resting spot, but we spotted a little sign reading Royal York RV Park - Come Stay and Play. It wasn't in our guidebook, but we turned right, following the signs through a new housing development, and were surprised to see that Royal York was a golf club. We thought we had taken a wrong turn, but then my eagle-eye driver noticed a few motor homes parked on the other side of the clubhouse! Eureka! It was only 6:30 pm - plenty of daylight left for 9 holes! Royal York is a nice spot - new, clean, nice lawn and picnic table; clear, unobstructed view of the southern sky for the satellite and fully-loaded digital cellular service. Throw in 18 holes of golf and it's like heaven.

RV Park: Royal York RV Park & Golf Club