Sunday, July 10, 2011

Daisy May Campground, Fort Macleod, AB

Today's Photo - The Canadian Rockies Along CA 1















I stopped by the cafe (my internet source for the last 2 days) in Lake Louise Village for my last cup of coffee (at least at Lake Louise) and said good by to the Australian Barista on my way out of town. Lake Louise was a bit of a disappointment, not because of the location; it is beautiful, but because of the weather. I suspect visiting later in the summer would make more sense since the fog/clouds that currently hide the mountains behind the lake would probably be gone, but I tried for 2 days & it is time to head south.

I spent most of the day driving south on CA 1, a 4 lane 110kph road. At Calgary I switched to CA 2, another 4 lane road & followed it to Fort Macleod where I stopped for the night at the Daisy May Campground, Site 78. It is a back in large enough for both the trailer & RAV4, and level enough that I didn't have to unhook. A nice campground, but the mosquitos seem to be feasting! I'm typing this outside in my canvas chair & I am spending more time slapping than typing.

My complaint for the day is credit cards. Both companies I have cards with (HSBC & Capital One) asked for & were given an itinerary for my trip, including when I'd be in Canada. Both have suspended my card, sending me email asking me to contact them by phone. The problem with this is you spend between 10 - 15 minutes on hold at $.79 per minute waiting for someone to ask you if you made specific purchases for "X" amount on "X" day, something that I don't always have in my head. I did get AT&T to do a conference call to HSBC that should have ended up free; I'll find out at the next bill. At least that is better than HSBC did with my older Visa card. It expired in June, I left for my trip in April. They would/could not replace it before then even though I explained that I would be traveling & would not be able to pick it up at my house since I'd be 3000+ miles away when it arrived. I can't believe that they don't have a way to get a new card to people that travel more than a couple of months, but according to both the people in India & the supervisors in Buffalo, NY, there is no solution. Maybe it is time for a new bank!

Until next time!

1 comment:

  1. Jon, mosquitoes drive me NUTS! I found a solution-can't be beat. It's called a Thermacell. I'm sure you can buy one at any Home Depot or Walmart, but you can take a look, here on Amazon, to see the reviews. http://tinyurl.com/6f7e3zz
    I bought the lantern 3 years ago. The cartridge replacements make it a bit expensive, but well-worth the cost, to me. I camped on Skidaway Island and had people huddled under my awning because they could get away from the bugs.

    I hate customer-no-service. I'd change banks, too.

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