Day 9 Blue River to Valemount

Day 9 on the road from Blue River to Valemount 97km (775); 495 (7660) 15 July, 2015 A fairly quiet day; left camp at 7 with a wet tent that had stood in sand, so I wasn't too pleased, but ok. By the way, Dave, the "thing" I lost from my tent is an aluminum tube of 10 cm length and about 1 cm width which takes the pole and stabilizes it. I'll try to get one in the next "city" which will probably not be before I reach the US of A 🙁 In any case, I got a first glimpse of the  outstanding nature I will encounter. Some pictures will show my helpless attempts to freeze a magnificent waterfall about 2 km away on the other side of the Thompson river. I hope one can see a waterfall .... I met a German guy (retired,of course!) who took his German! vehicle from Germany! across the Atlantic to tour Canada. He was adamant that this was cheaper altogether than renting an R&V vehicle here, IF you take into consideration cost of rental, gas prices, insurance ..... This just proves that some people (German people ...?) have too much time on their hands. By the way he was from "Plön", which makes him even more conspicious to me (I won't give him my blog address ... hehehe ...) So that's it for today (apart from the fact I need to find out why my battery suddenly isn't loading anymore ...) To my dismay, the new EXPED mat has developed a defect. In the middle of the mat a seam has come open, leading to a very uncomfortable bump on both sides. I am afraid the whole thing will break and that after only 2 weeks! We'll see ...