The following day was extremely cold and miserable so we headed for the largest mall we could find, made ourselves 15 years younger and became Mall Brats for the day. Late afternoon we drove west out of Calgary towards Banff and reaching Kananaskis Country we wild camped in a rest stop for the night. Sub-zero for the second night running. We drove into the very chic town of Canmore which is the entry town to the Rockies and going through a huge property boom with multi-million dollar log homes sprouting up all over the place. As it was once again bitterly cold, we found a coffee café with WIFI internet and promptly anchored ourselves in for most of the afternoon.

     We returned to Lodzi to find a business card from a local Landrover Tour company Devils Gap Expeditions on the windscreen. We walked round the corner and introduced ourselves to fellow Landrover Nut, Alasdair the ex-Scotsman. We spent another few hours talking Landrovers before promising to keep in touch and heading into the mountains to locate a wild camp spot for the night. ANOTHER night sub-zero.

     Up early the next day we drove down into Banff National Park, had a quick shower in the local hostel and then drove out into the park to visit some of the attractions. Another very popular park with thousands of tourists in all modes of transport, we headed out to Johnston Canyon, a very popular 5 km hike being one of Banff's trademark treks. The following day we woke early as we hoped to get some tranquil photos before the tourists arrived.

     We visited Peyto, BowLake and the postcard perfect Moraine Lake. We were lucky in that we had superb weather for the whole day and therefore had numerous postcard quality photos to show for our efforts. We then located a deserted picnic spot and claimed our free camp spot for the night. We were amazed that we saw very little wildlife in Banff although the amazing scenery and kept us humming and Ahing at every turn in the road.

     We continued north to Lake Louise and arriving mid afternoon we decided to do a quick 4 hour hike to the Big Beehive giving stupendous panoramic views of Lake Louise and the trademark Chateau Lake Louise. We continued up and over a small snow covered pass descending down to the start of upper end of Lake Louise and then returning at sunset to the car park. Once again another gorgeous day and after taking a sneaky shower in the local hostel, we found another free camp spot and bedded down for yet another sub-zero temperature nights sleep.

     The following day we departed the National Park heading west along the Kicking Horse River towards the mountain town of Golden. The following day we phoned a Canadian couple we had met in Mexico some 6 months prior whom we had been keeping in touch with and organised to meet them a couple of days later, Saturday. They also invited us to spend the whole weekend with the family as it was Canadian Thanksgiving weekend where by tradition, families get together for a big Turkey meal.

     Driving south through Radium Hot springs we arrived mid morning in the very quaint town of Invermere on the shores of Lake Windermere. A stunning setting at the base of the Rockies, we were met by Rob and Linda whom escorted us to their gorgeous cottage on the hills just out of town with "to die for" views over the lake. We were shown to our accommodation for the next few days, a heated little caravan which proved very comfortable over the next few chilly nights.

     Rob and Linda welcomed us into their home and family like long lost friends. A trait common with the many friendly Canadians we have met. We enjoyed long conversations deep into the night talking about our numerous travels. Both Rob and Linda are well travelled, particularly in Mexico and Guatemala. We accompanied them to a local Nordic ski refuge where we spent the afternoon cleaning the cabin and cutting wood in preparation for the upcoming winter. The weather was sunny and warm and we nourished ourselves with some expertly BBQ'd Bratwurst.

     The following evening we were privy to a traditional Canadian Thanks giving dinner with 16 guests and a whole smorgasbord of wonderful food. A very enjoyable evening where we stuffed our faces to the max and rolled outside to bed at mid-night.

     We grudgingly hit the road, finally, on Wednesday morning after bidding farewell to our hosts and heading south a short way to Canal flats before heading east into the mountains and forests where Alasdair the Scotsman had highly recommended we visit some local free hot springs. 30km up a dirt road we arrived at Lussiar springs, on the edge of a freezing cold river, a cascade of 3 pools ranging in temperature from just bearable to pretty chilly. We had a relaxing 2 hour soak to take the stress and strain of life away. (As we lead an obviously very stressful life!!!)

     After our soak we continued deeper into the forests along logging roads where we had been told to just head north beside White River till we reached the main road. The following day we continued deeper and deeper into the unknown where the dirt roads got smaller and smaller till they were virtually non-existent. We were then faced with the dilemma of turn back 50km or try a little further and hope the road reached….some-where. We had been driving for 7 hours and only covered about 40km. As the road got more and more rough, we had to revert to diff-lock and eventually got stuck in a deep creek where we had got Lodzi down into the creek but could not get her back out? Now what! Our first recovery using our winch which pleased James immensely, ironic that it was on our final day off-roading in our trip! After attaching our selves to a nearby fir tree we winched all 3 ½ tonnes of Lodzi out of the creek with no problems at all.

     Continuing for another 10km we eventually came out of the forest onto a recently used logging road and were extremely relieved to locate the road out of the area we should have found about 6 hours previously. We continued into the town of Canmore where we had organised to meet Alasdair for dinner before returning to a warm bed and meeting the rest of the family. We thank Alasdair and Lesley for their generous hospitality.

     The following morning we continued on our last leg into Calgary. I should point out that we had decided just a couple of weeks ago to bring our grand tour to an end. A culmination of an end to our funds (chiefly due to an excess of Landrover repairs) and also the start of the Canadian winter season, where we were getting a bit tired of camping in the freezing cold temperatures which we had been doing now for over a month. Our plan was therefore to leave Lodzi in Calgary and return to visit family and friends in England for a month or so and then return to Canada and try and work the winter in a ski resort.

     As storage fees are quite high in Calgary we organised to leave Lodzi at a local Landrover mechanic whom would do some work and store the vehicle in our absence, a double whammy on our part. On the Friday morning we met Vern at his workshops and discussed the necessary. We then planned to keep Lodzi over the weekend and drop her off first thing Monday morning as we left for the Airport to catch our flight. This way we could save money on accommodation.

     We drove just out of Calgary and spent the following 2 nights camped at Mountain View campsite where we spent the whole of Saturday emptying, cleaning and repacking Lodzi, after 10 months since the last thorough clean we emptied umpteen kg's of dust and dirt. We then spent Sunday walking around a local mall, caught a movie in the evening and then drove to a truck stop near the airport, and conveniently the garage where we were to drop off Lodzi. Here we spent a very very cold night sleeping in the cab, another first, before dropping the car off at the garage at 5am and catching a taxi to the airport for our flight to London, via Dallas!!

     We left Calgary at 8am where the weather had just turned extremely cold that morning and it had been snowing for over 5 hours, the entire city was covered in pure white snow…..what a fitting end to a journey of a life time.

     So how do we end off this final narrative? I am not too sure but bare with me if I ramble on.
First and foremost to my lovely wife Kerry, we were often asked how we could spend such a long time in each others face 24hrs a day in such a small cooped up area like a Landrover. We are extremely fortunate where we have a solid understanding relationship and get on so well. We hardly had an argument to note on the entire trip which made the whole experience even more special.

     Secondly to our families for all the support they gave us from afar, although we visited some extremely remote areas on our travels we were never more than a phone call or e-mail away. The world is definitely not as large as it once was. With a laptop, wireless internet, skype and e-mail we kept in touch, up-loaded the website regularly and did hours of research en route.

     Finally to all those absolutely wonderful friendly people we have met on our journey, your kindness was always overwhelming and many homes were made open to us on only a couple of minutes notice, in fact some homes were opened up to us through friends of friends of friends. It is refreshing to experience this hospitality in today's day and age of terror and fear and we will not forget the kindness we received. Being immersed in local culture by locals sure beats the hell out of staying cocooned in tourist retreats. We hope one day to return that hospitality where ever we finally settle down and will welcome one and all.

     So here endeth 22 months of living in a Landrover whilst touring some of the most beautiful parts of this amazing planet. Our repetitive advice has always been, if you get the chance, do it now because if not now, when? We were often told, "Do you realise you are living what many people can only dream about!" The answer was always, "Yes we do and we do not take even 1 second for granted" We are extremely lucky having had this whole experience with no set backs or drama's and given the chance would do the whole trip again without a heart beats moment of thought. There is still so much in this world to see and so little time. If not now, when?

     Keep logged on as we hope to take Lodzi on more adventures in the future. Thanks for following our travels and …..seize the day, get out there.