Onward ….
Heading north now and a few of the iconic stops in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
Day 1 – Waterton Lakes to Banff
We had a quick breakfast of cinnamon rolls and coffee before heading out of Waterton National Park. But not before Adrienne had to give the Aussie girl who helped bring the bags down the old elevator some tips on going to Disney World which is where she was headed once the hotel closed for the season later this week.
As we drove out of the park, we met a small black bear – eventhough he was brown – lumbering along below the road. We managed to stop and get a quick photo.
Again we had some backtracking to do until we reached Lundbreck and turned north on Highway 22. Then it was mostly meandering roads through vast low plans and vast ranches. Highway 22 is known as the Cowboy highway and you can see that nothing much has changed – still cattle country !
To liven up the scenery a bit, Adrienne had found there was a more scenic option along Highway 40, known as the Bighorn Scenic Byway or Kananaskis Trail. It follows through the mountains which are almost the Alberta / British Columbia border. It was a great option as the scenery was beautiful. The area was very busy in parts however – being a Sunday – and some obviously picnic areas / walking trails were causing some serious traffic slowdowns ! There was even a Bighorn slowdown at one point as a group of Bighorn sheep decided it wanted to get across the Highway !
Eventually we reached Highway 1 – the Trans Canada Highway and followed this into Banff. As we were too early to check in, we decided to do a couple of scenic drives on the edge of Banff. The first took in an area called Lake Minnewanka and Two Jacks. We managed to get a couple of photos of the lake at Two Jacks but the parking at Lake Minnewanka was full so we will try that tomorrow.
We next drove to a lookout on Mt Norquay which looks down into Banff. Here we met a couple of traffic stops where other groups of Bighorn Sheep were grazing just off the edge of the road. The view takes in a large part of Banff however with the large amount of smoke haze around it wasn’t the best.
We then drove into Banff and negotiated the traffic and crowds to find our hotel. We are out of the town a bit in an area called Tunnel Mountain at Buffalo Mountain Lodge and it is very peaceful. The complex is quite large and consists of a number of 2 story buildings with cabin style accommodations. Our room is on the ground floor and overlooks an open grass area which is the top of a reservoir.
It was a good location as I had a bit of work to catch up on and conveniently a wedding party setup on the grass area and kept Adrienne entertained for an hour or so with their coming and going.
Our accommodation also includes a breakfast and dinner meal package which is turning out to be great value. Dinner included 3 courses and was basically the pick of the menu and with some items priced between C$40 and C$60 we could let our heads go ! Adrienne had poutine for starters – “the” Canadian national dish (basically french fries with gravy, though these had a few extra touches and were very tasty), a huge steak for main, and I had some deliciously steamed clams followed by scallops and pork belly for main – though the pork belly was not as we would know it, but still good !
Dessert was “to go” – already too full – so the ginger cake and cheesecake went to the fridge for tomorrow !
Day 2 – Around Banff
We had a fairly early start as we had booked to be on the Banff Gondola at 9.00am and wanted to stop at Bow Falls for a look (before the crowds !) on the way. So after our tasty Mixed Grill for breakfast we setoff.
Weather forecast for the day was cooler with increasing cloud so we wanted to get the best of the view while we could. We were able to park fairly close to the gondola and there were only a few people ahead of us in the queue so we were soon on our way up. The ride takes about 8 minutes and the views over Banff and the surrounding mountains start to open up as you climb.
It was pretty chilly at the top and the winds were starting to pick up so I had to pocket my cap so I didn’t lose it – so it was pretty chilly at the top 😂 . We walked right up to the old observation station and managed to find more red chairs for the obligatory photo. We then looked around in the main building at the top before making our way back down.
As we seem to make a habit of, the next chore was to visit the Avis depot in town. On the way to Banff yesterday, the “Oil change required soon” warning light came on and is now an almost permanent display on the dashboard. It is only a small office and, as we seem to do at the moment, queued for a while to see the person and explain ou r dilemma. He told us he had nothing today but could change the car tomorrow. So we will need to change our plans a bit as we are heading to Lake Louise.
We were already parked in the carpark so decided to have a stroll around town while we were there rather than struggle with the parking again later. So we walked up and down the pedestrian mall and stuck our head in a few of the shops.
Just out of town is the area which is the birthplace of the National Parks in Canada. It is called Cave & Basin and the cave contains a hot spring which was eventually developed into a tourist hotspot complete with a huge pool.
Returning to the car we went back out to Lake Minnewanka again. We managed parking with no problem and walked along the edge of the lake, A lot less around now the weekend had passed. We sat and had a coffee and watched the tour boats take groups out onto the lake and then headed back to our hotel.
Once again there was a little wedding ceremony in the late afternoon in the park across from our hotel room. Dinner was once again in the main lodge. For starters we had a delicious charcuterie plate and for main Adrienne had local trout and I had Canadian Rye Pork ribs.
We thought we would have a quiet end to our day and were getting ready for bed when Adrienne started getting “Aurora notifications” that it may be visible in the area. To start the indications were that it would be possible however the coverage area and density quickly expanded.
So we rugged up and went across to our little park and had quite an unexpected show ! We couldn’t believe our luck as this was certainly the best show. We spent about an hour just following its movement and clicking away taking photos !. When it eased off and the cold really started to get us we headed back inside – still amazed !
So now off to Lake Louise – after dealing with our car needs – and we will see what tomorrow brings !