Banff in the Canadian Rockies, Sept 20 - 22

We had an uneventful drive from Calgary to Banff, about 2 hours west. Unfortunately, it is not sunny so the views are limited.

By Lake Louise hotel - flowers in the snow

  We got to our Blue Mountain Bed and Breakfast early (around 11:30) and it was too early to check in. It is on the corner of Caribou and Muskrat and has 5 parking spots. It is in a great location, just a block off the main streets, so we wandered to find food while waiting for the bed and breakfast to be ready. It is very very touristy here! Loads of shops and restaurants. Although it was only in the mid 40s and spitting rain, we ate outside (under an umbrella) at the open air market that is only held on Wednesdays, so that was fortunate. We wandered around it and then had some spicy Indian soup and Mark added a grilled cheese sandwich. After some more wandering, we went back to the bed and breakfast that let us in. A very modest room, but adequate. It feels like a hostel, but it is not cheap as it is still high season here.

   Despite the rain, we took a walk along the Bow River to the Bow River Falls and walked up the hill to the grand Banff hotel - palatial and expensive. In the 20s, rich people would spend the "season" there with its outdoor pool etc etc. We had a cup of tea and watched people, then walked back along the river to the bed and breakfast. We stayed in for the evening reading and eating sausage and a baguette.
     The next day we woke to snow and temperatures in the 30s. We had a surprisingly good breakfast (continental with well stocked) with several couples from England, as well as one couple from Virginia. One from Bournemouth, one from London and one from ? (Forgot). We expected most of our fellow guests would be younger, but these were all couples from middle age on up.
    We decided that, as we will probably never get back here, that we'd drive up to Lake Louise despite the weather. We knew that the visibility would not be great. We drove there and back mostly on the secondary road, the Bow River Trail. We stopped along the way and took photos, but they won't be stunning.

      Lake Louise is a huge tourist draw, so despite the weather, it was quite parked up. However, we were able to park by the lake and not at the satellite lot which would have required taking a shuttle. We did not walk far along the lake because it was just too wet. But, you could see that is must be stunning when the sun is out. The water is a beautiful and unusual color of blue from what is called "rock flour" which are small particulates from the glaciers that supply the lake. They add a blue reflective color.
     We walked into the big lodge there, but did not stay. We met a huge group of Chinese people and took their photo in a snow-covered garden...they took ours as well.
      Then we drove back "home" also along the back road. We rested for a bit and then went back out. We drove the Minnewanka loop which is not far out of town. The road goes by the bottom of the largest lake in the park, but it was so foggy and overcast that we did not see very much. Then we went up the road to the Norquay ski resort. Along the roadside we came across a small herd (9) of elk. The patriarch was huge - probably 10 points. Spotting them truly did make our day as we have not seen much wildlife.

Big elk - he was with about 7 others

      For dinner we walked to the Balkan restaurant, a recommended locally-owned Greek restaurant. We both had a lamb shank dish that was delicious, neither of which we expected we would have ordered, but the waiter talked us into it as the best dish in the house and it was truly delicious. But filling.
     The next morning, our last morning in Banff, it was still disappointingly overcast. But, we had a lively breakfast with a couple from Virginia. He is an airport architect and has been working in both Helena and Missoula.