In Banff (at the southern end of the Rockies), we stayed for five nights in the Banff Caribou Hotel. The main street (Banff Avenue) is mostly restaurants and souvenir shops. Pics below show our hotel, Banff Avenue with Cascade Mountain in the background, "bear paws" (a local chocolate delicacy which Gail sampled) and Don trying on a cowboy hat in western outfitters shop.
There had been exceptionally heavy rain in this area recently, causing the river waters in the area to be very muddy in colour. The river in Banff had to be sandbagged - see pic below of levee along the river bank.
Weather is famously variable in alpine areas, and snow fell one day while we were in Banff (but this is unusual in summer). During the snowfall we visited the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, the most visited landmark in Banff. Its castle style has given it the local nickname "The Castle in the Rockies". See pics below of Gail standing in the snowfall in Banff township, and pics giving a snowy medieval appearance to the Banff Springs Hotel.
Banff owes its origin to the local hot springs on Sulphur Mountain, which were developed as a tourist attraction. See pics below of the entrance, the pool and our friends in the hot pool. The rest of our group did not go to the trouble of getting in the pool.
We visited the narrow Johnson Canyon, where Johnson Creek rushes over two waterfalls. An access trail along the canyon gives good views of its features. Pics below show: a male elk seen on the way to the canyon; the walking trail; Gail at the Lower Falls; the Old Man's Beard lichen which hangs from branches along the trail.
Just outside Banff, the Banff Gondola takes visitors to the top of Sulphur Mountain, where there are superb views in all directions. See pics below of the gondolas, Banff Springs Hotel as seen from the ascending gondola, and views from the Skywalk boardwalk on the mountain top.
Also on the mountain summit there is an historic weather observatory - see pics below of the observatory and Don on boardwalk leading down to mountain top terminal of gondola.
We visited Lake Minnewanka (meaning "Lake of the Water Spirits" in the native language) and did a boat cruise of the lake. It is a glacier fed lake surrounded by mountains. A gap in the mountains at the end of the lake is called Devil's Gap and is the end of the Rocky Mountains. Beyond is the expanse of the prairies. See pics of the lake, Devil's Gap and the cruise boat.
The Trans Canada Highway links the east and west coasts of Canada, and we drove along parts of it. Between Banff and Lake Louise the highway passes Castle Mountain (which stretches for 16km) - see pic below.
Several animal overpasses cross the highway - see pic below. These allow animals to follow their natural migration routes, which the highway itself interrupts.
Groves of lodgepole pines line parts of the highway - see pic below.
On our last day in Banff we revisited Lake Louise, as we had a sunny day to compensate for our previous rainy day visit. See pics below of the Chateau Lake Louise and the lake itself, with the Mount Victoria Glacier behind the lake.
We also revisited part of the Icefields Parkway to take advantage of the better views of the sights on the sunny day. See pics below of the Icefields Parkway, the Crowfoot Glacier and the frozen Bow Lake.
We went along to Bow Summit, the highest point on the Parkway. From there we walked along a snowy trail to a viewpoint over Peyto Lake, set far below in a glacial valley, and famous for its aqua colour. See pics below of Gail on the trail and a view of the lake.
Final update will cover our trip back to Vancouver on the Rocky Mountain train.
