Ken checking out the mountain range and water
Glacier
After arriving, we met up with our friends from Calgary, they are camping not far from us in the campground. The rest of the evening, we just sat around and talked with our friends.
Mountain range from campsite
Wednesday, July 24, we went to Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, where we had a guided tour. The hotel was built early for the railroad coming through town, there has been many famous people that have stayed here. The scenery was beautiful with waterfall, golf course, and the Bow River. We had a buffet lunch in the Grill Room at the hotel.
Hotel from across the Bow River
View from outside hotel
One of the dining & conference rooms
One of the hallways in hotel
Hotel front entrance
After our tour, we met our friends again, they had taken use around town to see the sites. Waterfall at hotel, golf course, gondola, train station, Cave & Basin National Historic Site, this is the beginning of the Canada's national park system which was founded on a cave and hot springs discovered in 1883 by three Canadian Pacific Railroad workers. The site consists of naturally occurring warm mineral springs inside the cave and an emerald-colored basin outside. We then drove to Lake Minnewanka, we had driven over the dam to a lookout and saw mule deer and two fawns eating and playing.
Waterfalls on the Bow River
Lake Winnewanka
Mule deer and fawns
Thursday, July 25, we boarded a bus with a packed lunch, and went to Lake Louise, we hiked part way on one side, went into a coffee shop had a cup of coffee, with another couple until time to board the bus again.
Lake Louise
Fairmont Chateau Hotel at Lake Louise
We then went to Moraine Lake, had our picnic lunch and a hike to top of rock pile to see the lake.
Lake Moraine
Rock pile
Boarded the bus again and went to Takakkaw Falls, what a great falls, bus driver said he never saw so much water coming over the falls. On the way up the mountain, there is switch backs that the bus can't turn sharp enough, so he backed up the one way and backed down on the return trip. Was scary but he did a great job. Motorhome didn't know how to turn or back up hill, he just went back down. There was a sign how to drive the switchbacks, guess he didn't read the sign.
Takakkaw Falls
Motorhome couldn't turn corner.
While driving, the bus driver, talked about the spiral tunnel that the trains use, we didn't see a train, so no pictures. We then went to Emerald Lake, another lake but this one wasn't as cold, there were people swimming here.
Emerald Lake
Another Emerald Lake picture
Cute flower design
We returned back to camp about 6 pm.,ate some dinner and then went and visited our friends again until late.
Friday, July 26, our friends drove us downtown, checked about changing money, went to Starbucks to check the Internet, walked around the shops, came back to camp, ate lunch and left again to go up the Gondola. What a beautiful view, from the top, you could see Banff and the surrounding area.
Town of Banff seen from gondola, beautiful mountain ranges, they really change with the sun during the day.
Gondola ride
Town of Banff with bridge over Bow River
Elk seen at parking lot of gondola
Banff Ave. and mountain range in background
We had gone to The Old Spaghetti Factory with our friends for dinner, came back and had a drivers meeting, before retiring for the evening.
Friends from Calgary, Jim & Martha Walmer!
Our circle parking back in Red Deer picture, we just received it. As seen from airplane.
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