Banff National Park, 217 miles total and 29.7 mpg. Totals for the trip, 6421 miles, 27.9* mpg. Those are the stats.
The boys got us up (the second time) at 5:30. We had a fairly big day planned, so we stayed up, had some hot cereal, and got on the road. Routine by now – we even drive the same route (1) back up the hill to the national parks. But this time, for the first time, we head south, towards Lake Louise and Banff (the town). When we start out from Golden the sky is a mixture of clouds, fog and occasional blue. We’re hoping for the best – this is our last day here, and we’d really like to see the rest of Banff National Park. Turns out the weather worked out well, and we had a great day.
First stop was Lake Louise, the town. We had been warned that Banff was more developed (touristy) than the other parks, and sure enough, that couldn’t be more true. Everywhere we went was crowded (it’s Monday). The parking is inadequate. The signage is terrible, as it has been on the whole trip in Canada – perhaps once we get use to it…(S-H: My observation is that we oversign in the US National Parks. Here it is so naturally beautiful that it seems as though they give you a gentle nudge to either turn out to read a more comprehensive sign or go on as you choose. I like the lack of signs in the parks.) In town we first check out the visitor center, which is nice and helpful, and seems to have more educational displays than other visitor centers we have used. Perhaps they have a bigger budget, but the good news is that it is not a profit center – their product is helpful information, not t-shirts and coffee mugs.
They recommended The Depot (post office plus) for internet connectivity. Since I was now two days behind, we decided to try to catch up a little. And a little is what we did. Flickr wasn’t cooperating – had a good WiFi link, just wouldn’t upload reliably. But we were able to secure a room in Hope for our next four days, and to register the CR-V! It expires at the end of the month. Who knew?! Checked email, abandoned the Flicker upload, and away we went.
First to see Lake Louise – a really beautiful lake, made more awesome by the mountains and glacier in the background. Lots of folks there. Many people admired and pet the boys – they were in heaven. We didn’t stay there long – just too crowded. So off to a slightly more remote lake, Moraine Lake, where surely there wouldn’t be so many people – after all, it is a 18 km drive on a winding, uphill road. Wrong. People galore. It’s a very pretty lake, but again, we didn’t stay long because of the huge number of people.(S-H: I was just finished in a potty and was doing up my belt, no lock, and an older woman just barged in and said “You finished dearie, oh good” and went on from there!)
We’re done in the Lake Louise area, so it’s off to Banff (the town) (we’re in Banff NP the whole time). We take highway 1A, the more scenic route called the Bow Parkway, and are rewarded by bears and goats and sheep. Pictures in Flickr (hopefully). It’s a really nice drive, great scenery. Not, perhaps, as dramatic as the glaciers and peaks to the north, but every bit as interesting and awe inspiring.
In Banff the first thing is to get food. After finding a very scarce shady parking place to leave the boys we hoof it into town (three blocks) and find Coyotes Café and Grill, a place we got out of a book. It was great. Our waiter was a Kiwi, interesting guy, we talked NZ for a few minutes. We both had “the perfect lunch”, half a sandwich and a bowl of soup. Everything was wonderful. There are many eating places in Banff – I wonder if they are all this good?
Then we walked the streets a bit, got sucked into a liquor store, bought wine and JWB (I’ve missed John). Finally back to the car, and headed back to ‘home’. (S-H: This was shopping? I was going to look in a few stores…the liquor purchase took us back to the car and I didn’t want to “drive” around and look at the shopping area.) We took 1A back also, shunning the faster Trans-Canada Highway, and were again rewarded by bear. It was a fun trip, capped by a family of goats on the wrong side of a guard rail and a big horn sheep on the side of the highway (picture), both just as we approached Golden. We had dinner at the Golden Rim Inn, and used their wireless to complete the picture upload for two days ago. The food was great. It wasn’t a place you’d expect to find good food.
Back to the cabin, unload the car in preparation for a repacking in the morning. This is our last night here. It has been a wonderful stay, in a wonderful location. Tomorrow it’s on to Hope, BC, and three days/four nights of exploration just east of Vancouver. Goodnight!
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