Monday, June 16, 2008

Banff Downtown, Lake Louise, Campground Mtn. View, Fairmont Hotel, Castello Restorante, Lake Minnewanka Walk














Banff Gondola Views







Johnston Canyon Hike (Falls, Walkway, Ground Squirrel)







Banff, Alberta Canada (6/6/2008 - 6/10/2008)


Today is Monday 6/16. We reentered the US today and finally have e-mail. We went to two Canadian NP's after leaving Glacier (Banff NP and Jasper NP). The two parks are back to back and run basically north to south along the Rocky Mountains. The first five nights we were in the NP campground in Banff; then we went north to Jasper. The ride between the two is called the Icefields Parkway. This ride is one of the most beautiful rides I have ever been on. It runs up a valley between the most incredible mountains that you can imagine. We saw bears, mountain goats, deer, big horn sheep, and other wildlife on our ride up and down the valley; but the real treat was definitely the unbroken mile after mile of incredible mountains.

While in Banff we walked the town, hiked Johnston Canyon and Minnewanka Lake, and visited Lake Louise and Lake Moraine. The weather was not the best for us but we did get plenty of exercise and visited many beautiful places. The town itself has many very nice shops and restaurants; and just across the bridge is the famous Banff Springs Hotel. We had a fantastic dinner at the Castello Restorante which is just one of the restaurants in the hotel. This is a 770 room establishment that has an attached conference center and a great looking golf course. It is a beautiful, historic hotel.

We also took the Gondola ride to a mountain above Banff. You can see for miles, and have a good view of the city and the surrounding mountains. They have the upper level designed like a compass. We were 2100 miles from New York City as the crow flies.

Banff is a beautiful city in the Rocky Mountains. It is a must visit if your are ever in the area.
Jasper was our next stop. I will fill you in on our visit there after the pictures are posted. Once again this is such a beautiful place, you really can't capture it on film. You have to live it and store it in your personal memory banks.