So now that we are back, we have usually decent internet and all the pictures have finally decided to upload I am going to go back and update the blog for each day as I have time.
Last time I wrote we were in Banff and on day 3, now we are in hot rainy Minneapolis and I will pick up where I left off with day 4. This was our last day in Banff itself. Since we had already done some of the must see things in Banff Park, we headed out to Yoho National Park
Map of all the Canadian Rockies National Parks
We had breakfast in our room, but stopped in town to buy lunch and get some coffee before our drive. This is a view of the main street in Banff which had lovely views of mountains all around.
Banff Starbucks. Basically like the ones in America (they even take rewards!) but cheaper thanks to the exchange rate
We drove about an hour to get to Yoho National Park. The turn off was around Lake Louise. Here is the Boundary sign
First stop in the park was in Field at the park info office. There we got a couple of souvenirs and looked at the exhibits. This park is actually famous for its large fossil ares. I had wanted to go see them, but like most things in the park that area isn't open yet. I guess the roads must be pretty high because most areas we wanted to see were still listed as snow covered.
First actual hiking stop was Emerald Lake. This is a pretty little alpine lake with lots of hiking trails nearby. There is also a lodge/conference center that looks like a good place to stay if we ever come back
We only did the relatively flat lake loop at this lake. Here is our stats for that walk
The views around the entire lake were amazing! The lake was perfectly calm and when we got there there was almost no people yet so had the place to ourselves.
There was some new wildflowers along the walk
View from the far side of the lake where there was a large open area between the river and the actual lake
There was a huge area of lady slippers along the shore!
Not sure what this water bird is, but it looked pretty cool.
View of the lodge area as we approached the end of the hike.
On the way out we stopped at the natural bridge.
Dinky and the natural bridge from one of the viewing areas.
After that our next stop was Wapta Falls. Wapta Falls is the largest waterfall by volume in the Canadian Rockies.
Before the hike we had a picnic lunch from the supplies bought in Banff. It would have been an even better lunch without all the bugs around!
The trail to the falls was not very long and relatively flat compared to the other hiking we have done
Wapta Falls from the top. Lots of rushing water and we could feel the cooling mist
Wapta falls from the bottom.
This is what a lot of the trail looked like. Relatively flat with some ups and down and some shade thanks to the trees.
After that hike was discussed what we wanted to do. We decided to try to visit the Cave and Basin Site in Banff and hopefully do some canoing if time. After about an hour drive we arrived back in Banff and had about an hour to see the Cave and Basin Site
This is the original hot spring cave that drew tourists to Banff. I lasted about 1 minute in there because it was the worst rotten egg smell you could imagine. Why anybody would want to sit in that water is beyond me. Right now they don't allow any soaking in the pools at this site. They built the upper springs area which we visited the night before. This site is now more of a historical park with information focusing on the hot springs.
This is the renovated changing area that now houses exhibits
View from the top of the building of the surrounding mountains
At the top of the building there is a trail to visit the source of the hot springs. This kinda gross looking stream is close to the source. If you look closely you can see the endangered snails that they are trying to protect.
After seeing the main historic areas we decided to go on the marsh walk. Before we reached the trail we stopped at this exhibit about the internment camps that happened mostly during the first world war. Seems Canadian history on these camps is about as bad as our history.
We somehow missed the marsh trail and ended up doing a longer walk along a horse trail. There was still great views like above (but unfortunately this caused us to miss the time for the last canoe
We stopped here to pick up some Banff souvenirs before heading to Lake Minnewanka to see if we could catch the last cruise.
Lake Minnewanka is the largest lake in Banff park. Here is dinky checking out the area. Sadly the companies website was wrong and there wasn't a 6 pm cruise. So instead of doing the boat cruise we just sat to enjoy the lake and plan an alternative.
Some mountain goats that crossed the dam while we watched and then disappeared into the woods
We settled on the relatively short tunnel mountain hike before dinner. This is a short mountain right in the middle of Banff that is popular with the locals
View of the Fairmont on the way up the mountain
View on the non city side of the mountain
Great views from the top of the mountain looking toward Banff town.
Those red chairs again. Unfortunately while we were up there two girls decided to take at least 20 min naps in the chairs.
View of the trail. It was actually a lot of switchbacks so while it did go up many hundreds of meters, it wasn't that steep.
Final stop before dinner was the Cascade gardens in town. They were clearly not quite up and running for the summer yet, but it was still pretty cool
There were some perennials out like these guys.
The grounds include the headquarters for the park. It looked more like a castle than administration buildings.
Castle with Indian heads I guess?
View of main street in Banff as we headed to dinner.
We ate at the Bear Street Tavern in Banff. They had a great beer menu with a tasting option
We had a nice large beet salad and a hawaiian pizza that was pretty good and not overly expensive.
Final stop of the night was the hot tub back at our hotel. We made it just in time to see the pretty pinks of sunset around 10:30 pm.
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