Day 11 – Canmore & Banff!

Day 11 – Canmore & Banff!

We were up a little bit later today, at 0730 hrs. PT again! It really is refreshing, and those of you who exercise early in the morning, know that same energizing feeling. We did pushups and ran some of the nearby paths (one of them that we ran on actually had had a recent bear sighting! OOOOOOHHHH!!!! …but we weren’t graced with its presence…)

We made our own breakfast again in our hotel room. We then loaded up the vehicle, and waved goodbye to that wonderful five star resort…

The landscapes here are just… (I’m spluttering at this moment)…incredible! I’m running out of words as you can see. They are splendid. Just…true, raw, pure magnificence. Simply exquisite. They are the pure essence of beauty.

We stopped at a casino. Insert a gasp of shock here. Now take a deep breath, and listen…well, read on…We stopped because we saw all of these teepees being showed off on their lawn, so we decided to pull over and take cheesy tourist pictures with them. They’re actually pretty roomy on the inside. There’d probably be enough space for all of us to sleep comfortably in there (even with us kickers, punchers, sleep-talkers, snorers and whatnot … Because we have many of those…xD)

Our destination today was Lake Louise. However, we didn’t actually make it there. We went through a town called Canmore, where we stopped for lunch at a Wendy’s. That town was totally filled with motels…well, not even motels…they were like inns or hotels! Some even had names that ended with ‘lodge’ or ‘resort’! There were even some hostels along the way!

All of the buildings there were either accommodations or eateries! No joke! The town was smaller than one would think; if we had not stopped, we could have passed through it in approximately 10 minutes!

We arrived in Banff in the afternoon, and we went ‘urban hiking’ as Billy put it. You can not possibly be able to comprehend the fatigue that sets upon you with a full afternoon of shopping. We also went to a museum in town. It had stuffed animals on display; not the toy kind of stuffed animals, but the preserved bodies of local, and nearby regions’ wildlife. We got a chance to get a close-up of a cougar, and a grizzly bear (now that we did, hopefully we can avoid any nasty encounters with them). It was slightly creepy, what with their glassy stares, and stoicism. But, it was interesting to see such things that we would rarely get a chance to see in the wild.

We bought some things from the overpriced stores; some souvenirs, but mostly food. Did you know that there was a Cows here in Banff? I’ve only ever seen one in Prince Edward Island. Anyhow, we had Cows ice cream. Butter pecan? Mmm mmm good! (Copyright KFC)

We drove back onto the TransCanada highway, to go visit Lake Minnewankan. Its waters were as clear as Barrier Lake’s (we visited it a few days ago). Its rocky shores were fun to scale, and the mountains, seemingly sculpted from the land by the cool winds, and the arbitrary skies, raining on and off, were thought-rendering, and pensive.

We also stopped by Cascade Pond. Its waters were relatively shallow, and still, with hardly a ripple, in comparison with Lake Minnewanka’s lapping waves.

We drove up Mount Norquay Road to the closed ski area for its amazing view. You can see all of the town of Banff from up there. The turns in the mountain road were sharp and roller-coaster-like (hence the hushed screaming from the backseats…)

There’s going to be a thunderstorm tonight, so we had to find a motel of some sorts to stay in for the night. However, apparently all of the accommodations in the entire Rocky Mountain area had no vacancy. We were lucky, though; we were recommended a hotel that still had vacancy, and it was nearby.

So now, we are staying in the luxurious Juniper Hotel. We truly are so lucky, because, guess what? We have…the penthouse. Yes, everybody, the PENTHOUSE. YEAH!!!!! :)

Our (penthouse) suite has three bedrooms, one with a king-size bed, one with a queen, and one room with two double beds. We have three long, plush couches, a kitchenette, a dining room, a GIANT bathroom, and a BALCONY (with an amazing view of the mountains and of the town of Banff; as it’s right by Mount Norquay). And even in the kitchen! They provide cooking utensils, as well as eating utensils! It really is just like a dream house…my dream house… (Cue dreamy sigh…)

It’s really dark outside right now, and with the amazing view, you can see the stars, like pinpricks of light, shining through the black velvet of the night. The breeze sends chills through your body, and you breathe it in, refreshing. More and more stars seem to be appearing, peering out from behind that black curtain of sky. The mountains are silhouetted by the faint starlight. And the lights of the town and cars along the highway pierce through the fabric of darkness.

Why is it so pretty here?

Sleepy now, so more tomorrow. (PT tomorrow, first thing, we run back up that Mount Norquay, up to that scenic viewpoint!)

See ya everybody! Until next time... :)