Monday, May 17, 2010

May 12, 2010

Banff – Day 1  Sightseeing and Wildlife

We started our day with a short drive to the Historic Banff Springs Hotel. 

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This is the first, grandest, and largest hotel in the Canadian Parks system.  As with many of the US National Parks lodges/hotels, this one was built by the railroad to attract tourists (via the train naturally).  They call it a castle and even have tours of the castle.  Don’t know if it has a dungeon but the inside and outside are sure castle like.  High soaring ceilings at the entry/lobby and then many low ceilinged passageways leading off to various places.  Each with little alcoves that hold stores and restaurants, all of which are VERY upscale. 

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Sitting rooms, private dining rooms and nooks, on and on and always the view.

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As we left the hotel we saw our first real wildlife of the trip.

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He was just sitting by the walk having breakfast.

 

 

 

we left the hotel and drove a short distance to the Bow River to view Bow Falls.

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Then up the hill a short distance to the base of the Sulphur Mountain gondola.  On the way we passed a bull elk grazing along the road.  Sorry, the picture did not turn out well.  We came upon it too quickly to get a good shot. 

From the top of Sulphur Mountain you get a 360 degree view of all the mountains and valleys surrounding Banff.

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Cascade Mountain with town of Banff at its’ base.

 

 

 

 

Trans-Canada Highway, Canada 1, headed NE toward Lake Louise.  The structure in the center that looks like an overpass is a wildlife bridge.  It allows wildlife to get from one side of road to other.  There are tunnels too.  This section of road is fenced all the way to Lake Louise, 35 miles away.  This is a major wildlife habitat and migration corridor and the fence keeps animals and autos from interacting.

Low temperature this morning at the campground was 31 F.  It was about 45 F when we started up the gondola.  Temperature on top, 25 F.  Glad we took jackets.

Down the gondola and a hundred yard drive to the Upper Hot Springs.  $3.50 buys you a swim in a hot springs fed pool.  This is one of two hot springs in the area.  The protection of these springs from rampant exploitation and commercialism led to the formation of the Canadian National Parks System.

Back to the campground for lunch.  Very nice day.  Cloudless most of the day.  We sat at a picnic table next to the carbus for lunch in shirtsleeves.

After lunch, back to the Cave and Basin National Historic Site. 

On the way we took a road that has a sharp turn in it called Surprise Corner. 

This is why.

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What you see when you come around the turn.  Post card type view.  Double click picture.

 

 

 

 

This is the location of the first hot springs that was discovered.  Some railroad workers came across a hole in the ground that had a sulphur smell coming from it.  The hole turned out to be the top of a cave that had a mineral spring in it.  Three men saw a chance to make $$ by commercializing the spring.  A hot spring pool and spa was built.  The fledgling Canadian government (only 12 years in existence at the time) decided to protect the springs.  And thus began the Canadian Parks system.

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Birthplace of the Canadian Parks system. :)

 

 

 

The springs and the natural pools fed by them are the home of the Banff Springs Snail.  Only lives here.  Endangered naturally.

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Mature snail.  Under water so picture a bit fuzzy.

 

 

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Bunch of small snails on a leaf.

 

 

Below (down hill) the cave/spa site is a nice nature trail completely on a boardwalk to protect the plants and trees.

From the cave we drove across the valley and up a road that leads to a ski area now closed due to lack of snow.  As we drove through town we passed a couple of mule deer grazing on a lawn.  The purpose of the drive was a view spot that looks over Banff from a different perspective.

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Double click picture for better view.  Above the blue spot (Bow River) is the road that leads to the base of the gondola.  See the two people on the left?

 

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This is what they are looking at.This is actually a very small sample of what we saw on our drive up the road. 

 

We went through three or four groups of at least fifteen each.

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Yes, that sheep really is that close.

 

 

 

Back down to Banff, we went to McDonalds to check the prices.  Pretty much the same.  Maybe a little higher.  Food everywhere else in this resort town is much higher.

Back past our campground and on to a trail that goes to a view of some hoodoos. Nothing like the southwest but hoodoos just the same.

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That’s all there are folks.

 

 

 

On our way back to the car we saw our last wildlife of the day.

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I did zoom a little bit but not much.

 

 

 

The amazing thing about everything described above is that all of it is less than one and a half miles from the center of Banff.  Pretty neat.



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