Canadian Rockies Vacation 2019 (Days One and Two)

On our first day we experienced quite the temperature change. When we left our home, it was 60 degrees. At our stop for the night it was 90 degrees.

Lunch was eaten in Hope, B.C. I don't recommend any of the fast food places there. We experienced terrible customer service at A&W, which included "losing" my order.

We arrived at our stop for the night (Salmon Arm) in the late afternoon. I explored Hidden Gems bookstore while J and the boys went to the pier, shown in the photo above.

J and I ate savory pies at Shuswap Pies. The chicken pot pie was delicious! There was live music (a gal singing a bit like Nora Jones) which was enjoyable. We watched the Seahawks preseason game on TV in our hotel (Travelodge).

On Day Two, we entered the Rockies. Lunch stop was Golden. We stopped in Field to buy a Parks pass.

I think I took this photo in Field.

I talked to a parks guide who told me how busy Lake Louise and Moraine Lake are in August. We found out that we would need to take a shuttle bus for either lake and that waits can be bad if you don't arrive early in the day. This was a bit discouraging.

We spotted bears along the side of the road between Lake Louise and Banff. There was a "bear jam" which is when traffic stops to look at wildlife. There is a fence along the road. I got out of the car (you aren't supposed to) to get these photos.

I was pretty excited to see some bears in the wild.

This photo is a repeat of a photo I have of J and A with Mt. Rundle in the background, when A was a baby.

We visited Banff. This sign is pretty recent.

I wanted to visit the Cave and Basin since J and the boys had never been there.
What is the Cave and Basin? "It is the site of natural thermal mineral springs around which Canada's first national park, Banff National Park, was established."

At one point, you could swim here.

How the former pool area looks now:

I enjoyed seeing the cave.

This is a painting depicting the three railway men who discovering the cave in 1883.

It was cool and windy in Banff. The temperature was around 55 degrees. I took a photo of the building where I worked as a waitress in the late 80s. The restaurant is still there but it is upstairs instead of on the main floor.

We had supper at Tony Roma's in Banff. We noticed lots of staff in Banff were from Australia. Our hotel in Canmore (a bit east of Banff) was a bit disappointing. The water slide was closed and the hot tub was also closed until about 9:30 pm.




Pin It