Blogs from Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, North America

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beentouring
March 3rd 2013

So many people signed up for this walk (73!) that organizers arranged car pools in addition to the bus. Finally walking with Joyce again, we went in her car with Ann and Cecile. The traffic was more obvious in a car, and surprising for so early on a Friday. Perhaps some were getting away early for the weekend, forecast with excellent weather. I had never been to Sunshine , presumably because of its main activity of skiing. The turn-off is a bit west of Banff; the others in the car were exclaiming about how much the road has improved, including paving all the way. As expected, we arrived before the bus – a good opportunity to get to the washrooms first. The disadvantage was that we never were clear on what walking options had been offered ... read more




beentouring icon
beentouring
February 9th 2013

An extra-quick drive to Home Road got me to the Montgomery Community Association parking lot by 7:45, well in time for the bus arranged by the Skrastin’s Outdoor Club. Of course there were already other people on the bus, i.e., even earlier than me, and quite a few more came shortly after me. On the dot of 8:00 we left, driving to the Canadian Tire parking lot on Richmond Road. Here Joyce joined me on what became a full bus. We promptly left at 8:15, taking the Bragg Creek road out of town, then onto the Transcanada. After a while, the president of Skrastins Outdoor Club welcomed us and introduced the organizer, Wolfgang, who described the three hikes on offer today. Joyce and I (and most others) had already read about them on the website. At ... read more




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webz
December 9th 2012

As I was departing Jasper the following morning nice and early I came upon a group of Elk crossing and obstructing the road. They didn’t seem to be too bothered by vehicles as they leisurely made their way across. The weather on the drive down to Lake Louise was much the same as on the way up which meant I didn’t get too many clear views of the mountains. Much of the drive on the Icefields parkway was covered in more than a foot of snow. The snowplows hadn’t had a chance to clear much of it away so I had a rather interesting time of it in the old Corolla. I arrived into Lake Louise in the afternoon and decided to squeeze in a quick hike up to Lake Agnes which has a teahouse by ... read more




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Pauly1959
August 23rd 2012

On our drive down to Waterton park we saw lots of wildlife including a family of four grizzly bears, mother and 3 cubs and a lone black bear. We also saw a distant Elk, Sheep and several deer...... read more




Backpackermatt icon
Backpackermatt
July 20th 2012

After hiking just about every yard of every trail in the vicinity of Lake Louise during my first three days in the Rocky Mountains, it was time to hop on my bicycle and venture down the Bow Valley Parkway (the older, slower, and far more peaceful alternative to the Trans-Canada Highway) to Banff, 55kms away to the south-east. Paralleling the Trans-Canada Highway, but on the opposite side of the valley, the Bow Valley Parkway is the perfect road for cyclists - there is far less traffic, the speed limit is lower, there are numerous viewpoints and interpretive displays along the way, and the resident wildlife is free to roam throughout the area. In fact, for four months every year during the springtime, the eastern half of the road is voluntarily closed to motorists from dusk to ... read more




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whiteriverevans
July 5th 2012

DAY 7: WEDNESDAY, JULY 4: Well we had another great day in the Banff National Park area, our last full day here to be exact. When I got up and started working on the blog and typed in thedates it was hard to believe it was The Fourth of July. Everyone was probably going to the parade and excited to watch fireworks. The holiday was over here. I did forget to mention that the night we stayed in the parking lot at Quarry Lake we saw some fireworks being shot off the tippy top of one of Three Sisters Mountains. We had to ask the next day how people get up there, and found out there is a road. Since has will have many mountains to drive up and down we passed on this one. One ... read more




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colvinyeates
June 3rd 2012

This land just won't quit. I know these stretches of mountains, lakes and forests are finite but it doesn't seem that way. A harsh critic or two claim it's a bit same same. That's one perspective. Mine is it's a same same that's sublime sublime. Show me a person who considers the Canadian Rockies as same same and I'll show you a person of the glass half empty variety. We hit the Rockies in Jasper up north and this was the point where we rotated the WHOW 180 degrees, south now being the direction of choice back towards home base. This also coincided with roughly the half time interval and we clicked over half our allotted mileage allowance. Don't you just love it when all the pieces of the puzzle come together. Plenty of drives around ... read more




Wewa icon
Wewa
May 30th 2012

Banff is absolutely beautiful. We have been on the go since we got here. Everywhere you look is beauty. The bike trails are great as well as the walking/hiking trails. We have been to Bow Falls, the Fairmont, the Hot Springs, Lake Minnetanka, Tunnel Mountain Resort, hiked to the HooDoos, and of course cruised the town and shops. I went for a walk/hike today to Vermillion Lake while Jim took a nap but was unable to continue my hike due to the trail closure due to bear activity. Later on the trail I ran across a guy that said there was a momma grizzly and 3 cubs, the momma was very agitated and appears she wants to be rid of her cubs which are grown enough to be on their own. I am just glad the ... read more




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Wewa
May 29th 2012

It has been quite a journey so far. We traveled from Texas, our state is so large, you can travel forever and still be in Texas. We made it to Dumas, Tx. and spent the night. Got up early and drove all the way to Cheyenne, Wyoming on Monday, Rick and Dale left McKinney on Monday as well and drove all the way to Denver (Jim said "We should have just driven straight thru and taken the route that Rick & Dale took which was different than ours. Oh, well.....it is what it is. We spent the night in Cheyenne, Wy. If anyone stays there for what ever reason.......you must go have dinner at "Poor Richards".....wonderful meal, wonderful salads, soups, and DESSERT! We woke early and headed out to Custer, South Dakota. Not a very scenic ... read more




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theduck
May 22nd 2012

I finally managed to get two days off in a row and had well over $500 remaining from last pay so I headed straight to Sundog Tours booking office on Sunday without a clue of what I wanted to do. I just told them that I wanted to get away from Jasper for a day or two and ended up booking a tour down to Banff. Banff is about 3.5 hours away (without constantly stopping), travelling south-east along Highway 93, better known as the Icefields Parkway. We were to stop at Athabasca Falls, Columbia Icefield and Lake Louise along the way. It turned out to only be $30 dearer than going to Edmonton, which didn't include a tour or awesome scenery so I was easily persuaded. The only issue was having to catch a bus at ... read more









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