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Published: April 26th 2006
Had a leisurely morning, getting up late and having a bowl of Lucky Charms before heading out for the day. Today we were just concentrating our sightseeing in and around Banff, stopping first at the still frozen Lake Minnewanka - ‘Lake of the Water Spirits.’ It was pretty, and after stopping for a short period we then drove further on to Two Jack Lake.
Rounding a corner, there in the middle of the road, were three Big Horn Sheep busily licking the minerals off the asphalt. Can’t imagine that would be very tasty mixed in with car oil and the rest! Took some pictures before moving slowly on, and then rounded another corner and came across two big boys with very large horns, again with tongues lapping away at the road. They gave us a curious nod before getting back to business.
Two Jack Lakes was extremely picturesque with lovely clear waters with Mt Rundle as a back drop. Would be a great place to have a little cabin, providing no tourists were allowed!
Vermilion Lakes was the next stop, a series of three lakes which are all connected by a little creek. The views of Mt Rundle
Lake Minnewanka
A frozen Lake Minnewanka with Mt Inglismaldie in background.reflected in the water were stunning, and we saw our first mosquito of the trip. It could have been a small helicopter such was its size! Glad the windows were up, so it couldn’t drain us of our blood in one bite! Across the lake we could see some large unidentifiable animals, even with the zoom. Probably deer, but possibly elk?
Leaving the lakes, we drove up to Sulphur Mountain for a ride up to the summit on the gondola. Had to make a bathroom pit stop, and when we came out a couple bus loads of tourists had just arrived and were standing in line. How annoying, so looked around the shop and found a nice book on the Rockies to purchase when we came back down. The line thinned a little, so bought our tickets and hopped into a gondola. We had to share it with two young men, one of whom was quite dishy but very short. The ride up took about six minutes, plenty of time to enjoy the scenery on offer.
At the top of Sulphur Mt we wandered around the observation deck before taking the walkway to Sanson’s Peak. It was boarded
Lake Minnewanka
Gail with Cascade Mt behind her. walkway, which towards Sanson’s Peak turned into plenty of stairs and climbing all these at 2,281 metres (7,486 feet) above sea level leaves you panting! Still, taking a breather meant time to take pictures. Once at the top of Sanson’s Peak, the stairs turned into snow and ice. Where as on the walkway you had nice guard rails to prevent you falling off the mountain, at the top where it was more treacherous there were only three little cable wires (with enough space in-between to fit a car!!!) to stop any sudden decent, whether by choice or not! Given that it was extremely slippery and icy, we clung to the rail with a vice like grip and rounded the lethal corner to make it to the top. While a chap was taking our picture, his wife, who was carrying a baby, slipped and nearly went flying! Going back down was much easier of course with no panting involved.
Back at the bottom of the mountain, bought the book and then drove into Banff. Took a stroll around, looking in some of the nice shops at some beautifully hand carved Inuit sculptures of animals. Very nice, very expensive! As it
was late afternoon, and our stomachs were growling, we popped into Mac D’s for some fries to tide us over until dinner later. Waiting in line before us were some snowboarders who had just come down from the mountain, with badly burned faces complete with the white marks from goggles and glasses! They did look rather a sight!
With much ado ordered our fries. For some reason, the Canadians can’t understand me, and I can’t understand their accent! So it’s a bit like talking to someone in a foreign language with neither knowing what the other is saying, so hence I only got one order of fries when I asked for two!
Walked around the town before heading back to the hotel for the evening. Updated the blog, sorted through pictures and watched a few films on TV - Stepmom, Pretty Woman, and The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood.
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