On to Banff

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It's 10.28 on the 14th June. We're now camping in Banff National Park, and so in this next blog I will explain how we got from Winnipeg to here.
We got up fairly late in Winnipeg, around 10 am, and headed downstairs to the dining room for our complimentary breakfast. We all had a full English (with a slight Canadian twist - maple bacon etc.) then got ready to head out into Winnipeg itself. Our hotel was a 20 minute bus ride from the city, and it was a nice, warm day with clear blue skies. The city itself is very compact, but has some impressive buildings and large parks - giving it a not unpleasant feel, if not a little dull. We did get a sense, however, from all the people we talked to, that there was a lot of animosity between the native Canadians and the White Canadians, as sadly many natives were begging or apparently stealing, mugging etc. for money. Indeed we did see an inordinate amount of natives sitting on street corners or walking around with collecting cups.
We had a little shopping to do in the city, so once we had done that we found a nice little bar with a patio for some lunch. The food was pretty good, and pretty cheap, made better by the warmth of the midday sun. The next stop was a piercing parlour as Rosie wanted to find out how much it would cost to get the helix of her ear pierced (too much evidently), where we got chatting to one of the girls that worked there and her friend. We told them about our trip and how we are in Winnipeg that night, and they suggested some places we might go that were good on a Wednesday night.
Kindly, as one of the girls was about to leave for home she offered to give us a lift to a rooftop bar in the city. We agreed and went with her, grateful for the advice and free lift. She dropped us off outside The Tavern, and we ascended the 6 or so flights of stairs up to the rooftop bar. The rooftop was huge and getting pretty busy, but luckily we got one of the last tables left before it got too packed.
So we sat and had a few drinks, watching people come and go while the staff set up for the DJ who was to come on at 8. As the evening drew on we shared some food and, of course, had more rounds of drinks until - by about 10 we were up and onto the busy dance floor. The music was good, the drinks cheap and the atmosphere very lively, so we ended up staying until about 3am - and maybe drinking a little too much. We got a taxi back and collapsed into bed, with about 3 hours before we needed to be up for the bus.
I hadn't got to sleep until 6 that night, so when the alarm went off at 8 it was extraordinarily unwelcome. Thankfully I wasn't feeling too unwell (although Rosie was a little worse for wear) and we slowly got ourselves packed up and tickets printed. Since a taxi fare split 4 ways was the same as a bus each, not to mention a lot more convenient, we called a cab up to the bus station and checked out luggage in. Before we knew it we were back on the bus and starting another epic bus journey - 23 hours this time.
As soon as we were out of Winnipeg we were into the prairie. There's really not much to tell of this part of the bus journey, it was flat and flat and flat. It was the perfect time to read books, write, or whatever we hadn't previously had time to do.
After hours travelling through the same scenery, a city began to loom up out of the plain. This was Regina, where we were to stop for a couple of hours. It was an unexpectedly nice city, and seemed considerably larger than Winnipeg, with wide pedestrian avenues and parks with a quiet, sleepy feel. We found a food court in a mall and grabbed some dinner, then wandered around until the bus was due to leave. We were expected to arrive at the next stop at 11.30 that night, and we needed to get off there as they cleaned the bus, so I tried to not sleep until that time. Instead I watched a thunderstorm rage over the prairie, with huge clouds bursting with almost constant white light.
Finally we arrived at the next stop and vacated the bus for around 20 minutes. Once back on we all settled down to sleep for the night, but a couple of guys - one who had been on since Winnipeg, the other had got on at the current stop - began to talk in loud voices about nothing in particular. Luckily they were the kind of guys whose grasp on English was so rudimental that before long they became tired and confused at such intellectual exertion, and fell asleep - and let the rest of us do the same.
I woke up at about 8, having a pretty good 7 hours sleep. Unbelievably, the view out of window was so similar as to the day before I might have as well just blinked. We were approaching Calgary, another surprisingly large city - and once through we could finally see the Rockies loom up in the distance. As we drew closer the clouds thickened, and caught around the peaks of the foothills. Some of the taller mountains still had snow sitting on their slopes, while the towns begun to take on a quaint, ski village feel. The bus deposited us in Banff bus terminal, where we decided to find a tent and a place to camp, then settle down for the weekend before heading on to Raph's (who said he's now sorted out the accommodation) on Monday.
We took a map from the station, marvelled at the street names of Banff - Elk street, Squirrel street, Bear street and the like - then headed in to the town to find some food and some supplies. We grabbed a bite to eat at Boston Pizza, thankfully for the opportunity to put our packs down, the bought a couple two man tents from the Home Hardware (for an uncomfortably high price). We then caught the bus up to the nearest campsite and, while Rosie and Kate stayed with the bags, Matt and I went to make enquiries about booking a plot for three nights. Luckily the girl behind the desk was exceptionally helpful, booking us a plot on another site down the road so we didn't have to go to the other office to do it, and even ringing a shop in Banff who rented tents after we told her we'd had to buy some for only 3 days.
As it turned out it was much cheaper to rent the tents, so we headed back into the town, returned the tents we'd bought, and rented a much better one for half the price.
Finally, we headed back up to the campsite, found our plot and set up the tent. The scenery is beyond breathtaking. I would just say have a look at the photos, but even that doesn't do it justice. Once the tent was up we lay down in it to test it out, and promptly all fell asleep for 2 hours. We woke up slightly disorientated, and headed down to the camp shop to buy some food to cook over the fire-pit. The rest of the evening was spent cooking hotdogs and watching the sun set over the mountains across the valley. Once we'd finished eating, all of the remaining food and even toiletries needed to be locked into food lockers to prevent attracting grizzlies, wolves, coyotes and pumas, then settled down to sleep.
So now we're in West Canada, surrounded by spectacular scenery and with a weekend to explore.

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Comments

[Elna Wilson]

Travelblog
Another great blog! Sounds so exciting.You do write well. Looking forward to more. Love Grandma X my