Blogs from Banff, Alberta, Canada, North America

Friday 7th June 2019 On Wednesday evening, our last in Canmore, we took our washing to the local laundromat and then we treated ourselves to a really nice Italian meal. One great thing across North America is the proliferation of laundromats; something we don’t have in most of Europe. It makes getting the washing done so easy for the traveller. Whilst waiting for the laundry we took a stroll along the Bow River footpath and a large female elk was in the river paddling along. We were so delighted, she made our total of Canadian mammal-spotting to eleven species: bison, black bear, moose, elk, deer, rabbit, squirrel, ground squirrel, chipmunk, prairie dog, beaver and fox. We managed to creep fairly close to the elk to take some photos (not too close, cow elk can be vicious ... read more

Day 29 3/06/2019 Ink Pots Walk We woke up after a good night’s sleep and waited for Penni to pick us up. Breakfast was at the Bagel shop and then off to the Ink Pots at Johnstone Canyon. It is a 12 km return walk along a fast flowing river on board walks to waterfalls and then up and over a mountain to the Ink Pots. The first stop was the lower falls where the melted snow water was crashing down around us and we then crossed the river to find a small cave that had been carved away from endless years of rushing water and it led through to a closer viewing area of the falls where we were covered with the spray from the falls. We continued on to the Upper falls which had ... read more

Groundhog day - up early, bags out, buffet breakfast, onto the bus, mountains, forest, waterfalls, lakes, sun, rain, clouds. Started the day back on the Icefields Parkway on our way from Jasper to Banff, and because we are on a bus tour, and that means seat rotations, every morning is "find where we are sitting today". Because we were on the "good" side of the road when we travelled to Jasper, we had to be on the other side today. First stop after we left Jasper this morning was Athabasca Falls. A little walk to the falls, viewing area fairly crowded, but very nice waterfall. We see lots of waterfalls, on sides of mountains, and near the road as we are driving, guess we stop at the special ones! Then a coffee stop at Sunwapta Lodge ... read more

After a full Western breakfast, Ann and I drifted along Banff Avenue to the Bow River. The warm sunshine encouraged us to take the riverside path, just to see what people were doing. When the pedestrian bridge loomed over us, we crossed it. The shady path enticed us further along, as we joined other tourists on the gentle trek. Where the river narrowed, the sound of rapids drew us up stairs and down stairs, up the path and down the path. Our reward was the crashing water of Bow Falls, and the placid beach where boaters launched onto the river.... read more

Hello my friends, I am happy to announce my arrival in Canada. This morning I landed at the Calgary International Airport. Upon my arrival I was taken to my friend's house, who willingly lodged me for a week. On the road I could see magnificent landscapes, mountains, forests, wild animals such as bear and caribou. Canada has a real ecosystem that the people want to protect. Indeed, I could see animal bridges to avoid accidents with animals and I find this design very important to protect animals. When I arrived at my friend John's, I was happy to see him again, we talked a lot and told him that he was fighting ecological damage, for his garden, he uses no chemical fertilizers but only nature fertilizers. He also told me that he hunted a maximum of ... read more