Advertisement
Published: November 4th 2006
Edit Blog Post
Calgary Tower
A Long Way Down We got up at 8.00, showered and packed, then went for breakfast. We'd spotted a likely place the night before, just up from the hotel and when we got there it was just as we'd hoped - good coffee and a range of breakfasts. Sadly, they were out of Granola (I'd had a craving) so we went for fruit salad and yoghurt which, with some additional honey, was delicious.
Once sated we wandered a few blocks to the Calgary Tower, a clear landmark from anywhere in or around the city. We had a two for one voucher, which was pleasing, and quickly headed up to the observation deck via the ultra-speedy lift.
From the top the vastness of the Canadian plains was visible, with the Rockies edging the view to the west. It was exciting to see them and know that we were heading in that direction. One feature of the tower was a section with a glass floor allowing you to look down past your feet to the achingly small street below. Both of us were wary of standing in position, held back by an inate unease at seemingly stepping out into thin air.
After the tower,
Hoodoos
Some Old Friends we visited the Devonian Gardens, an indoor botanical garden on the upper floor of one of the malls. We'd last been there in 1991 and it remains a good place to see. No doubt it's a favourite lunch spot for all sorts of Calgarian workers.
Pretty soon though, it was time to reclaim our bags from the hotel and pick up the hire car. We aimed to arrive a bit early in the hope the car would be ready as we wanted to get to Banff to set up camp as soon as possible.
We took the C-train to Hertz and, aside from a final bit of polishing, the car was ready. I was glad to see that, despite being an 'Intermediate' car, it was a bit smaller than the barge we'd had on our last visit. With the bags loaded (filling the boot - trunk!) we set off, and immediately stopped as a warning buzzer sounded. It took a while to realise I still had the handbrake on. Anyway, despite my timorousness, we headed out looking for Walmart and our necessary supplies. We found the intended store with little difficulty and set off on a major shop.
It didn't take long to find pretty much all that we wanted but, once again, there was an issue over fuel for the Trangia. I remembered that last time we'd found it sold as fondue fuel, not camping gear at all, and indeed, Walmart had such stuff. But this was a form of gel (no doubt a safety precaution) and I was very wary of it. Anyway, there was nothing else available so we bought it. Then, with the car loaded to the roof, we set off along the Trans-Canada Highway for Banff.
The car handled well enough, though the fuel gauge dropped alarmingly, and there was little traffic on the highway. As such I was able to settle into the driving reasonably well, though I'll never be wholly at ease with it.
We covered the 120km to Banff easily enough and turned off the highway to look for the campground. Sadly we missed it and headed down into Banff itself before turning round. Eventually though we presented ourselves at the camp office where they honoured our Net-gained booking. We found our camp place easily and set about raising the tent. It went smoothly, despite hard ground, and I remain extremely impressed with it as a home for two. In fact, I love it, and when the airbed, pillows and duvet are in it is extremely hard to resist. The thought of it being our home here in Banff for the next six nights fills me with delight.
Our site is ok. It's a good distance from the loos but is a bit exposed. A little more tree cover wouldn't go amiss. Whatever, it's still great to be here as we're surrounded on all sides by Rockies in the sun.
With camp all set up we wandered down to look at our old friends the Hoodoos, just a couple of hundred yards from the entrance to the campsite. It was great to see them again and they reminded us of our fabulour first world trip.
Early in the evening we drove into Banff, partly for a few supplies from Safeway and partly for a meal. As it turned out, neither of us were particularly hungry and we settled for a couple of rather poor slices of pizza in a food-court. But Safeway - God bless 'em - had proper fondue fuel! I'd already tried the gel stuff and it wasn't very successful. Now, hopefully, I could get rid of the gloopy mess in the burner and use the good stuff. We shall see.
As always, the Park Service is putting on a series of Interpretive Talks at the small theatre at camp and, suckers for anything like that, we decided to go once we got back. Tonight's talk was 'On The Ledge', all about the mountain goat (not a goat at all, apparently, but a type of antelope). The woman delivering the talk was wonderfully mad, utterly goat obsessed, to the point of finishing the presentation by reading a story she'd written, all about a goat! Happy days!
Finally, after a long and (sort of) stressful day, we clambered into bed. It threatened to be a bit chilly so we kept several layers on and used our towels as additional blankets. As it turned out, things were fine and we slept snugly and cozily all night long.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.06s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 9; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0375s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb