Canadian Rockies – Banff -July 2, 2016

INTERNATIONAL WIFI HAS TURNED OUT TO BE MORE OF A CHALLENGE THAN WE EXPECTED.  DOWNLOADING PICTURES HAS NOT WORKED WELL FOR US.  PICTURES WILL BE ADDED AS SOON AS WE CAN GET A FAST ENOUGH CONNECTION.

Once we got our act together this morning, we headed West towards Banff National Park along with thousands of Canadians.  We thought we were being so clever not dealing with 4th of July crowds because we were not in the U.S. but we never realized that July 1st is their Canada Day and this is their 149th birthday.  Good thing we didn’t wait to take this trip next year for their 150 year celebration. The park ranger told us this is the second busiest day of the year for the Park.  We never asked what the first was.

We first stopped at Canmore just East of Banff for lunch.  According to our person at the information center, the food is better in Canmore and costs less.  Her recommendation was The Range with fresh roasted meats with an Italian flair.  Jim and I opted for an Eggplant and vegetable sandwich with goat cheese  while Carol had the pork porchetta sandwich with apple spiced butter.  We all agreed we would come back again; our measure of how good the food was.

Banff was an absolute zoo.  There were thousands of people everywhere we went within the park.  But nothing, not even the hordes of people could over shadow the majesty of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.  Look at these pictures:

Lake Minnewanka – Banff Nat’l Park

Hoodoo’s(stone formation) in Banff National Park

Banff Springs Hotel

View from Terrace at Banff Hotel

There are 2,564 square miles of park to explore and we did our best to fit it all in, including Lake Minnewanka, Hoodoo’s View Point, Caves and Hot Springs and a respite of latte on the Terrace at the famous Banff Springs Hotel established in the mid 1800’s.  The gondola ride had a two hour wait line and we decided it was time to leave.

Of course my life revolves around excellent food, so we found the Iron Goat in Canmore with a view and outdoor dining to die for.

Although the dinner was delicious, the highlight was a “true Canadian dessert” called Rundle Paul.  This is a variation on “The Beaver Tail” ( didn’t help me either) but is a donut-like flat cake topped with warm candied fruit (we chose peaches), whipped cream, and a caramel drizzle.  Oh my gosh!

Rundle Paul (variation on a Beaver Tail) dessert – Iron Goat Restaurant, Canmore, AB

I have to mention that sunset here is very late.  At 9:30 p.m. it is just starting to think about getting dark and its almost 10:30 before you can call the sky dark.  Even though we were exhausted, there is something wrong about going to sleep when it is still light outside.

Headed to Lake Louise tomorrow.