Nancy's Travelblogue

... there isn't a train I wouldn't take, no matter where it's going. -- Edna St. Vincent Millay

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Location: California, United States

Thursday, June 25, 2009

MONTANA CANADA TRIP - Day 10. Banff

This was our layover day in Banff. My expectations of Banff were high -- based on photos I had seen of an elegant hotel nestled in the Canadian Rockies, so I wasn't prepared for a touristy town that could have been Venice Beach or Santa Cruz. The lousy weather, including freezing rain, didn't help

The day started off poorly, but got better with each new experience. We took a walk in the rain and unexpectedly came upon the famous Banff Hotel (now owned by Fairmont Hotels) looking just like it did in the photos. Here's my photo:


Of course we decided to go back for a very late lunch, and lingered.And because it doesn't get dark till after 10 p.m. we had time to ride the gondola up Sulpher Mountain to watch the sunset. This is the mountain where a Banff resident (I think his name was Mr. Samson), installed weather observation equipment and traveled up the mountain on foot or donkey over 1000 times in all seasons and weather. As we braved the biting cold and wind in the middle of June, we gain great respect for Mr. Samson and all the other early adventurers in the Canadian Rockies. Here is a view of Banff from the summit:And here we are looking out over the summit:Though the day started out bad, it ended wonderfully. As you can see the sky turned blue just in time for sunset.

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