Banff

Banff National Park: We are getting very lazy. Sleeping until after 8 am... you would think we are on vacation or something... except that we are always on vacation. It takes a lot of effort to get up, walk 10 steps and push the "ON" button on the coffee pot, you know!
 
Today, we just had to "wing it" - Banff is a little bit in a mess. The nearby forest fire is bringing the air quality to a dangerous level. There are so many bears (black bear, mostly) down in the low levels feeding on the bumper buffalo berry crop, that the Rangers have closed nearly every day-hike trail. Anyway, we don't want to hike when we can't breathe! This is only the second day of really smoky air, but we are beginning to develop sore throats, itchy eyes, etc.

The Banff Springs Hotel


Bow River Falls behind the Banff Springs Hotel

We drove up to beautiful Bow River Falls today and then visited the Banff Springs Hotel and booked a tee time for tomorrow. DT will golf and I will ride along. We saw a herd of about 30 elk on the course today - I will take my camera along tomorrow and hopefully the elk will still be around (and the smoke will lift enough) so I can get a photo. Banff is working very hard to keep the wild part of the Rockies out of the townsite. Last week a wolf had to be killed because it came into town and killed a pet dog in a back yard. Every garbage can in town is bear-proof. In past visits we have seen elk walking down Banff Avenue and herds walking through the campground. We have not seen one elk in this campground or in town on this visit. I don't want to think what they did to all the elk... but on the plus-side, there is now extensive elk fencing around town and elk-proof crossings (cattle/Texas guards) on the roads into town.

Finally, we went shopping! Banff has the best shopping in the Canadian Rockies. The shops are filled with souvenirs of every description - postcards to hand-carved or painted works of art. Tacky tins of maple tea to beautiful pewter pieces. Of course, if you are in need of a tee shirt, this could be your place. We found a few gifts for our friends and faithful pet sitters and even a few things for ourselves (lazy and self-indulgent). We had lunch at an Irish-style pub - the forest fire smoke and the cigarette smoke combo did not make for an enjoyable meal however. Nearly every shop has a Japanese sales girl, as so many of the tourists are from Japan. Most shop signs are translated to Japanese and German. (And, duh, French.) There must be 10 Japanese restaurants and sushi bars in Banff. There is also a restaurant featuring a fondue with "elk, buffalo, ostrich, snake" and other strange choices. You can buy fine Belgian Chocolates, Louis Vuitton handbags, Mikimoto pearls, beautiful alpaca sweaters ($400 - ouch), Native People art and of course, thimbles, key chains, shot glasses, magnets, stuffed animals and all the other usual tourist stuff. There are numerous ski shops and places to hire a guide, book a rafting trip or a sightseeing tour. There is something for everyone in Banff.
 
My pedometer read over 4 miles after our shopping up and down the main street in Banff!
 
Added later: At nine o'clock we decided to drive into town for dinner.  Of course, we looked for an Italian restaurant and instead of taking a risk, went to Giorgio's, where we had enjoyed a fine meal three years ago. The place hadn't changed much, still dark and nearly romantic with the little candles and fresh flowers on every table. Even at this late hour, almost every table was full. We were not disappointed with our meals. I had Caprese, of course - isn't that so boring? - and cappeletti stuffed with spinach and fontina in a sage butter sauce. And even though we are having pizza tomorrow night, DT had a tomato salad and an interesting pizza with three cheeses and asparagus spears, placed on the pizza like spokes on a wheel. It looked too pretty to eat, but he did - and said it was wonderful. (I don't think you can ever have too much pizza.) Our waitress was a very interesting girl from Ontario, Canada. After university, she decided she wanted to see Australia - so she took off for a year and bummed her way around Australia... then to a job on a cruise ship in the Caribbean for three years, then back to Canada where she has been 'waitressing her way west'. She said she loved Banff and has been here since October and may stay. Or she may not.

A nice, long after-dinner stroll in the warm (smoky) evening air and we were ready for sleep - I didn't exercise today, yet my pedometer read seven miles! 

Campground: Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court