Banff Trip Diary

Picture Pages: Town | Camping | Johnston Canyon Hike | Cascade Gardens | Bow Valley

The Trans-Canadian Highway was a straight shot to the Rockies and our first stop was Banff. The town reminded me of Sedona, AZ - small resort town with a river and tucked at the base of a mountain. We heard many languages being spoken as we sat in a small park to have a late lunch. The Cascade Rock Garden was at one end of the main street.

All the motels, lodges and inns were full or very expensive so we decided to camp in the national park. Tent sites were full, so decided to get a space in Two Jakes Campground for hard-bodied vehicles only. The restriction on vehicles was because of the animal danger - bears mostly. (No, we did not see any bears.) There were 6 campsites sharing the central building with flush toilets, running water and an enclosed picnic table building (lots of mosquitoes). After selecting a camp-site we returned to Banff to see the nightlife. Banff Ave. was crowded with tourists; among our many stops was the Hudson's Bay Company store that was established in 1670.

Returning to our campsite after dark we made a wrong turn and found ourselves at Lake Minnewanka where we saw a young mountain ram up-close on the road.

The next morning we were one of the first to be hiking on the Johnston Canyon trail where we wanted to see the upper and lower waterfalls. The trail (in some areas) was literally drilled into the canyon wall to form catwalks. Driving north along the Rocky Mountains, we were on the Bow Valley Parkway. We stopped numerous times to view the mountains and the Bow River.

on to Lake Louise