September 2

SOLTESWEB.NET ALASKA TRIP 2005 - SEPTEMBER Page 2

Friday, September 2, continued - Lake Louise to Banff

Bow River

Bow river on the top and Castle mountain on the bottom. Everything here is picture postcard perfect!

Castle Mountain

Mount Ishbel

Johnson Canyon

Now...for those who are hungry for waterfall pictures, all of these were taken on a hike up Johnston Canyon. Where else can you see 7 waterfalls in about 1 1/2 miles? This was one of our favorite hikes: the weather was perfect, the walk very pleasant with few uphill climbs, and the scenery fantastic! There is something really refreshing about fast-flowing water.

Isn't that an interesting tree that Patty is resting against?

Other sights along the way...

Mt Rundle

We got into Banff later in the day, and overnighted at the Park campground. About 8 pm, we had quite a thunderstorm with lots of wind. The tall trees were swaying madly. By 9 pm, the storm had passed.

Saturday, September 3 - Banff

Banff is beautiful, very much a European-looking town with lots of flowers. We had an absolutely beautiful day with no rain, the first in a long time. The thunderstorm of last night just washed everything fresh and new.

We had lunch in an Irish Pub type restaurant...so good! Steak sandwiches au jus, and beef/barley soup with bug hunks of steak in it.

We phoned our vehicle insurance company and find that we are covered for any damage to our truck as a result of the water. We made an appointment with the Ford dealership in Canmore, Alberta for transmission service next Wednesday. Canmore is the next town south from Banff, about 15 miles away. That means we were "stuck in Banff" for the Labor day weekend. Too bad, huh? At the Visitor Center, we signed up for a 2-hour photo-op walking tour of Banff, and of course that pleased Ed. :) Here are some of the things we saw:

Hoodoo Area

These are so-called hoodoos (remember Bryce canyon in Utah?) on the way from the campground to the Banff town site.

See the hotel in the center picture below?

This is a look down Banff Avenue, the main street. There are not many towns like this; it reminded us of Switzerland.

Banff Springs Hotel

These are two views from the Banff Springs Hotel. The first is what you see at the 15th hole of the golf course from the point you drive. You have to drive hard to get over the Spray river below to get onto the green, and then it makes a wicked 90 degree turn to the left.

The second picture is what you see from the hotel balcony. While we were there, they were making preparations for a wedding party later that afternoon.

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