After the late arrival the night before, it was a soft launch into our first day in Banff. We slept in and went for brunch, and then set out to explore Canmore, the township where we were staying.
Located about a 20 minute drive from Banff, the township of Canmore is an authentic alpine town and popular gateway to all the magnificent attractions of the Rocky Mountains. It was perfect for us, as we wanted to be close to the action but not right in the thick of the busy tourist crowds that we found in the township of Banff.
We took a stroll down Main Street, which is completely closed off to cars. Behind the quaint stores and restaurants was the spectacular vistas of the surrounding Canadian Rocky Mountains. so close that you could almost reach out and touch them.
In Canmore I had my first beaver tail, another uniquely Canadian delicacy. A beaver tail is a fried dough pastry, hand stretched to resemble a beaver’s tail, with various toppings. It was like a flat, fried donut.
We took a drive to Lake Minnewanka, a glacial lake about five kilometres from the Banff townsite.
For over 10,000 years, the deep waters of Lake Minnewanka have held the respect and high regard of those who have visited and lived upon its wild shores. Known to the Stoney Nakoda First Nations people as Minn-waki or “Lake of the Spirits,” the lakeshore holds archeological sites with documented artifacts from as long as 14,000 years ago.
Later on we ventured down the road to Downtown Banff. Again the Rocky Mountains dominated the skyline. On Banff Avenue, the main thoroughfare, boutiques and restaurants mixed with château-style hotels and souvenir shops.
I had decided I wanted to take a wildlife tour, in the hopes of sighting the coveted grizzly bear or a moose. I found two tour operators, and was trying to decide whether to take the daytime tour, which also included a ticket to the gondola, or night-time tour, which offered a better chance at wildlife sightings. In the hustle and bustle of town, it was becoming increasingly stressful trying to decide which to take. We found a happy hour at a Mexican restaurant and retreated from the hustle and bustle.
Initially I had decided to go on the daytime wildlife tour and meet Janine and Maddie at the Banff Gondola. But I later decided to do the evening wildlife safari, feeling it would offer a better chance at wildlife sightings.
That evening, Janine and I stayed up until 3am drinking wine, talking and laughing. It had been a busy time since I had arrived, and we finally had a chance to catch up properly.
Kate Kelsen 