Banff is a small town, very pretty and a major centre for tourism in the Rocky Mountains. We were tired after our train journey, and felt very full of food, so we simply opted for another early night. The following day was spent sightseeing around the area by coach. As we left Banff that morning, I noticed that every mountain-top had its own stream of cloud rising from the summit, making it look as if all the mountains were smoking. Our first stop was the 'Natural Bridge', where the Kicking Horse River has tunnelled below its own waterfall to flow beneath the original rock formation and create a natural bridge.
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Every mountain had its own cloud rising from the peak. |
The turbulent Kicking Horse River above the falls |
The river had carved its way below the falls and created this natural bridge, one of the few ways to cross the river for several miles |
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We then continued to the beautiful Emerald Lake., admiring its shimmering green waters amongst the forests and mountains. We didn't see any bears!
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The warning signs by the Emerald Lake are quite clear. |
The waters of the lake, set amongst the forests and the mountains, are beautiful |
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Leaving the Emerald Lake, we spotted a freight train and drove back to the observation point near to the Spiral Tunnels. At one time we could see both ends of 2 trains entering and leaving the tunnels! We then continued to Lake Louise which, with Mount Victoria in the background, has justifiably earned the reputation as one of the most beautiful lakes in the Rocky Mountains.
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We had a wonderful leisurely stroll around Lake Louise |
There is a very posh old hotel beside the lake |
This beautiful blue jay insisted on posing for a couple of photographs. He shows his crest very proudly in the silhouette picture |
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Retuning to Banff, we paused to see the town's original hotel. This extremely grand place had been built to provide luxury accommodation to the rich and famous; when the original architect saw it, however, he broke down in tears because they had built it facing in the wrong direction, so that they would have to swap the exclusive guest rooms for the service quarters if the guests were to see the promised views of the mountains. As if that wasn't bad enough, when modernisation necessitated that the rooms should have en-suite facilities added to them, the resultant rooms were really tiny!
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We still didn't meet any bears, I'm rather glad to say |
The shuttle buses around Banff are beautifully decorated |
There were also some amazing open-top tourist buses |
Te beautiful Banff Hotel, seen from across the valley |
Arriving back at our own hotel we explored its facilities. It advertised a rooftop pool with hot-tubs and a bar, but one of the tubs was broken and the bar was unattended; we looked out of the window and across the street we spotted a very inviting rooftop bar. Crossing over to the 'Elk and Oarsman' as it was called, we were made to feel very welcome as we went upstairs for a drink (or two) and a delicious pot of Poutine which is a traditional Canadian meal of French Fries (or if you are British, chips) with cheese curds and gravy. Here it was topped with elk-meat, and was absolutely superb!
The next morning we were awake early, which was a good thing because at 7am a guest accidentally set off the fire alarm; we were fully dressed and ready to leave our room anyway, but several guests came down to the lobby in their bathrobes because they had been in the shower!
After a leisurely breakfast we were ready for our 150 mile coach trip along the mountains to the ice-fields. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking, as the road wound its way amongst the snow-capped peaks, We made a few sightseeing stops to see some beautiful lakes, spectacular glaciers, and amazing waterfalls.
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Everybody stopped to view this lake, high amongst the mountain-tops |
This glacier has lost most of its lowest channel; When it had all 3 it resembled a giant crow's foot, hence its name Crowsfoot Glacier |
The mountain goats were not very interested in us |
The road performed some spectacular antics to climb up the valley (yes, this is the route that we had been following a few minutes earlier) |
At the highest point of our mountain-top route, we reached the spectacular Columbia Icefield. We stopped here and transferred to their custom-built ice-coach which took us up to the glacier, where we were able to get out and walk about on the ice. We were wearing several layers of warm clothing, and didn't feel cold on the ice itself, but as we waited for the bus to take us back to our coach we shivered in the ice-cold wind which blew down from the mountains to replace the warm air that was rising from the valley.
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Our first view of the glacier at the Columbia Icefield |
The ice-bus which took us up to the glacier |
I'm glad they don't still use this one! |
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Debbie takes a walk on the glacier's ice ... |
... which was a beautiful shade of blue beneath our feet |
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Leaving the Icefield behind us (after a delicious cup of hot chocolate to warm us up again) we continued our journey by coach, stopping on the way to admire the incredible Athabasca Falls. Here the river battles its way between hard rock outcrops, gouging a passage for itself down from the mountains.
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The river flows between massive rocks ... |
... seeking a path downhill ... |
... until eventually finding a route ... |
... into the small gorge that it has fashioned |
Finally we reached the small town of Jasper. In 2024 there had been a massive forest fire nearby, which had almost destroyed the town. The worst devastation had been when fires reached the 2 petrol stations at the Southern end of the town; the resultant explosion had destroyed nearly 40% of the buildings in the town. Luckily the town had been completely evacuated, so there was only one casualty, a fire-fighter who was sadly killed; after the fires had been extinguished, temporary accommodation was provided for the newly homeless and the remaining buildings were repaired wherever possible. Today this little town is making good progress in its restoration, and remains a very popular tourist centre.
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There is some beautiful artwork on the walls of buildings in Jasper, a small town that is utterly determined to undo the ravages of the 2024 firestorm which destroyed so much of the area |
A magnificent tribute to the indigenous people of the area |
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Our hotel was a little way outside the town, but still within walking distance, and the next day we enjoyed an afternoon exploring the town itself. We ate a seafood poutine (delicious) and sampled the local beer before returning to the hotel where Debbie made good use of the indoor swimming pool.
And so we proceeded by train towards Toronto....
All pictures on this site are © Allan Jones unless otherwise stated.
