Week ending June 23, 2016 Banff

On Friday we walked along the top of the rim from the campground to the hotels.  Then we decided to walk down toward the river, crossing the path that heads down at an angle from the campground to the river.  Instead of taking this path back, we walked along the bottom area for a while, where we were passed by a fellow on a mountain bike.  After continuing that way some more, we came to a path back up the hill.  It was steep enough that the biker was still carrying his bike up the trail.  We decided that it was time head up, so we scrambled up the hill.  It took us quite a while, as the trail had loose rock, and sometimes we slid back a step or two.  However, after stopping a few times to rest, we finally got back to the top, not too far from our trailer. 

Saturday, we walked down to the Safeway in Banff.  It is now an IGA instead.  When we asked the checker when it had changed, she told us it was last Sunday. 

On Sunday afternoon, Elizabeth came out to walk with us around Johnston Lake.  It is an easy hike around a beautiful lake.  After supper, we enjoyed a chocolate cake with strawberries and a special yogurt which she brought.

Monday morning, we drove down to Banff, and walked along the Bow Falls Trail from Central Park, across the new (2013) wood pedestrian bridge, then along the river to Bow Falls.

 Tree in front of Bow Falls

Carol and Dave arrived in the afternoon.

On Tuesday, we all went for the hike up Sundance Canyon to the falls.  It was a fairly long trek, 3.2 km one way to the bottom of the canyon, then Dave and John did the slope up to the bridge across Sundance Creek.  It took us about 3 hours to do the hike, as we took it nice and slow, but it was well worth it.   

 Paintbrush in Horsetail

On the way back, sitting beside a backwater, Dave noticed a muskrat. 

When we got back to the Cave and Basin, we stopped at the Cafe there, where Dave bought us sandwiches.


Wednesday morning, we went to the shops in Banff so Carol could find gifts for the family.  In the afternoon we did the Johnston Canyon trail to the lower falls.    Although cars were parked along the Parkway, we managed to find a handy spot in the parking lot. 

Lower Falls

After finishing the walk, we came back for milkshakes in our new Ninja milkshake maker. 

Thursday morning, Carol and Dave left fairly early to head for home.   Later in the morning, John drained the hot water tank, at Dave's suggestion, to see if that would fix a problem with slow hot water flow.  Unfortunately, that hasn't fixed the problem.  The water drained was clear, even after we ran about 5 gallons through to flush anything left in the bottom.     In the afternoon, we did a wander around the trailer court.