Banff
Saturday | 18 August 2001 | Banff National Park:
We are getting very lazy. Sleeping until after 8 am... you would think we
are on vacation or something... except that we are always on vacation. It
takes a lot of effort to get up, walk 10 steps and push the "ON" button on
the coffee pot, you know!
Today, we just had to "wing it" - Banff is a little bit in a mess. The
nearby forest fire is bringing the air quality to a dangerous level. There
are so many bears (black bear, mostly) down in the low levels feeding on the
bumper buffalo berry crop, that the Rangers have closed nearly every
day-hike trail. Anyway, we don't want to hike when we can't breathe! This is
only the second day of really smoky air, but we are beginning to develop
sore throats, itchy eyes, etc.
The Banff Springs Hotel
Bow River Falls behind the Banff Springs Hotel
We drove up to beautiful Bow River Falls today and then
visited the
Banff Springs Hotel and booked a tee time for tomorrow. DT will golf and
I will ride along. We saw a herd of about 30 elk on the course today - I
will take my camera along tomorrow and hopefully the elk will still be
around (and the smoke will lift enough) so I can get a photo. Banff is
working very hard to keep the wild part of the Rockies out of the townsite.
Last week a wolf had to be killed because it came into town and killed a pet
dog in a back yard. Every garbage can in town is bear-proof. In past visits
we have seen elk walking down Banff Avenue and herds walking through the
campground. We have not seen one elk in this campground or in town on this
visit. I don't want to think what they did to all the elk... but on the
plus-side, there is now extensive elk fencing around town and elk-proof
crossings (cattle/Texas guards) on the roads into town.
Finally, we went shopping! Banff has the best shopping in the Canadian Rockies.
The shops are filled with souvenirs of every description - postcards to
hand-carved or painted works of art. Tacky tins of maple tea to beautiful pewter
pieces. Of course, if you are in need of a tee shirt, this could be your place.
We found a few gifts for our friends and faithful pet sitters and even a few
things for ourselves (lazy and self-indulgent). We had lunch at an Irish-style
pub - the forest fire smoke and the cigarette smoke combo did not make for an
enjoyable meal however. Nearly every shop has a Japanese sales girl, as so many
of the tourists are from Japan. Most shop signs are translated to Japanese and
German. (And, duh, French.) There must be 10 Japanese restaurants and sushi bars
in Banff. There is also a restaurant featuring a fondue with "elk, buffalo,
ostrich, snake" and other strange choices. You can buy fine Belgian Chocolates,
Louis Vuitton handbags, Mikimoto pearls, beautiful alpaca sweaters ($400 -
ouch), Native People art and of course, thimbles, key chains, shot glasses,
magnets, stuffed animals and all the other usual tourist stuff. There are
numerous ski shops and places to hire a guide, book a rafting trip or a
sightseeing tour. There is something for everyone in Banff.
My pedometer read over 4 miles after our shopping up and
down the main street in Banff!
Added later: At nine o'clock we decided to drive into town
for dinner. Of course, we looked for an Italian restaurant and instead of
taking a risk, went to
Giorgio's, where we had enjoyed a fine meal three years
ago. The place hadn't changed much, still dark and nearly romantic with the
little candles and fresh flowers on every table. Even at this late hour, almost
every table was full. We were not disappointed with our meals. I had Caprese, of
course - isn't that so boring? - and cappeletti stuffed with spinach and fontina
in a sage butter sauce. And even though we are having pizza tomorrow night, DT
had a tomato salad and an interesting pizza with three cheeses and asparagus
spears, placed on the pizza like spokes on a wheel. It looked too pretty to eat,
but he did - and said it was wonderful. (I don't think you can ever have too
much pizza.) Our waitress was a very interesting girl from Ontario, Canada.
After university, she decided she wanted to see Australia - so she took off for
a year and bummed her way around Australia... then to a job on a cruise ship in
the Caribbean for three years, then back to Canada where she has been
'waitressing her way west'. She said she loved Banff and has been here since
October and may stay. Or she may not.
A nice, long after-dinner stroll in the warm (smoky) evening
air and we were ready for sleep - I didn't exercise today, yet my pedometer read
seven miles!
Campground:
Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court
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