Smoke from the wildfires...

On July 13th as we traveled from Calgary to Banff everything was in a haze.  Wildfires were burning near Saskatchewan Crossing and the smoke was causing a haze over the mountain tops.  Even in the haze the views were breathtaking. After arriving in Banff and getting the Land Yacht set up, we went into town to the visitors center.  Two good things about the visitors centers in Canada, they have great information and a WiFi signal that you can borrow to check email.  We are finding WiFi to not be available in many places and if it is, they want to charge a premium for it, so free WiFi is a real find.  The coffee shops have WiFi but it is slow because everyone is trying to use it...I will admit it, I miss WiFi.

On July 14th we went to Cave and Basin Historic Site, which is a site of hot springs that drew people to Banff for their healing power, but mostly because they felt soothing.  We also saw the Upper Hot Springs which are still open for use.  We enjoyed exploring all the little tourist shops in town. We toured the Park Museum which is in the same building it has been in since it opened in 1908.  We also toured the gardens at the National Park Office.

Museum

On July 15th, the four of us drove down the Bow Valley Parkway. We hiked the trail to upper and lower Johnston Falls.

On July 16th Wayne and Mark hiked to the top of Tunnel Mountain.  There is no tunnel in the mountain but it was a proposed site for a tunnel and the name stuck.  Sue and I went to the Farmer's Market and to the grocery store.  In the afternoon, Wayne and I rode our bikes around town and explored Bow River Falls and the Vermillion Lakes.  Banff is surrounded by beautiful mountains.

Vermillian Lake

From the campground

Bridge in town

River in town

Next Stop Lake Louise !