Banff

We drove south to Banff. 

The mountains leading up were indeed impressive, though perhaps I had grown aclimatized at that point. Or maybe it was the cloudy weather. Either way, I was in a "show me" mood, and so far wasn't sold on the whole Banff experience. The campsite proved to be a major disappointment. It was clear the National Park was taking advantage of Banff's status and trying to get as many vehicles as possible on top of one another, or bumper to bumper in our case--we were basically sharing the equivalent of a normal single vehicle site with another RV (in this case it was a Dutch family, one of the many European RV renters living the Canadream).

On the plus side, my wife's friend who lives in Edmonton joined us for two nights and we had a quality time hiking around and hanging out.

Apparently this hotel is from the late 1800s. Must've been quite the effort building this in the mountains, but then again, the pyramids were also built without the help of aliens, apparently.

The next morning Kenting and I enjoyed the return of the sun, even if our site was still as packed as it was (neighbors on the left, hooked up to the same water source). Oddly, because of the setup, one of the two vehicles was forced to back in, and yet the hookups for electricity were all on the right side, making them unreachable with our sewer hose. It was a very poor campsite indeed.

Still, the  views of mountains were quality.

Kenting always strikes a pose, even if reluctantly.

I jogged down to Banff town on evening two.

We started Day 3 in earnest with more walks and fresh water samples.

The highlight was certainly Minnewaska Lake. It was filled with visitors, but for a good reason.

We wound down back at the RV and I took the shuttle bus into Banff town for groceries and sampled the local beer again. I met a chef and a manager at the main ski resort there over a few afternoon pints and learned enough about the area to think that living in Canmore less than 30 minutes away might be the way to go rather than dipping into the Banff real estate market.

The beer was once again good, but not great, though the bartender from New Brunswick who gave me a 25% discount for being a fellow maritimer was certainly appreciated.

There's no doubt Banff town has a cool vibe and, with the skiing in the winter, is likely pretty energetic year-round. I can see why people live there for sure.

The last night we were booked at a better National Park site and even had a campfire pit this time. We ended our Banff stay on a positive note, but definitely preferred the mystical elements of the Jasper National Park experience.

We drove on the next morning, backtracking a little bit to the crowd jewel of the Jasper-Banff region, Lake Louise.