| BANFF Banff is in the Canadian Rockies a couple of hours northwest of Calgary. I will be spending a week in Banff for some R&R. On my list of things to do will be whitewater rafting, the Calgary Stampede, ATV riding, hiking, horseback riding and a visit to the spa. No scuba diving on this vacation.
I will be staying at the luxurious Fairmont Banff Springs on this trip. |
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| Here is the sign welcoming you to Banff (in two languages as is required here this bilingual country). |
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| This sign warns of wild life you might encounter on the highways. We saw a very big black bear on the way back from rafting. He was just wandering along the railroad tracks along the highway. |
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| This is a picture from the top of Sulphur Mountain. I hiked about three miles up the mountain to the gondola that travels from 5,120 feet above sea level to 7,486 feet above sea level at a speed of 13 feet per second. You can see the Fairmont Banff Springs resort in the red box and the city of Banff on the left side of the photo. |
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| Here I am on the observation deck at the top of Sulphur Mountain. |
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| A family of mountain goats were at the observation platform. The baby rested while the adults dug and scraped for food. |  |
| It was raining on the next mountain (it rained on me on the hike down the mountain) and a rainbow appeared just before I headed down the mountain. |  |
| The sun sets late up north in the summer. Twilight came at about 11:00 PM tonight. The lights were on the in the shops in town, but the sky was still light. |  |
| Went to the Calgary Stampeded. "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth!" |
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| Saw some good barrel racing. |
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| Wild rides. |
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| Bullriding. |
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| Chuckwagon races. |
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| These 3 kids were trying to ride this horse but the little horse had other ideas and he drug these kids all over the arena. They never did get on him. |
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| Today I went Whitewater rafting with some other
people that I work with. It was supposed to be the warmest day of
the trip (82) and sunny. But that weather forecast was for Banff. We
bussed about 2 hours away and put in on a mountain river called Kicking
Horse River. The river is formed from water from melting glaciers. There
was still ice on the banks of the river. Shortly after launching, it
looked like Dennis had followed me from Florida to the Canadian Rockies.
a huge black cloud came over the mountains and the winds picked up. The
guide was trying to put on a good face by saying that it would probably
not hit us. We could see that it was blowing snow on the mountains top.
Soon we were in a hail storm on the river where the water was 33 to 34
degrees and splashing us. Good thing we had helmets to protect us from
the hail. I thought it was to protect us from the rocks if we fell out
of the raft. |
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| Here I am in the middle of Banff Ave in downtown. |
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| Just a couple of blocks down Banff Ave from where the picture above was taken this 8 point buck was eating shrubbery and not bothered by people who were walking by. |
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