The Toohigs: Banff: Part Two

DAY THREE

On the night of Day Two, we finally booked our icefield adventure tour since the weather looked nice. (Weather changes so quickly- and tours are generally non refundable- that they really want you to make sure you choose a good day.) We chose to drive ourselves up there since we wanted the flexibility with the girls. We left Banff around 8 am, taking a picnic lunch with us from the local grocery store and preparing for a 2.5-3 hr drive. Up to Lake Louise is a 4-lane highway, but after Louise, the official Icefield Parkway begins with a 2-lane road (and no gates so animal sightings possible). We took our concierge’s advice and tried not to stop on the way there, but we did get out at the Num-Ti-Jah Lodge (big red building) at Bow Lake to stretch and take pics. We made it to the icefield visitors’ center around 11:30, and our tour started at 12:30. We ate our picnic lunch in the cafeteria area, then boarded a tour bus to go across the street to the bottom of the glacier, and finally switched to an ice climber machine to get up onto the glacier. As we were on the ice climber, I was holding Cressey in my lap and looked down to see her eyes were closed. UH OH. I trudged out of the vehicle with her in my arms, and luckily, she woke up as soon as the cold air hit her. I put her down and we sang, "Waddle, waddle, walk like a penguin!," from Puppy Dog Pals while we slipped and slid along the ice. Afterward, the tour bus drove us north a few minutes on the highway to the glass-bottomed skywalk where HG had the time of her life posing for pics.

On the way home to Banff, we stopped at Peyto Lake. HG and I hopped out for a quick look while John stayed in the car with a snoring Cressey. It turned out to be a decent very uphill hike, although very much worth the effort. We headed back to Banff (and saw four bear along the road!!!), got in the pool for a bit, and ate at the Vermillion Room again. It was a beautiful night, so we asked if we could take our dessert out on the patio by the firepit. WONDERFUL!

DAY FOUR

After such a taxing day, we decided to stick around town and lay low. We struck out to take pics by the Banff sign as you come into town. We drove just down the road to the Cave Basin museum, a very small actual cave part and mostly a small museum. Then we came back into town and did some shopping, and we had lunch at Banff Avenue Brewing Company. We drove over to check out nearby Lake Minnewanka which has a fascinating history- there was a town in this valley until they flooded it for a dam for energy in war times. It’s so well preserved that divers come to explore the ruins. We followed that loop around and explored a few other country roads, looking for some animals. We did come across a whole herd of mountain goats! We went back to the hotel for more swimming, and then we ate on the patio at the Mexican place at the Fairmont with the most amazing views of the mountains.

DAY FIVE

On our last day, we finally had to tackle Lake Louise- the main attraction! I had put it off because it had been so crowded due to the holiday weekend and summer tourists that the parking closed early in the morning. We left the hotel at 6:30 am, got to Lake Louise around 7:15. The first parking lot was full (almost panicked), but the upper lot still had some spots. By 7:30-40, it was all full. (I also wanted to see Lake Morraine which was nearby, but that lot closes at 5 am.) After surviving the parking stress, we walked down to the trail toward the lake and came to a clearing where suddenly the beautifully blue and placid lake stretched out before us with the glacier shimmering in the background. Breathtaking! After taking our share of tourist-y pics, we went inside the Fairmont to have a nice breakfast at the Poppy Brasserie, a wonderful buffet with a stunning view of the lake. Then HG and John rented a canoe while Cressey and I hiked the flat trail around the side of the lake. Afterward, we took a shuttle over to the Lake Louise ski resort, took a gondola/ ski lift up the mountain (which is supposed to be the best place to see a grizzly in the area, but we saw none), had lunch at the Whitehorn Bistro (amazing patio and view), shuttled back to the Fairmont, and then drove the scenic highway back to Banff (looking for animals). We swam that afternoon and had room service (best turkey club I’ve ever had) while we packed.

DAY SIX

Our flight home from Calgary was at 2:30, so we had a slow morning, walked around the hotel for a bit, and then left town around 10:30-11. Note that while the Calgary airport doesn't have a Sky Club, but they DO have a wonderful kids’ playground with a café directly across from it! Everyone was happy! Cressey slept most of the first flight, so mama was able to enjoy some reading at last!