 |
Our cycling day in Banff took us through
pleasant and undemanding cycle trails in the vicinity of Banff. |
 |
|
| Beams of sunlight and reflections on the
lakes was the name of the game. |
 |
Lake Minnewanka (pronounced Minnywonka) is
on the 25 mile round trip. The guide describes it as 'difficult' but we
disagree. Maybe that's because we are used to hilly Wales. |
 |
 |
The lake in question is behind me. There's a
mini panorama of it here. |
 |
|
|
A Columbian Ground Squirrel, posing before
diving underground. |
 |
Forest fires are never far away, it seems.
860 during the time we were there. Helicopters are part of the fire
fighting team. |
 |
 |
The Banff Springs Hotel in Banff is massive,
like HUGE! Built to cope with these new animals called tourists who like
bathing in hot water which was found gushing out of the ground by some
Canadian Pacific Railroad employees a long time ago. |
 |
The inside is a succession of lavishly
furnished rooms in a very grand but distinctly Scottish style. We enjoyed
afternoon tea, although the Sunday buffet lunch is apparently the one to
die for. |
|
Just another room... |
 |
Next, it was white water rafting... |
|
All present and correct, sir. But also a
bit apprehensive. The safety briefing was scary! However, we're all kitted
out in highly fashionable wet suits. Just as well, the water temperature
is a cool 3 deg C. |
 |
On the last run in after over two hours of
fun, fun, fun. Jean and I on the left at the front of the boat. |
 |
 |
It's finally time to go home, and Banff
responds by producing a cool, autumnal morning (August 28th). |
 |
Fresh snow on the nearby hills. |
|
An uneventful drive to Calgary, where we
spend a few hours taking in the sights. Like an aeroplane that seems to
have lost its way.
The shopping malls and offices in Calgary
are all linked up by walkways at second floor level. Why? Because the
winters are VERY cold hereabouts, -30C can be the order of a January day.
|
 |
I was interested to see what Canadian Cops
cruise around town in. This was one style... |
 |
 |
...and this was another! This guy kindly
posed for me with his Trek steed at the airport. They cruise around the
concourse silently and efficiently. I approve. Is this the third millennium
mountie?
|
 |
Our flight arrives from Vancouver. It's
probably taken 40 minutes or so; we've taken 12 days and almost 1000
unforgettable miles to cover the same distance. |
|
This gave us a smile. Somebody has to clean
the bird muck off the windows, I guess.
You could call this pic 'X cleans the spot'. |
 |
|
|
|
Thank you Canada. Great trip, great
people. Please can we come back soon?
(stop press; we are re-visiting Canada in late spring
2007) |
