Date: 31 May 2001 (Thursday)

Start: KOA Calgary AB

End: Tunnel Mt Trailer Court, Banff AB (80 miles)

It was a little windy and was 51f when we got up. I think I can just leave this sentence at the top of each day’s news, just changing the temperature.

Breakfast in the trailer, then we did the short distance to Banff. There, we set up in the only full-hookup campground in Banff National Park.

We went downtown and did the town’s walking tour, looking at the historic homes, business buildings, and churches. Calgary’s weather report last evening said that today the mountains would be "shredding" the clouds, leaving Calgary clear. That seemed to be the case, since there was a lot of cloud motion. The day was cool but nice.

Since most of the town is a system designed to separate people from their money, we just had to walk through a few of the shops and stores, including the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) store. HBC was established in 1670 in North American fur trading.

We bought a postcard and sent it from the post office (64 cents Canadian (about 42 cents US).

Then we had lunch at the Maple Leaf pub and restaurant. Very good, nice sandwiches.

The town walking guide showed a couple of hikes, so we set out for the falls of the Bow River that runs through town. Down Banff Avenue, across the bridge over the Bow, turn left and follow the river bank.

A little ways down the bank we saw a yearling sized elk trotting up the river on the other (town) side. That cleared out the small groups and couples that had been sitting on the riverbank. The elk was wandering around in a patch of trees when we lost sight of it.

We found the Bow to be narrowing into a small gorge, then cascading down some rocks, followed by a sharp drop of ten feet or so into a wide open meadow. There, it spread out and became wide and shallow once more.

A drive took us along three small lakes with marsh connecting them that should have been perfect for moose, but there were none. A drive up out of town to the east was more productive. There are big-horn sheep in this area and we came across a young one eating next to the road. It posed for pictures (very unafraid – must be a characteristic of the park animals). Later, we came across a deer and saw an eagle floating above us.

As we turned into the campground, we noticed a bunch of ground squirrels cavorting in a setting similar to the prairie dog exhibit at the zoo. These are Columbian ground squirrels, according to the Parks Canada ranger.

A man stopped at seeing me alongside the trailer and asked what part of Virginia I come from. Turns out he’s from Richmond, and both he and his wife have just retired from a bank chain we use. Banff was their destination, but they go on to Yakima WA to visit relatives then back to Richmond.

Then came a light dinner, some planning for the day tomorrow, creating this day’s entry, and now we’ll take a short hike around the campground. The sun doesn’t set till 9:40pm up here (it rises at 5:40am), so we have plenty of time for it.