Lake Louise to Banff - the story!

Today we travelled from Lake Louise to Banff. It is not a long way but we made a few stops along the way. 

Our first stop was the lookout overlooking the spiral tunnel. The tunnel was engineered so that trains could safely negotiate the steep decent. This picture is of the one train. The freight trains here are so long that you can clearly see them enter and exit the long spiral tunnel.....all in the one photo. 

Our next stop was Emerald Lake. Aptly named and very beautiful. 

Next it was on to the Natural Bridge. It is a rock formation that spans the Kicking Horse River. 

Next stop was the Banff Gondola. The steepest chairlift/gondola I have ever seen. The views (if you were game enough to look down) were spectacular. 

We then had a longer stop in the town of Banff. It is a very beautiful town absolutely full of young Aussies. There are some 10,000 of them working here at the moment. It was extremely busy. In winter the population is about 6,000 but in summer it increases to 35,000. The Canadians (like the Americans) are exceptionally passionate about 'the great outdoors.' They love to camp, cook out, hike and boat on the many lakes. As you drive along the Trans Canada Highway it is just so evident that this province is set up for tourists. There are camping areas, rest stops and parking bays with good services where people park while they hike off into the forest, everywhere. The highway is pristine. There is a high fence running along the entire edge. It is also buried some 2 metres into the ground. This is to protect the animals so that they can't stray out into the path of the traffic. Maximum speed is only 90km and animals have right of way. If a bird or animal does stray into the road the cars, etc have to pull off and wait for the animals to pass. There are huge fines if you do not comply. The other thing you see are animal overpasses. These are numerous and each one cost $6,000,000. They are completely planted out like the natural habit and have high fences that guide the animals over the highway so that they do not get hurt. It is incredible. 

While in town Stephen bought himself a Tilley Hat which is a very famous brand made exclusively in Canada. He is very happy with his purchase and was happy to model it while standing in front of the Bow River Falls.....our last stop for the day.

The other thing were bought while in town was a Bear Claw. Our guide had told us that there were two things we needed to try while in Canada. One was a Bear Claw and the other a Beaver Tail. A Bear Claw is cashews surrounded by caramel which is then dipped in chocolate. Three cashews then decorate the top.....thus the name. They are absolutely amazing. (Update: So good in fact that we went back to buy some more the next day.)

Finally we pulled into the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. It is referred to as the Castle in the Sky and as you drive up towards it you understand why. I will post picture of the hotel in a later entry. We had just enough for a quick shower before heading out to dinner at Castello's which is a very nice Italian restaurant.