Thursday, September 12, 2024

Today, we started our day in Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia, Canada located within Kootenay National Park. We camped overnight at The Canyons RV Resort which was such a nice place to stay — full water, sewer, and electrical RV hook-ups for $45 Canadian ($33 USD) per night — that’s a steal!

We did laundry yesterday, and all four of us took nice, long, hot showers. When traveling in a RV longer-term, it’s a nice treat to stay somewhere like this once a week to refresh & recharge.

The six of us — Andi, Tory, Aden, and I + Laura and Shaun — hit the road early for Banff National Park this morning. We were on the road by 9:00am, and it was a 1 1/2 hour drive northwest to get there. Along the way, we crossed into the province of Alberta. Andi bought a year-long Canadian national park pass at the gatehouse entrance to the park. For $151 Canadian ($111 USD), we didn’t think that price was terrible. Plus, we plan to be in and around several other Canadian national parks during our six-week trip so the annual pass will likely pay for itself.

Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side today. The air temperature was in the 50’s this morning, and it was rainy and foggy. Surely there were epic mountain views around us, but we couldn’t see them.

We stopped at one of the first overlooks we came to, and got out of our vehicles to see the view. “Wow!” Shaun kept saying as he took it all in. It was a sight to behold — even with the fog. The Canadian Rockies are massive, jagged peaks that dominate the landscape.

Last night, Andi scored us two camping sites at Tunnel Mountain Campground for tonight. Bonus that the two sites were located right next to each other, so Shaun & Laura could park their camper right next to ours! Camping sites book out months in advance for national parks like Banff, but it pays to check the booking site repeatedly for last-minute cancelations, especially during inclement weather weeks like this one.

Check-out time wasn’t until 11:00am at Tunnel Mountain Campground, and our spots hadn’t yet been vacated by the previous camper, so we were asked to come later. The friendly gatehouse worker told us there’s a day-use parking lot & easy hike at Hoodoo Trail. That’s where we headed next.

Our family was hungry after not having much of a breakfast, so we set up home in the parking lot & made lunch in the RV. I warmed up leftover chicken teriyaki bowl in the microwave for Aden, and Andi ate his chicken satay bowl from yesterday’s lunch as well. I made Tory some cheese tortellini with sauce, and had some Kalispell Kreamery yogurt, apple, and granola for my meal.

The kids played a rousing game of UNO No Mercy while they waited for lunch to be ready. This newer version of the game touts itself as the ‘same game, nasty attitude’ on the back of the box. “My kinda rules,” Tory said.

This is is one of the best perks of RV life! We’ve made lunch in countless parking lots across North America over the years. Laura & Shaun joined us inside our camper for lunch, bringing their own leftovers to eat, as well as sandwich meat, chips, and a bottle of red wine.

Laura brings the good stuff! A bottle of Clos de los Siete from Uco Valley in Mendoza, Argentina. “Remember, you still have to hike after this,” Andi warned me with a smile.

After lunch, the six of us made our way to Surprise Corner overlook to take in a beautiful view of the Bow River, and towering mountain peaks in the distance. Our view was somewhat obstructed by the clouds, but we were still wow’d by the gorgeous turquoise-color of the river contrasted by dark green pines. The waters of lakes and rivers in Banff get this breathtakingly beautiful color from rock flour that occurs when glaciers slide down the mountain. As the glaciers move, they crush rock into tiny rock pieces (glacial flour) that then makes its way into the water systems. Light refracts off the rock flour suspended in the water giving it this pretty hue.

In the distance, we saw several elk drinking from the river.

The Surprise Corner overlooks leads to the Hoodoos Trail which is a 9.6 km hike that follows along the Bow River and into the forest. We didn’t do the entire 9.6 km, but cut off onto Teddy Bear Picnic trail to make a 2.5 mile loop.

“Will hike (willingly) for Timbits,” Aden said.

All six of us really enjoyed this trail. I gave it 10/10 — beautiful, easy walk through nature, great company, and we didn’t see anyone else on the trail during our two-hour trek. There were quite a few people gathered at the overlook to see the view, but it would appear that very few people take the time to venture further.

After the Hoodoos Trail, we drove our campers back to Tunnel Mountain Campground to check into our sites. By now, it was 2:30pm, and our sites were available.

Unfortunately, the people who stayed at our campsite before us left behind some beer cans and fast food paper cups and sacks on the ground. Tory and Aden did their part in taking care of Banff NP by picking up the liter left behind and throwing it away in our trash can.

We all took an hour to rest, check messages, and settle into our campsites. Aden has been into widdling wooden walking sticks with Andi’s pocket knife, so that’s what he’s been working on with every spare minute of time he’s had this past week. Aden agreed to make walking sticks for Laura and Shaun in exchange for a 50-pack of Timbits as payment.

Should Aden be carving wood with a sharp pocket knife? Eh, my mom instinct says it’s probably not a good idea… but Andi said it’s a boy thing and that “it’s good for him,” so I’m letting Andi take the lead on this one.

Around 4:30pm, the six of us loaded into Shaun’s pickup truck and drove into the city of Banff. We paid for parking along one of the side streets, and then walked through the main shopping district. What a hoppin’ place with so much to see and do! The city of Banff is a great melting pot of people and cultures. It was fun to listen to all the different languages being spoken around us as people passed by on the sidewalk. Lots of Asian restaurants catering to the large volume of Asian tourists. I even saw a church advertising services held in the Korean language.

We saw a lot of people walking around with Beaver Tails, so Andi said we had to try one. I’d never heard of them before, but it must be something Banff is known for because a lot of people were taking pictures of themselves eating the treat. Further research told me that Beaver Tails are a fried dough pastry (similar to an Indian frybread), topped with a sweet spreads and toppings.

Tory and Aden rock-paper-scissored to see who got to pick the flavor, and Aden won. He chose the Triple Trip — chocolate hazelnut spread, peanut butter, and Reese’s Pieces candy on top.

Andi, Tory, and Aden gave Beaver Tails two thumbs up. In fact, Andi said he would’ve liked to eat another one!

Laura said the number one thing she wanted to see in Banff was the Fairmont Hotel, so we stopped into the Banff Visitor’s Centre to find out the quickest way to get there. The employee at the information desk told her to follow the street toward Bow River Trail. It took us about 30 minutes to walk there.

The Fairmont Hotel was built in the late 1800s for the early visitors of Banff National Park. The historic hotel has over 700 rooms, ballrooms, shopping, a spa, and 14 different restaurants & cafes inside. The valet worker was so friendly when we walked up to the entrance, and asked if we could see the inside the hotel. “Of course you can!” he said, politely. He told us there’s a gallery of old photographs and historical artifacts to look at on the first floor up the grand staircase from the lobby.

“Whoa! Can we stay here?” Aden and Tory both asked Andi and I. We looked, and it cost $1,500/night for a standard king-size bed.

Um, nope. I think this place is out of our price range.

The six of us took some time wandering through the gallery to read about the hotel’s history. When the hotel was built in 1888, a standard room cost $3.50/night. Now, it’s $1,500 — “That’s what they call inflation, kids!” Andi told Tory and Aden.

Laura was determined to find a grand view of the lake she saw during her research of Banff. “I just know it’s here if we can get to the right spot in the hotel,” she said. She asked a couple different employees working in the spa and shopping areas, and we walked all around the hotel looking for the gorgeous view, but we were never able to find it.

“Sorry for leading you all on a wild goose chase,” Laura said.

It wasn’t a goose chase, we assured her. It’s all part of the adventure.

Our legs were tired though. Between our afternoon walk at the Hoodoos Trail, and our evening stroll through the city of Banff, we’d each walked over 17,000 steps today.

We never did find the gorgeous view from of the grand hotel window that Laura was after, but we did enjoy walking through the fancy hotel and using the restrooms. “Gotta love traveling in a country that has toilets free to use with toilet paper and soap!” There was even scented hand lotion in the Fairmont Hotel restrooms; we could get use to this!

The six of us walked along the Bow River Trail to make our way back to the Banff city centre. This was a gorgeous view of the turquoise-blue water and a cascading waterfall.

We walked along a wooded Art in Nature pathway showcasing artist interpretations of nature. It was an easy stroll along the river, and fun to see all the different pieces of art along the trail.

I wanted to get a few Banff postcards for the kids to send to friends & family while we were in town, so we stopped into a few shops before heading back to our campsite. I found some postcards, and Tory picked out a sweatshirt she wanted as a souvenir. Shaun saved the day when he whipped out a bag of Mary’s caramel cheddar popcorn that he’d bought. We were all starving by this time of the evening and ready for dinner.

On our drive back to Tunnel Mountain Campground, we saw a herd of elk gathered on the road. A big bull elk was in rut, chasing the females. Shaun pulled over the truck so we could watch them for a while.

It was 8:00pm by the time we arrived back to Tunnel Mountain Campground. Firewood is included in our $45 camping fee, so we stopped by the wood pile to get some firewood before heading to our camp sites. Holy moly, was this a big pile of wood! It’s smart for Canadian national parks to include the price of wood into the camping fee so they know that the wood being burned in the park isn’t infested with unwanted insects. There were people loading up baskets full of wood though — more wood than they could possibly burn in one night — so I’m sure the free wood program is taken advantage of.

Back at camp, we divided cooking responsibilities. I sliced potatoes and onion for skillet potatoes, and peeled corn on the cob. Andi cooked the potatoes on his Blackstone flat-top griddle. Shaun grilled steaks and a pork loin on his grill, and a foil packet of asparagus and mushrooms. Laura set the table, and brought back the bottle of the delicious Argentine Malbec. Pretty fancy campground meal, I’d say!