Banff National Park

We have been in this fabulous national park for the last four days. It is one of the top places to visit in world. There are no highway billboards, and the little city is quaint despite the many tourists. We learned about the area's rich history on our first day in town by spending a few hours in the Whyte museum. What courageous souls those early settlers were who braved the harsh elements of nature to put Banff on the map. The city is surrounded by tall, snow capped mountains, and through it runs the Bow River, which rushes over the falls near the grand old Banff Springs Hotel.

The Whistler National Campground, where we stayed, was nearly full, but we were able to get a lovely mountainside site with electricity. The park contained an abundance of wildlife. We greatly enjoyed our evening cruise around Lake Minnewanka, but the highlight of our stay was a raft float trip for 18 miles down the Bow River. There were many obstacles, but our huge, able "Mohawk" oarsman, Ron, was experienced, able, and river savvy. One high point he showed us was the Valley of Seven Peaks. At the end of the trip, we were picked up by a bus near the City of Canmore and returned to the falls in Banff. Now it's time to move on northward to Lake Louise.