Camping In Banff

Upon my arrival in Calgary I was met by my cousin Amy. She picked me up at the bus station, and we were going to get prepared to go camping the next day. I knew we were going to go camping, but I didn't know where. When she picked me up she told me that we were going to go camping in Banff. Yay! Last time I was out this way I hadn't made it up to the mountains so I was super stoked for this camping trip!! Friday night Amy told me about how one whole area all the trails, campgrounds etc were closed due to all the bears.....eep! But like she said, the good side of that is I might get to see a bear! So,  Saturday morning Michelle met us at the house, we packed up all the stuff, and headed out for the mountains!

Approaching the mountains was just a beautiful sight! With all the cooler weather they had been having out here there was still lots and lots of snow on top of the majestic peaks. It was very cool to be driving down winding roads amongst the huge mountains. We got to our campsite, and our goal was to get everything set up and then go sight seeing. Upon our check in the girl warned us that there had recently been two cougar sightings (and I am not talking about the female middle aged leopard print wearing ones either) at the campsite so to keep a clean site, and don't walk on the trails after dark. Great! So not only an excess of bears, but cougars too! But on the plus side, maybe I would be able to get a picture of a cougar! We set up the tent, got some firewood, organized our gear (leaving anything with a scent inside the car) and headed out to look at some things in Banff.

Our first stop was the Bow River and the Banff Hoo Doos, which was really close to our camp site. The river had a lot of water in it, and Amy and Michelle said that it is the highest they have seen it since they have lived here. In spots that were at other times gravel were all covered in water, and the river was definitely moving fast! There was a few look out points to get a look at the Hoo Doos, and it was just so beautiful everywhere we went. Looking at beautiful mother nature with the majestic mountains as the background. The Hoo Doos were cool, but since I had just been to Drumheller I had seen lots of amazing Hoo Doos there. I was more in love with the scenery around. We continued on after the Hoo Doos to downtown Banff. I was kind of expecting a very Mahone Bay feel to downtown Banff, but I was wrong. There is every name brand store you could ever imagine. It is nice and definitely nestled in an amazing spot at the base of the mountains but it was a smidge snooty. There was a weekend long bicycle race being held in Banff and there were lots and lots of people around. We walked through the town and stopped at some shops and things, so I could see around, but didn't stay too long before heading back up into the mountains for the sights that mother nature had to offer rather then Louis Vuitton.

From downtown Banff we headed out to Bow falls. On our way we had to drive by the Banff Springs hotel. It was very beautiful! It was a huge castle like building smack dab in the middle of the mountains. The Bow falls were gushing with water with a loud roar. It was truly amazing the volume of water rushing over those falls. It really gives you an appreciation for the power mother nature holds when you see things like that. After some admiration of the falls, and some picture taking we headed back to the campsite for some dinner and to get our bathing suits for the hotsprings. On our way back we saw some elk in the few trees by the golf course. These guys were just young but still pretty big. They were so close, but unlike some other tourists, I didn't dare try to get much closer. People sometimes forget that they are wild animals and if he decides to run at you with his huge antlers you are pretty much screwed! We saw one really big guy in a patch of grass with huge antlers, and like I said, Michelle and I kept our distance while taking pictures.

We got back to camp and lit a fire and got some of the food out. Thanks to my cousin Amy we ate like kings at our campsite. Earlier we had turkey breast sandwiches (not processed meat) for lunch and for dinner we had chicken quesadillas. Over the course of our camping trip we also had blue corn chip campfire nachos, coconut marshmellow smores, sausage egg hash brown scramble, and turkey breast with cranberry sauce sandwiches. I will never go camping the same again! So we ate up our quesadillas and grabbed our suits for the Banff hot springs. It was raining off and on lightly through the day, but we were going to get wet in the springs anyway. We went down to the hot springs pool, and it was so warm! It was 39 degrees Celsius! It was like a giant hot tub in the mountains. It was so nice and relaxing to sit in there. We stayed for about an hour hanging out and letting any stress (which wasn't much for me) melt away. It was lovely! We drove back to the campsite and settled down for the night. Making some nachos and drinks around the fire and laughing together. It was a tiring day but so much fun, and so worth it! We went to bed just after midnight because we had more sightseeing to do the next day.

The next morning we got up not too early, but not too late, packed up all our stuff and had a delish scramble for breakfast before heading out for the day. We left the campground and headed up to the infamous Lake Louise for some pictures and sightseeing. It really was a beautiful sight when we got there. Crystal clear glacier water with the snow topped mountains right behind the lake. It was breath taking. We took some pictures and looked around a bit before heading to Lake Moraine which wasn't far from Lake Louise. It was a very beautiful lake too, but it had a much closer view of the mountains. The tall sky scraping mountains shot up behind the crystal lake and the reflection shone in the still water. It was so nice. We stayed for a bit and then hit the scenic route home to Calgary.

It is hard to explain the views of Banff in text or even photos. It is so beautiful and awe inspiring that all you can do is stare really. It is so interesting to see the rock layers of the mountains, the lakes, rivers, waterfalls etc. knowing that mother nature created it all. Wow! I had so much fun with Michelle and Amy. We shared lots of laughs, took a lot of pictures (never did see a bear or a cougar), ate good food, saw lots of sights and tired ourselves out. Definitely something I will remember forever!! Thanks Ames xox