6/24/19- Canada Summary

The Beautiful Canadian Rockies. 

By Leanne

I write this entry on the airport drive to Calgary as we end our first week of our world trek!  We chose Canada as our first stop strategically - both to have North America checked off as our first continent (we aspire to hit all seven this year) and to enjoy John’s Carnegie Hall solo in New York tomorrow night!

Adventure.  Banff National Park is Canada’s oldest National Park and we also visited nearby Yoho and Kootenay National Parks.  In Banff, we hiked up the mountains, learned about mountain culture and how tourism developed only through the careful planning of the California Pacific Railway (Whyte Museum).  We sojourned to two awe-inspiring lakes (turquoise from the sulphur) flanked by snow-topped Rockies — namely the famous Lake Louise and Emerald Lake.  We white-water rafted down Kicking Horse River in turquoise river waters.  We fished in Bow River and dipped into Banff Hot Springs for some mineral intake!  We saw deer, cow elk, foxes, and other smaller mammals. Took a great stroll through Cascade Gardens with perfectly aligned flowers peeking out at every turn.

 Art and Culture. We enjoyed attending the 4th annual Banff liniskim Cross-cultural Powwow to view the beautiful outfits proudly displayed by indigenous people of the area. Everyone was so joyous to share their culture and connect in this multi-generational annual event where we witnessed more than 250 people coming together in a shared purpose.  We also enjoyed an art exhibition opening at the Banff Centre for Art and Creativity and a modern dance presentation — all these events celebrating National Indigenous People’s Day with a focus on truth and reconciliation.

Food and People.  From fondue to curry, Banff offers every cuisine imaginable so we used the week to expand those taste buds.  We tried Poutine which is a Canadian form of French Fries with various toppings like cheese curds and gravy.  Each night you’d found the family enjoying Banff Avenue’s various restaurants, with a front row seat to the every changing light on the Rockies. Long summer nights (solstice) had us enjoying sunset until 10 pm!

Family.  Friends recommended that we take along a reality show filming crew.  With five teenagers traveling with us, to say we are brave embarking on this year trek is an understatement.  But I’d give us a 9.5 for the first week. The 5 teens (ok one is a tween but will turn 13 on this trip!) and us made it through living in a cute 2 bedroom 800 sq foot suite, thanks to strong Wi-Fi!!  Loved the Hidden Ridge Resort which had everything we needed plus a killer mountain view from its pool/sauna.

Overall.  Would definitely recommend Banff as a beautiful and easy place to visit. We walked almosteverywhere and took public transit each day.  Some tours are a bit pricey but there’s plenty of things to do on a budget too.  For instance we opted out of a $115/person canoe ride!  Because we are traveling for a year, our ability to make it traveling continuously will highly depend on careful spending so we are using this trip as a good budgeting opportunity for the kids trying to find ways to live well but cheaply while vacationing.  It will serve them well in life.

Thank you Banff for giving us a gentle, relaxing entry into our world tour. The pace going forward will be pretty frantic for the next month so the week of relaxation was sorely needed.  Packing, organizing, moving out of our house and just year-end kid stuff had us doing all-nighters there at the end!  But we made it!  Thanks for reading!

Kyle:

Banff Snapshot:

Overall Assessment - definitely recommended for it’s natural beatuty

Dinners - Boston Pizza (Italian), Meatballs & Spaghetti (Italian), The Curry House (Indian), The Grizzly (Local meat fondue - Canadian) [Local food box checked], St. Jame’s Olde Irish Pub (Irish), El Toro (Mexican)

Adventures - white water rafting on the Kicking Horse river

Activities - hiking (Tunnel Mountain & Sulfur Mountain), fishing (Bow River), Banff hot springs

Places visited - Banff National Park, YoHo National Park, Lake Louisa, Emerald Lake, Cascade Gardens

Culture - Whyte Museum, 4th annual Banff Cross-cultural Powwow, Banff Centre for Art and Creativity, a modern dance presentation, National Indigenous People’s Day Celebration

UNESCO Sites Visited - Canadian Rockies

Reminds Me Of - Yosemite, Iceland

Interesting People Met - Rocque (white water rafting guide from La Fortuna, Costa Rico), Mark (peace officer from Liverpool England)

GOT - Banff is definitely in the North with long summer days but subject to winter weather