On our way from Calgary to Banff we were excited to see the terrain changing. We were ready for a change from the plains. The rolling hills started sprouting pine trees and the Rockies started growing in the distance. We were both incredibly excited to finally be at Banff – the place that started this whole dream trip.
The scenery was beautiful heading towards the park but did not prepare us for what we were going to see once we rolled in. The Rockies are majestic and the distinctive carpet of the tall pines on the steep slopes is truly breathtaking. We purchased our park pass and found our campground. We absolutely love it. We are staying at Tunnel Mountain Village 1 campground (if you remember I found an opening here by total chance a few days ago). We could not have been happier. Right in the middle of the state park and our site was surrounded by trees on three sides so secluded and green and perfect.
We got ourselves set up and were eager to explore. We took out the bikes and started touring around the campground to get the kinks out of our driving legs. On one turn I heard a big ka-thunk and turned around to see Jonathan looking down at his bike. Somehow the chain had gotten very very wedged in between the gears and there was no getting it out. I was grateful that we were close to home and could walk it back to the camper but we were bummed because we had been planning on biking in Banff. We shook it off and decided to go over to a nearby area that purported to have Hoo-doos. It was a stunning view across a pine carpeted valley with the Rockies in the background. Wow – just wow! We walked the small trail and looked out at the views. It was a great welcome. We decided to take the scenic drive down Tunnel Mountain road and check out the town of Banff (and see if they had a bike repair place). We could not take our eyes off of the scenery. The sun was setting and the golden light against the mountains was mesmerizing.
We got to Banff and walked around the cute touristy town with views of Rockies down the roads with many many shops and restaurants. We were able to find the Visitors center to get our hiking and biking maps. We also found a bike shop that said we could bring the bikes in for repair so yay! We had dinner at Bear Street tavern (YUM!) and celebrated finally being here. We got back to our camper and lit a fire in our fire pit and just enjoyed the setting sun. As the evening grew dark we got peeks of the brilliant stars between the wispy clouds. Here is to hoping for a clear night before we go! We fell asleep to the haunting sound of the train whistle as it echoed through the mountainous valleys.
We woke up to a chilly but sunny day. The forecast called for rain in the afternoon and a steep drop in temperature. That night it was going to be in the 30’s! We had decided to take the mixed weather and do the drive up the Icefields Parkway that was between Banff and Jasper. There were many hikes along the way we could stop at depending on how the weather treated us. The drive would take us into Jasper National park as well as the town of Jasper, which had recently suffered a devastating wildfire. We knew that services would be limited but we wanted to see it regardless. For some reason we had thought it was going to be about a 110km drive….we were wrong. It ended up being more like 400km but so incredibly scenic. Totally worth taking the whole day.
As we were driving up North to catch 93 (the Icefields Parkway) we were greeted by a beautiful rainbow! We took it as a good sign. The weather was mixed but seeing the clouds dancing among the Rockies had its own beauty. We made multiple stops along the way and got a little rained on but nothing terrible and each hike gave us something new and amazing to see. We saw a roaring river with a waterfall, got to hike to the toe of a glacier and see deep valleys filled with tall pines. We entered Jasper National Park and we kept noticing the temperature keep going down and the skies getting darker and darker. The rain had started in earnest and the clouds were descending down to the point where we could not see very much. We kept driving onward to Jasper.
We started seeing signs of the huge wildfire that had just recently gotten under control. The burnt landscape got more and more prevalent. Beautiful in its own way but you could clearly see the destructive power of the fire. Along the way all of the pull-offs were closed due to the fire. We finally arrived at the town of Jasper. Most of the tourist stores were closed and you could see gas stations burned to the ground. We passed several churches that just did not exist anymore and houses that were just standing chimneys. We were surprised of much of Jasper was still in tact and how strange it was that the path of the fire was so selective. It looked more like a tornado of fire had hit. There were houses that were nothing but ash right across the street from houses that were untouched. People were able to come back and there were signs of life but you could tell that it was nothing like it should have been. It was sad to see the destruction of people’s homes and lives amongst the beauty of the place.
We had a long way home so we started back the way we came. I prefer to travel in loops instead of in and back but there was not really a choice this time but I was so pleasantly surprised how much things looked new and different on the way back. We definitely did not stop as often since the rain was turning more into slush as the temperature was heading down into the 30’s. We listened to a book on Audible (The Last Beekeeper – thank you Julie) on the way home and just looked out the window in awe. Even with the weather being rainy the views were incredible. We got back to our camper very happy to be home after a long day. Cooked our frozen lasagna (yes on our grill) and it was the perfect ending to the day. We were seriously grateful that we had a heater in our little camper and we felt very bad for the people in tents. It poured and sleeted most of the night with the temps down to the mid-30’s while we were warm and dry. Thank you to our Sun-lite camper! In writing this blog I discovered that 93(Icefield Parkway) is currently closed because of the snow so we were very lucky that we decided to do that run today.
The weather the next morning called for a mostly rainy day with the rain ending around 4pm so we decided to take a slow morning and drop off our bikes to be repaired at the bike shop before heading out to some trails we had picked out. We opted for some easier trails since they would slick from the rain and snow. As we headed out to Banff we were in for another amazing surprise. What was rain for us was snow in the mountains and it was like an entire new scene with the mountains draped in snow. It was awe-inspiring even in the rain. The drive to Banff had us gawking all around us once again. The town was super busy due to the rain but we made our way to the bike shop. Sadly that shop could not help us since their mechanic was off that day but they sent us to a shop down the street. These guys were awesome and even though they were busy they dropped everything to help us. Drew at Bactrax was our hero. It took awhile but he got Jonathan’s bike back to running order and even fixed the spoke on my wheel while we were there. He was great to talk to and, if you ever need a mechanic in Banff, you should definitely go see him.
After having lunch at a Mexican restaurant recommended to us (Anejo) and a brief stop at the grocery store we headed back to the camper to drop things off and head out to our hike for the day. We drove up 1A to Johnston Canyon. We hiked the Upper and Lower falls and it was worth the hike. On our way home the sun decided to come out again and we were, once again, floored by the scenery. The sun against the snow covered mountains just took our breath away. It is amazing that we have gotten to see Banff in so many different ways. We have one more day and it is going to be sunny and beautiful. We have a 10 mile bike ride planned and we can’t wait! Another night being grateful for the comforts of our camper.
Our last day dawned bright and sunny and we were eager to explore Banff in the sunshine. We headed out to the bike trip we had planned only to discover that the bike trail was actually a road and a bit of a narrow one at that. We rejiggered our plans and found another bike path nearby to do but first we found a trail around Johnson lake. That was a gorgeous hike. Early enough that it was not crowded and the views were so gorgeous! We drove the trail that we did not bike in order to see the scenery and then headed out to the trail that the rangers recommended to us. The trail that we took was the Lake Vermillion trail which was about a 5km ride by the lake. We were not clear where to park but we found a place and headed out. Getting back on the bike always makes me feel young again. I loved it! The trail was great and the views (as everywhere in Banff) were spectacular.
Not being ready to be done at the end of the ride we decided to bike a bit further and found a hiking trail nearby. The trail purported to be a small 1.5k trip so we decided to go for it to stretch the bike legs before we returned. Well, a bit of a walk into the trail we came across another sign that said the trail loop was 2k. Well OK, no worries. We continued to walk and walk. We eventually got to a sign that said the trailhead was .5k away. Ok great – maybe our legs were tired from the ride so it felt longer. We walked for quite a bit and came across a second sign that said that trailhead was .5k away. Wait…what? A little concerned at this point we decided to take the trail that headed to Vermillion Drive. The thought was to get back to the car and come back and pick up the bikes. Well – the trail did indeed come out on Vermillion Drive but the car was much further away than expected (about 3 miles). So, back to the trail we went and hoped the second .5k sign was correct. We did end up back at the trailhead and all was well.
We had seen on the map a trail that wound up the mountain that a sadist could bike ride or, more sane people as we were, could drive it. Not quite ready to call it a day we decided to take the drive and it was well worth it. It ended at a ski lodge (not in service yet) but the views were gorgeous. We then headed back to the camper to make dinner and relax. At the end of dinner we both felt like we needed to do something to transition to the idea of leaving the next day. We decided to end the visit as we had begun and see the Hoo-doos at sunset. We both grew kind of melancholy while watching the sunset and spent the rest of the evening at our firepit in reflective silence. It was strange to think that when people asked us where we were headed that we would no longer be saying “Banff” but perhaps, back from Banff to home. This was the metaphorical half-way point of the trip. We are both not yet ready to think about heading home but we took solace in knowing that it was not really the timeframe half-way point and there were many adventures still to come. We headed to bed early to get a start on the rest of our adventure. Banff graced us with a beautiful good-bye by a show of the brightest and deepest stars I have seen! It was a fitting good-bye.
Our day today was our last day in the mountains. We woke up ready to continue our adventure and headed out to conquer the rest of the Rockies. Our day would end in Revelstoke which is at the base of the Rockies just on the other side. We ended up driving through three National Parks on the way. Our first one was a national park I had never heard of. It was called YoHo National park (which, honestly, make me chuckle). Our next park was Glacier National Park (the Canadian one) to yet more stunning views. Gigi handled those mountain passes like a champ. Our third and last park was Mount Revelstoke National Park. Our campground was just a few minutes down the road from downtown. Once we dropped off the camper we headed back out to explore Mount Revelstoke National Park to see what there was to see. We were pleasantly surprised. What there was to do was the Skyway drive which had multiple hiking and informational trails off of it that culminated in a drive to the summit. We arrived to find out that it was a very busy day for the small park and we were asked to do a few hikes before heading to the summit to give time for the parking area there to clear out a bit. Since that was largely our plan anyway we happily agreed. We did some small hikes along the way (learning all about the famous snow jumper, Nels Nelsen) and what surprised us was how different it all looked from where we just came. Yes there were beautiful snow covered mountains in the distance but the trees and vegetation on Mount Revelstoke was quite different. We found out that it hosts the only inland Canadian rainforest. Who knew??!! Its claim to fame, however, was the Alpine forest and meadows near the top. We drove for about 27km to the top and yes, it was busy but we got lucky and found a parking spot right by the summit trail (only 1km path – straight up). We got the to the top, barely, and enjoyed walking some of the smaller trails nearby. We really enjoyed the difference in visual landscape – it made me feel like we were in the Black Forest in Germany. We were pretty tired from our hikes by the end of it all that we decided to have dinner in Revelstoke and call it a night. We are at a local campground with, yes!, Wifi so I can finally post this!
Tomorrow we head out of the Rockies and into Canadian wine country. We are working on deciding which way to go next. Stay tuned to find out if we go left or right!
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