Beautiful downtown Banff!

Johnston Creek through
Johnston Canyon

On Friday morning, August 10th, we both awoke groggy and unrested. Excited about our luck in finding an available campsite, we neglected to notice that the train tracks ran parallel to the otherwise lovely campground and almost immediately behind our RV. The night's dark skies and peaceful quiet was interrupted no less than 5 times by the mind-bogglingly loud horn blows of the trains that roared along the tracks, honking at least 4 long blows each time. Wow. Good thing we only planned to stay one night. Despite the terrible night of sleep, we headed out early again, to make our way south along the Bow Valley Parkway, a scenic drive that parallels the already scenic Highway 1. Despite rumors that we would see lots of wildlife, we saw none, though the drive itself was very pretty and we had the road almost to ourselves.

Lower Falls of Johnston Canyon

We stopped at Johnston Canyon, a 'must-do' hike through the woods along the gorgeous river that flows through it. With our early arrival at the parking lot, we had no problem finding a spot for the RV. The path along the river has been in use since at least the late 1890's when the nearby lodge was built. The lodge's second owners put in a series of wooden walkways above the river to provide access to both the lower and upper falls. The walkways, since upgraded to steel and concrete, provide a safe way to view the Johnston Creek without stepping all over the fragile plants along the forest floor and on the cliffs.

Through the tunnel to the Lower Falls

We hiked first to the lower falls where the river tumbles over a ledge of rock about 30 feet above the pool of water below. The short 1/2 mile hike ends in a narrow low tunnel with the falls just beyond. We stepped out onto the shelf of rock overlooking the falls and could see the brilliant blue water in the pool under us. The mist sprayed us and everything around us...very refreshing.

Travertine limestone

Upper Falls of Johnston Canyon

We continued along the trail another mile to the upper falls. A nice invigorating walk, we found lichen and mosses coating the forest floor with tiny ground cover plants scattered in between. The trail led to a fork in the road where the one side continued on to Moose Meadows and the other side toward the falls. Johnston Canyon's Upper Falls are very different than the lower falls. The water cascades from a high precipice just around a bend in the rock from the viewpoint. The sunlight hit the waterfall and illuminated it and the rock around it beautifully. To our right we could see the travertine limestone walls where the water's mist leaves the rock covered in limestone algae. The result is a vibrant palette of oranges and greens in streaks down the rock face.

Johnston Canyon catwalk

We hiked the mile and half back to the RV and past scores and scores of visitors. The parking lot, almost empty when we arrived, was now overflowing with vehicles and more circling like hawks for an open space. A 3 mile hike and it was only 10:30 in the morning when we finished...good timing on our part.

As we pulled into the town of Banff, we immedi- ately noticed a difference from the Village of Lake Louise. Banff is a charming town filled with boutique hotels, quaint shops, good restaurants and thousands of tourists, all set in the midst of the towering Canadian Rockies mountains. We located the Tunnel Mountain II Campground easily and, despite the signage indicating they were full, pulled in and were assigned a campsite without issue. We set up camp and drove back into town to check out the sights.

COWS! An ice cream shop

Banff's stores fall into one of a few categories: restaurant, candy store, ice cream shop, or tourist trap. That last category looks a little different and one can find things that range in price from a dollar to $15,000 and up, but clearly they are all designed for the tourist traveling with oodles of cash. We wandered in one shop and out another, dodging the other folks in the aisles, on the street and in the entranceways. The traffic in Banff is commensurate with that of a much larger city, though we imagine things must be at least a little slower in the wintertime.

We found The Balkan for lunch, a lovely Greek restaurant with great service. For the first time in what feels like entirely too many weeks, we had professional service and outstanding food. We both chose the very tasty lunch special of donair (gyro) and were pleasantly surprised at the reasonable prices. Finally.

Banff, Alberta downtown

We strolled down to the park next to the Bow River where we saw folks enjoying the temperate August afternoon laying in the grass or playing with a pup in the sunshine. We sat on a bench and took in the scenery before gathering ourselves up and heading to the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. With the hordes of cars streaming in and out of the circular entrance to the hotel, we had only a moment to gaze on the enormous Gothic structure before holding up traffic.

Bow Falls

Just down the road is the Bow Falls Viewpoint, a very accessible waterfall of the Bow River complete with a beach area and ample parking. We took the opportunity to dip our hot toes in the frigid water for awhile. We watched a bunch of different dogs with their owners either excitedly running for or anxiously backing away from the water's edge. They were very entertaining. Our feet and toes nicely cooled, we hopped back in the car and returned to the RV for dinner.

More toe-dipping!

Toe-dipping!

After dinner, we drove back through town and up Sulphur Mountain to the Banff Upper Hot Springs, a small resort established in the 1920s. Apparently, the initial discovery of hot springs in the Banff area in 1883 led to the establishment of Canada's first national park here. We slipped into the warm water with scores of our closest friends and felt our cares and tensions melt away. Soaking in the 102 degree pool for a couple of hours, we emerged serene and wrinkly. Nice. We made our way to the RV and turned in for the night. What an action-packed day of fun!