I'm starting this post from a little bar in Banff, Alberta named Brunos where I am the only person in the place that doesn't work here. This will be my last stop for the day before I retire to my hotel next door, the Mount Royal Hotel. So, how did I arrive at Brunos? Well, the Mount Royal charges $11 a day for Internet access and Brunos is free -- well, I did purchase a glass of red wine, but that's a nominal fee compared to being ripped off by my hotel.
So, since I'm starting at the end of my day, I'm going to keep this going and write through my day in reverse.
Prior to coming into Brunos, I hit up the dozens of shops that line the main drag of Banff on Banff Avenue. Alot of touristy souvenir items, but I still haven't found my Mom a maganet for her collection. I was strong and didn't make any purchases even though I found a couple of cute items, but nothing I couldn't live without. Even though the Roots store did tempt me - but dropping that kind of cash on clothes didn't seem all that fiscally responsible.
A 2nd patron (but I think he might be an off duty employee) has entered Brunos and is also enjoying the live music by the rest of the employees. This must be a fun place to work if you are a talented musician, as they all seem to be rather skilled.
Before shopping, we had dinner at the St. James Irish Pub. I had a whole pound of BBQ chicken wings - in fact my fingers still smell like BBQ sauce. Somehow, most of our group managed to stay together for dinner yet again - which is kind of surpising given our size. Aunt Dottie almost opted to shop rather than eat, but we convinced her to have a bite.
We ducked in a few shops on our pursuit to find something to eat, but I restrained making any purchases. Shortly before dinner we arrived at our hotel, the forementioned Mount Royal Hotel and checked out our rooms. Very nice, a little small, but it's a cute and very conveniently placed along the main stretch of Banff. Banff is one of those amazing mountain towns that is big enough for all the amentities - like a mall and great eateries. This town comes alive in the summer, but our tour guide lived here for quite a few number of years (his daughters graduated from Banff High School). The sites our beautiful and I'm looking forward to renting a bike tomorrow and hitting the trails, but that's for a post tomorrow. Banff is also the 3rd National Park in the world - first was Yellowstone, second in Austrailia.
Prior to checking into our hotel, we had the highlight of the day - a Gondola ride to the top of Mt. Sulpher. I rode with Uncle Lenox, Aunt Dottie and Aunt Edwina. Poor Christopher was not so much a fan of the heights and threathened his fellow passengers anytime they made any kind of movements. It was a bit scary going up - I must say. I kept looking down and thinking, well we aren't that far from the mountain as compared to the bottom. Getting to the top was worth it - amazing view of the Rockie Mountains. I also was able to purchase and send some postcards from the top that receive a special stamp. I hope they make it to Cincinnati and Columbus!
Before arriving in Banff, we stopped for lunch and shopping in Canmore. It's like a little Banff, just as cute and delicious food. We all ate outside at the Wood and enjoyed the weather. We got to see a lot of dogs, including a huskey and for some reason babies were everywhere. I picked up some bath salts and sample pack of soaps at the Rockie Mountain Soap shop.
Before arriving in Canmore we had a long journey with a stop at the Bar U Ranch on the way. I wish I could remember more, but I just had a piece of blueberry pie there rather than looking through the historic ranch. Pie sounded soo good, I couldn't help it. Plus I feel asleep on the bus ride up there and missed the educational DVD explaining where we were going. I did learn about the branding and how to read a brand (left to right, top to bottom, inside out). I took a few pictures and felt it was appropriate stop for our drive through Cowboy Country.
The morning started out with a nap - and it was wonderful. I slept pretty much the entire way from Waterton National Park to the Bar U Ranch - a good 2 hours. Before we departed Waterton, we did stop at the Prince of Wales hotel for some photos. Really beautiful morning and the sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Perfect photo opportunity to catch Waterton National Park in it's glory.
Waterton National Park was beautiful, but there wasn't much going on in the town as compared to Banff, so I can't say I was sad to leave, but I think I might be when we head to Jasper in two days.
Brunos is starting to get hoppin. I'm the only nerd on a computer, but I refuse to be ripped off by my hotel and I'm enjoying chatting with Paul on gmail chat. It's open mic night, so this could be interesting!
Showing posts with label Waterton National Park. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Waterton National Park. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Day 3 - Montana
Lions and Tigers and Bears -- Ohh...okay, just one bear...
Day three started out rather warm - but just in our hotel room. I woke up burning up and was fortunate enough to open our patio door while I got ready and welcomed in some mountain air. While my family woke up extra early to make a visit to the pie shop, I chose to sleep an extra half hour and just enjoy the complementary breakfast.
It was an absolute beautiful morning in Waterton National Park - even though we had some crisp temperatures, the sun was shinning brightly through the peaks, onto the lake and warming our faces. We boarded the coach and headed for the border for a day trip to Montana.
We were warned that the border crossing folks can be a bit on the tough side and to play it straight, no misbehaving. Fortunately, Stg Denis was in a peachy mood. He came down the isle collecting passports, but not saying much. We all kept quiet until he reached my Aunt Dottie, who asked him if he minded his photograph taken. He chuckled in suprise that someone wanted to take his photo and said "Well, sure!" She snapped a few and he exited the coach to scan our passports. He came back to distribute them and was again cheery. He started passing them out and said loudly from the front of the bus, "Where's Sarah Kelley?" I waved, my Aunt waved and I thought to myself, ohh no, what have I done?! He said, "Ohh in the back - you're last!" Sure enough, I was one of the last to receive my passport back and had to double check which Sarah Kelley belonged to the passport, comparing the photo to myself and my Aunt. He had some fun and we all got a good laugh. He stamped our passports and we were off back to the United States.
We stopped shortly into Montana for a photo opportunity - Mountain Chief Peak. The peak is sacred to Native Americans and is stunning in the landscape. We took some great photos and I of course managed to get mud on my shoe and spent a good bit of time trying to wipe it off. I also had a grand total of a minute of phone service and hoped I would get to use my phone in Montana, but no such luck, that was last bit of service I had the whole day.
We traveled on into Glacier National Park to jump on the Red Jammer tour buses to take the Going to the Sun Road from Saint Mary to where the road was blocked from snow at Jackson Glacier Overlook. Logan's pass isn't open yet as they are still shoveling snow (eww yuck). The Red Jammer held all fourteen of us and our tour guide, Darryl and the top canvas rolled back to reveal open air and beautiful sunshine. We stopped along the way to take in the various peaks and views along the Saint Mary Lake. I took the very front seat in the Red Bus (the Jammer is the driver since he traditionally had to jam the clutch to double shift in the previous versions of the bus) and had a tremendous view. Our guide shared with us that there are about 22 glaciers in the park and when he started working there, they had more than 30. He said scientist suspect that there will be no glaciers left by 2020. The highlight of the this journey came right at the end when we came face to face with a black bear grazing on their candy (as our guide put it) - dandillions that were growing along the road.
Right as we returned back to our coach, it began to rain, so we just made it before the weather turned. We headed over to Many Glacier for some lunch and shopping at their hotel. My Aunt Edwina and Aunt Dottie and I headed into the dinning room for lunch while everyone else hit the snack bar. We later joined them when we waited a good 20 minutes and our waiter still hadn't taken our orders. We ended up picking up some pre-packaged sandwiches from the snack bar and oddly enough mine was made with John Morrell meat! Yes, I go all the way to Montana to eat John Morrell. During lunch, mountain goats walked right up to our window and sniffed for food. They have huge amber eyes with horizontal black lines as pupils.
After lunch we did a little a shopping in the gift shop that featured a lot of nice items. I bought two wooden postcards featuring images from Glacier National Park, including a shot of St. Mary Lake and the Red Jammers. They offered the means to mail postcards, so one is currently on its way to Cincinnati ;)
We boarded the buses and headed back across the border and into Canada. The Canadian border patrolman was friendly, but not as fun as the American patrolman. A short, rainy trip and we were back in Waterton National Park and planning out trip to the shops and pick up dinner from the local pizza pub. I managed to find a nice black fleece at a very nice price in town that I couldn't pass up and then had a delicious pizza sub for dinner during our last evening at the Bayshore Inn.
Day three started out rather warm - but just in our hotel room. I woke up burning up and was fortunate enough to open our patio door while I got ready and welcomed in some mountain air. While my family woke up extra early to make a visit to the pie shop, I chose to sleep an extra half hour and just enjoy the complementary breakfast.
It was an absolute beautiful morning in Waterton National Park - even though we had some crisp temperatures, the sun was shinning brightly through the peaks, onto the lake and warming our faces. We boarded the coach and headed for the border for a day trip to Montana.
We were warned that the border crossing folks can be a bit on the tough side and to play it straight, no misbehaving. Fortunately, Stg Denis was in a peachy mood. He came down the isle collecting passports, but not saying much. We all kept quiet until he reached my Aunt Dottie, who asked him if he minded his photograph taken. He chuckled in suprise that someone wanted to take his photo and said "Well, sure!" She snapped a few and he exited the coach to scan our passports. He came back to distribute them and was again cheery. He started passing them out and said loudly from the front of the bus, "Where's Sarah Kelley?" I waved, my Aunt waved and I thought to myself, ohh no, what have I done?! He said, "Ohh in the back - you're last!" Sure enough, I was one of the last to receive my passport back and had to double check which Sarah Kelley belonged to the passport, comparing the photo to myself and my Aunt. He had some fun and we all got a good laugh. He stamped our passports and we were off back to the United States.
We stopped shortly into Montana for a photo opportunity - Mountain Chief Peak. The peak is sacred to Native Americans and is stunning in the landscape. We took some great photos and I of course managed to get mud on my shoe and spent a good bit of time trying to wipe it off. I also had a grand total of a minute of phone service and hoped I would get to use my phone in Montana, but no such luck, that was last bit of service I had the whole day.
We traveled on into Glacier National Park to jump on the Red Jammer tour buses to take the Going to the Sun Road from Saint Mary to where the road was blocked from snow at Jackson Glacier Overlook. Logan's pass isn't open yet as they are still shoveling snow (eww yuck). The Red Jammer held all fourteen of us and our tour guide, Darryl and the top canvas rolled back to reveal open air and beautiful sunshine. We stopped along the way to take in the various peaks and views along the Saint Mary Lake. I took the very front seat in the Red Bus (the Jammer is the driver since he traditionally had to jam the clutch to double shift in the previous versions of the bus) and had a tremendous view. Our guide shared with us that there are about 22 glaciers in the park and when he started working there, they had more than 30. He said scientist suspect that there will be no glaciers left by 2020. The highlight of the this journey came right at the end when we came face to face with a black bear grazing on their candy (as our guide put it) - dandillions that were growing along the road.
Right as we returned back to our coach, it began to rain, so we just made it before the weather turned. We headed over to Many Glacier for some lunch and shopping at their hotel. My Aunt Edwina and Aunt Dottie and I headed into the dinning room for lunch while everyone else hit the snack bar. We later joined them when we waited a good 20 minutes and our waiter still hadn't taken our orders. We ended up picking up some pre-packaged sandwiches from the snack bar and oddly enough mine was made with John Morrell meat! Yes, I go all the way to Montana to eat John Morrell. During lunch, mountain goats walked right up to our window and sniffed for food. They have huge amber eyes with horizontal black lines as pupils.
After lunch we did a little a shopping in the gift shop that featured a lot of nice items. I bought two wooden postcards featuring images from Glacier National Park, including a shot of St. Mary Lake and the Red Jammers. They offered the means to mail postcards, so one is currently on its way to Cincinnati ;)
We boarded the buses and headed back across the border and into Canada. The Canadian border patrolman was friendly, but not as fun as the American patrolman. A short, rainy trip and we were back in Waterton National Park and planning out trip to the shops and pick up dinner from the local pizza pub. I managed to find a nice black fleece at a very nice price in town that I couldn't pass up and then had a delicious pizza sub for dinner during our last evening at the Bayshore Inn.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Day 2 - Ft. MacLeod - Waterton Park
Day two started with a omen - free Tim Hortons. Yes, a free iced cappuccino for me and a free coffee for my Uncle Lenox. A nice cowboy (hat and boots gave it away) in line in front of us bought our drinks before we could get up to the counter to order. As we walked up to the Tim Hortons that was conveniently located minutes from our hotel, we held the door open for this gentleman and began to stare at the menu. We failed to notice where the line really started and by the time we figured it out we were a good 5 people behind the cowboy that we held the door. He offered to let us in line in front of him, but we option not to anger those behind him and politely declined. Then when we made it to the counter, they informed us our drinks had already been purchased and the cowboy was heading out the door holding up a wave. A nice kind guesture and a great way to start our trip.
We made it back to the bus just in time to load up - Kelley clan in the back occuping 14 seats and hopeful we woudln't have to rotate with the rest of the group and could remain in the back. We took off through Calgary, a city with a population of just over a million to our knowledge. They recently experienced a housing boom and we also learned that Alberta is home to the second largest oil reserve in the world - just north of Edmonton.
We traveled south to visit Ft. MacLeod's replica on our way to our next 2-day destination, Waterton National Park (the smallest national park on our journey). Ft. MacLeod's original location has been flooded, so they re-built it a bit north so people could still see a piece of history. The fort was originally estblished to lay down some law on the whiskey & gun traders, while making peace with the First Nationers (Native Americans). Today the fort features a lot of historical artifacts including a scale from Dayton, Oh (yeah, seriously, I come all the way to Alberta to see something from Dayton).
Following our short stay at Fort MacLeod, we headed on into Waterton National Park and got our first glimps of the Canadian Rockie Mountains, but not without passing a half a million air-power turbines (Alberta has more than any other provence). We all kind of went photo crazy trying to catch some mountains, but little did we know we were headed for 2-days in between huge peaks. Our hotel, Bayshore Inn, sits on Waterton Lake - literally. As I write I can see the lake and a huge mountain peak from my hotel bed. Amazing.
We arrived in Waterton just in time for lunch, so we were directed over to a neighboring hotel for a bite to eat. All fourteen of us piled into two big tables and some got a little adventureous. Aunt Dottie ordered a wild hog burger with sweet and savory chutney and both Uncle Jerome and Zeke ordered bison burgers. I stuck with beef since we had more to see that day, but I have a suspicion I received an elk burger because oddly enough the receip said elk and not beef!
After lunch we boarded the bus for Cameron Lake - where we were greated with freezing cold temperatures, an icy mountain and a bit of snowfall before we returned back down the mountain to our hotel. It was a nice pit stop and we took our group photo with an ice packed mountain towering over the chilly lake. We didn't stay long, but long enough for Zeke to grab a video of Jeremy Schuler diving face first into a snow bank and Dana snapped a few shots of Zeke trying to catch snowflakes in his mouth.
We returned to our hotel and set off on our own to hike to Cameron Falls. A nice short walk that lead to picturesque waterfalls shooting out into a mountain stream. We climbed to the top along the path and were greeted by four wild deer that were as tame as puppies and walked right next to us as they grazed for dinner. As the weather continued to turn on a dime, our bright sunny afternoon soon turned dark and a hail storm chased us back to our hotel.
Dinner was in the hotel restuarant - a nice Mediteranean stuffed chicken with potatoes and chocolate mousse for dessert. We had a nice time at dinner as today is Christopher Schuler's birthday. His dad suprised him with confetti and cake featuring trick sparking candles. Half the entertainment came from Christopher's brother Jeremy trying to steal his cake and him successfully fighting him off.
Following dinner we all went to check out the shops in town, however, Zeke and Jeremy had other plans in mind - an little dip in the chilly lake. Not sure who's idea it was, but Jeremy ended up jumping into the lake and Zeke filmed it. I would guess the temerature was somewhere around 30 degrees since I was wearing a fleece, stocking cap, scarf and gloves.
While we were out shopping, I picked up some postcards of the places we visited and found some fantastic fleece lined wool mittens. No way my hands will be cold for ice skating next year! I couldn't pass up these amazingly warm accessories, even though it's in the 80's back home.
Before retiring to our hotel, we visited a chocolate shop (expensive) and connected pie shop - yes all pies and coffees that are freshly baked on site. The woman that ran the shop and baked the pies was exceptionally nice and took a liking to Uncle Lenox. He's going to have some coffee with Uncle Jerome there tomorrow and we'll see if he gets some more free goodies like today :)
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