Banff and Canmore

Today we are moving east from Lake Louise Village to Canmore. On the way we stop for a short while in Banff and enjoy a wander up and down the busy, touristy main street. At the end of the main street is the oldest natural history museum in Canada. The wooden building itself is interesting. It dates from 1903 and is built in a rustic style, with a glass-sided ‘lantern’ roof, to let in light. Inside the stuffed animals, butterflies and eggs are still exhibited in their original style. It is a museum of a museum.  

Downtown Banff

Banff Natural History Museum

Inside the Natural History Museum

We leave Banff and the national park and drive a short distance to the little town of Canmore. We take a short walk from a reservoir up to a lake and watch rock climbers tackle the cliffs behind the lake. 

View of Canmore

We check into our hostel on the edge of town. It belongs to the Alpine Club of Canada and is a beautifully presented hostel. We can’t believe how nice it is and all for $25 a night. The lounge has leather sofas and huge windows looking over the valley to the peaks opposite.

Hostel Lounge

Evening View from the Hostel

The next day we take a trip to Calgary to visit the Stampede – but I will write about that separately and on our final day together we get out into the natural environment again with a last lovely hike. At the start of the trail there is a warning sign about bears.

Bears Frequent this Area

The path heads up a valley between huge mountains and crosses and re-crosses a fast-flowing mountain stream. It is another hot day and it is pleasant to stand on the bridges and feel the cool air coming off the water.

View at the Start of the Trail

Mountain Stream

The path climbs steeply and we stop occasionally to rest and admire the views and after a couple of hours we arrive at the alpine lake.

Views from the Path

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Lillian Lake

Back at the hostel we celebrate our last evening together with a meal on the verandah and a bottle of rose wine. We have both really enjoyed our week together and will keep in touch and definitely meet up again somewhere – maybe in England, or the Netherlands, or who knows where else.

Goodbye Meal