My Summer Vacation, eh?

If you like vacations as much as I do, then I highly recommend Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada.  Banff has it all.  It is nestled in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and is just a short drive from Calgary, Alberta.

Our week in Alberta began in Canmore.  We stayed at the Lodges at Canmore which is a fairly pricey lodge unit with laundry facilities and a full kitchen.  We saved a lot of money by cooking in our lodge apartment for four days.  There is an awesome view of the Three Sisters Mountain range right outside your room – and fortunately we were on the correct side of the building for a perfect view of the Three Sisters.

Our week took us to Banff National Park where we did the Johnston Canyon hike to the Lower and Upper Falls.  The ink-pots were 4k and we almost attempted it, but figured that a 4k hike back from the ink-pots may have just taken too long (or killed us).

We rode the Banff Gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain and we basked in the Sulphur Mountain Hot Springs.  For lunch that day, we dined like rock stars at the Fremont Hotel in Banff.  The only more impressive than the price of the buffet lunch was our view.  The food served for the buffet was definitely the highest quality of any food I have ever seen in a buffet – and was better than most restaurants in which I have dined.

Other stops in Banff included two visits to Lake Louise, a visit to Lake Moraine and a drive-by on the Continental Divide.  We were looking for Kicking Horse Pass when we realized that we were actually driving on it when we crossed into B.C. We were expecting a sign or something and when we started descending the mountain it finally dawned on us that we had crossed it. We also visited Peyto Lake and the Crow Foot Glacier before heading east and on to Rocky Mountain House.

In Rocky Mountain House we traced the steps of my forefathers and visited the sites of the first two forts at Rocky Mountain House.  We established a contact with the local librarian and got the title of a historical book which we later purchased.

After Rocky Mountain House, we went to Calgary where we did additional genealogical research at the Glenbow Museum.  The sixth floor has an extensive archive of Metis genealogy.

After tying up some loose ends in the family tree, we relaxed in the hotel.  We also had a pleasant sushi dinner at Kinzo Sushi.  They had around fifty little boats chained together that moved as one giant chain of boats large circle.  When a boat came by with something you liked, you just took it and they charged you according to the color of your plate.

The following night we attended the Chuckwagon Races at the Calgary Stampede – followed the next day with our attending the Rodeo at the Calgary Stampede.  I enjoyed both events immensely.  The Stampede is all about the parade, daily free pancake breakfasts, the races, the rodeo and nightly fireworks.  It is a great time in a great town…the people are friendly and the beer is too!

The only thing I would change is the order in which I did my things – I would begin my vacation in the city of Calgary and end it in the mountain wilderness of Banff, Canmore, Jasper or possibly a campsite somewhere in the national park.  But really, you can’t go wrong with a vacation anywhere in the Canadian Rockies.