On a high from our wildlife sightings last evening, we were off again this morning. Our Rav4 was headed north to Banff National Park and the town of Banff. From our research, we knew it would take almost four hours.
When we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised at the size of the town. Waterton was quite small with just a few restaurants and a general store, but Banff was much larger. We were even more thrilled that our hotel had great wifi. Many of the stores along the main street, Banff Avenue, were chalet styled architecture. Unfortunately I did not think to take many pictures of the shops.
The Information Center was our first stop. Arming ourselves with more ideas than we would have time to do, we set off to explore the town. Frank and I went off to explore shops on our own, since I knew his tolerance for shopping would be limited. He definitely was not smiling at this point.
Ironically we met up with Marty and Judy just in time for supper. I noticed an Old Spaghetti Factory sign, so we headed into an indoor mall and found the restaurant. Frank and I had eaten at one of these restaurants in Portland and enjoyed it. Spaghetti for all in different styles! Our meals even included spamoni ice cream and coffee! Not bad for a tourist town.
The Bow River goes through Banff. With a walkway along the river, Frank and I decided to check it out. The pictures tell it all.
Since Frank and I planned to take the Banff Gondola in the morning, we headed back to the Best Western Siding 29. The name “Siding 29” is because this was the original name for Banff. On the railroad, it was stop on siding 29!
I am looking forward to seeing Banff from the view on top of Sulfur Mountain! No rain please!