Read about part two here’sHere. As dark turned to dawn, we eventually emerged from our lodge, only lured out of our cosy nook by our rumbling tummies. A breakfast of pancakes and real Canadian maple syrup with a steaming mug of coffee woke us from our slumber.
We needed the fuel as
we had a busy day a head hiking and mountain sight seeing. As we had so much to
do and so little time, we took the Gondola up to the top of Banff
As we stepped off the
cable car, a variety of trails opened up for us to explore but for most,
reaching the summit was the holy grail. A boardwalk led the way across and up,
up, up to the top the top of the peak with amazing look out points in every
direction.
The many peaks of the Rockies showed in all their glory, piercing up into the
air like jagged stone knives. A 360 degree panorama showed an abundance of
bright blue glacial lakes, rivers and meres, vast bodies of water appearing so
small from the height of the mountain.
At the very top of the
mountain, an old weather station remained from before the mountain became
accessible to all by gondola and nicely boarded walkways. The real pioneers of
the Rockies were those who conquered it
without gadgets.
After a hot coffee and
cake from the café, we boarded the gondola and made our way back down into the
bright but crisp day, trying not to freak out about the vast amount of space
and nothingness between us dangling from a string in the sky and the ground
below.
After braving the cold
at the top of Banff Mountain , Banff hot springs
It was certainly a
popular attraction and a far cry from the serenity of Scandinave Spa in
Whistler, but as we eased ourselves into the toasty water, our aches and
troubles floated away. We took in the views of the mountain and tree tops,
taking a second to breathe that bit deeper. The excited chit chatter of the
many other tourists around us somewhat dampened the relaxing effect but we
enjoyed a dip for an hour before making way for other groups of people.
We had other things on
our agenda to enjoy and so off we popped to downtown Banff
We were taken to
popular animal corridors at dusk to give us the best chances of seeing wildlife
and along the way we saw the cutest white tailed deer, horned sheep and the
best sighting was enormous and majestic elk rutting and bugling, where they
make a bizarre high pitched noise to attract females. I honestly can’t describe
what it sounds like but it’s weird so Google it for yourself.
Alas we didn’t see a
bear but we did find out a lot of facts about them – did you know they eat
80,000 calories a day before they hibernate? That is a lot of berries and what
not!
We grabbed dinner in
the town afterwards from one of the bewildering array of restaurants on offer.
I particularly liked a Canadian bar which had one of my favourite dishes on the
menu – Poutine- and a sign on the wall for me to pose with to prove I’m such a
massive fan.
Full and well watered,
soon the yawns started to creep in and we were ready to bunk down for the night.
As we left we were warned that a pack of wolves had been spotted in the ally
acting boldly and my silly over active mind imagined wolves dressed like the
three muskateers unsheathing their swords with a swish of their capes.
Our ride picked us up
and bade us farewell at our door, where there was just time for a bedtime mug
of tea and to light the fire before climbing into bed and snuggling into the
duvet. Eye lids grew heavier still until the next thing we knew it was morning.
If you want to read the earlier instalments of this trip, you can catch them here, here, here, here and here...
If you want to read the earlier instalments of this trip, you can catch them here, here, here, here and here...
Hello, I am deciding on the Buffalo Mountain Lodge and the Hidden Ridge Resort, I believe they are both located in the same Tunnel Mountain area. Have you seen the Hidden Ridge and would you recommend the Buffalo as a to stay? We are a mature couple in our thirties, looking for great scenery (as a first visit here), and not too far from the town and things to do during winter. Thanks
ReplyDeleteHi Desiree, funnily enough we did stay at Hidden Ridge Resort as well and I have a blog post about it going up soon. Both were lovely and the hot tubs with views at Hidden Ridge were really something but on balance, I would say Buffalo Mountain Lodge swung it for the other facilities it offered and cosy bar area. I also liked that they offered a free taxi service to and from town. Both are within a stones throw of each other and up the mountain so offer great scenery and ample opportunity for hikes. I really hope that helps and you have a fantastic stay - it is a beautiful place!
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