Calgary, Banff, JasperSeptember 2, 3, 4
Oh. Canada. I almost forgot. Poor timing on our part mixed with undeservedly high expectations had us underwhelmed at turns during our Canada sojourn.
Calgary, destination number one, has a tall, thin, pointy building with an observation deck/dining establishment at the peak. Yeah, you and every other city we’ve since visited (read: Seattle, Vancouver, Las Vegas). Fortunately, brother Jon snagged us a way-discounted room in the downtown Marriot so that we were sheltered from Calgary’s otherwise less-than-handsome face.
[I don't know either. Saw this near Calgary.]Each morning on the road is a new adventure. Dodging Calgary’s burgeoning homeless population in search of a scrap of breakfast morsels reminded us of our dining experience the night before. A small bar and grill advertised buffalo burgers and we wandered in, curious to sample the local bison. The clientele carried on unrepeatable conversation and the restaurant didn’t actually have buffalo burgers. That was a cheap gag to get hungry Americans off the side walk and to a table. Starving, we begged for anything they could scape off the grill. We would never return, but we would linger long enough to enjoy a folksy band that kicked up some Celtic tunes and drowned out the buffoons a table away.
And so breakfast. Still bisonless, we would settle for pastry and coffee before launching off for Banff National (Canada, mind you) Park. Did I mention our bad timing? Labor Day weekend is as much a three-day weekend in Canada as it is in the States. On the road everyday is the same, until you end up in a natural wonderland outside a major city on a national holiday.
I felt slightly ill while we drove the hour or so from Calgary to the town of Banff, a tourist mecca inside the park. A touch of flu perhaps. Arriving in Banff found us jammed, bumper-to-bumper with every last warm body from Calgary. I almost threw up. No, seriously, I was feeling awful at this point. Our expectations of a solitary retreat to the Canadian Rockies were beginning to look more like a summer Friday on the Garden State Parkway. So we did what any rational human beings should do when faced with national park gridlock: get out. We headed to Lake Louise, a half hour north, where the crowds seemed thinner. After a short stroll around the lake, we continued up to our intended campground.
[Lake Louise]Wish you could have been there. Completely packed, 100 out of 110 spots taken by 6pm. Eight of the ten remaining spots were in a suspicious-looking semi-circle around a single occupied site. Three college guy cars were squeezed into the site and a half-dozen dudes were blasting their Canadian tunes and stacking beer on the picnic table. Beer is, after all, the reason we retreat into the untouched wild. Seriously though, I counted AT LEAST six 24 packs of Corona.
Who drinks that much beer?
Good point, college guys.
We settled into another vacant spot across the campground and then paid the ridiculous Canadian camping fees. Apparently you have to have a permit to turn the lights on in Canada because we had to buy one for $7.80 just so we could build a small campfire. That’s on top of the $18 we pay to pitch our tent on their dirt. At least we had a spot to sleep, and for that I am glad.
But these Canadians were always looking for a chance to soak you. They charge you two cents for every bottled item you buy: they call it a recycling fee (more on the recycling regime later). Then they charge you another “refundable” fee for your bottle deposit. Buy a 20oz Coke and pay approximately 35 cents in misc. fees. Gosh. Now I know why they can’t stand Americans: we must always be complaining about the cost of drinking a beverage across the border.
The morning brought warmth and sunshine. We packed up and readied to hike a trail in Japser National Park (contiguous with Banff to the north) that would take us up a river bed into the mountains and past seven waterfalls. First we drove up the icefield parkway along the Columbia Icefield, a mass of ice flowing out of an enormous alpine valley and forming dozens of glaciers. Hiking up to the most famous, the Athabasca Glacier, brought back memories of a childhood stop here while driving to Alaska. We skipped the $34/person glaciermobile tour. No room in the budget I'm afraid.
[Athabasca glacier from 50ft]
[Athabasca glacier from 50mm]Our hope was to be out of the park by 4pm, because at that point we would have to pay another $18 for the daily fee. Another fee. We didn’t get out by four, the river trail was far too long and beautiful and besides, we had an hour drive to get out the northern entrance.
To our delight, we learned that they didn’t check our receipt on the way out. Thus our 5pm exit did not cost us another $18. Crossing out of Banff landed us in British Columbia, a day's drive from our next destination: Vancouver, BC.
[Mountain Goat, spotted in Jasper National Park, Canada.]
