O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thee sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North, strong and free!
O Canada! — Canadian National Anthem
I have been impressed by Western Canada ever since we crossed the border 12 days ago. I have been charmed by the the prolific icons on highway signs, wifi accessible public rest stops, and overt displays of courtesy and politeness. I have been enchanted and awed by stunning mountains that seem to spring straight up from the earth and pastel-colored glacial rivers and lakes. Canada has been a delight.
We spent the last 6 days camping and exploring in Banff National Park. The nature alone has been mind-bogglingly beautiful. Because we are so much further north, the daylight lasts much longer which gives us more campfire time in the evenings.
Not all of the days were sunny and glorious. We did have one rainy day when we decided to watch the rainstorm from a fancy hotel with cocktails. An idea that we totally stole from the playbook of our friends and experienced travelers Karen and Dan.
The town of Banff is a resort town that is similar to the mountain resort towns in Colorado, except that it’s the town for 3 different ski resorts: Sunshine Banff, Lake Louise, and Mount Norquay. It was cute, touristy, and expensive, but had lots of great restaurants and shops.
In the end, Banff the Town is much different than Banff the National Park. The town has thousands of visitors, but just like a bunch of different places we’ve been to so far, if you make the effort to get just a bit off he beaten path the crowd thins and the true feeling of the place soaks into you. Banff is wild and civilized all at the same time and that is a pretty cool thing to experience.
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