Saturday broke clean and clear, one of those days that lets you know that you are fortunate to be Canadian. The drive out to Banff, just over an hour from Calgary, solidified that view, as the Rockies grew closer and more impressive. We arrived in Banff at midday and took a leisurely stroll through town so I could buy the obligatory tourist cap. Then we headed down stream along the Bow River, to where it breaks into brisk rapids and an impressive chute. Where the Sarcey joins the Bow we stopped for a late lunch at a patio overlooking the river and the mountains in the near distance. The air was clean and the sun was warm, and it made you happy to be alive in this great country.
After lunch we took a short detour to Miniwaki Lake on the shores of the Palliser Range, another beautiful site. The water looked so inviting, but the glacier fed lake was only one or two degrees above the temperature of ice, and none of us wanted to put our hearts under that kind of excitement.
Dave drove conservatively home through a steady downpour that gathers quickly in this part of the world. I must confess that the steady drone of the tires was too much for my jetlagged body and I napped a good part of the way home, which is why I am posting at 3 in the morning. I’ll get some pictures up at daybreak, but they won’t do the country around here justice.
Home Thoughts From Abroad 
June 14, 2009 at 9:40 pm
Lake Minnewanka!
Its nice to have guests so that we get an excuse to take the trip out there
June 15, 2009 at 11:00 am
Oh, you mean like Willy Wanka and the Chocolate Factory? How fun is that! I see that I misspelled Sarcee as well. My excuse is that I am posting in the dark at 3 am and trying not to wake your mother.
June 15, 2009 at 5:32 pm
For the record, the driving wasn’t that conservative, I was still trying to speed, but everyone else was going so darn slow. I mean, it was only torrential rain and hail, no reason to crawl along the highway.