Banff Day One

 I am pooped! My feet are ready to fall off but I saw SO much today! First, Banff is as beautiful as expected. 

I left Calgary on a bus at 815am. This after seeing Sheena and family off for their own vacation adventures. I really wanted to sleep on the bus but the drive was so beautiful that I couldn't! These are just a few of the photos I took.

The bus dropped me off just a block from my hotel. I went and dropped off my luggage and began my walking tour. I was supposed to have a guided tour but it was cancelled due to lack of guides. There are several self-guided tours provided by the city and I basically followed a couple of those, plus I knew there were a few things I wanted to see based on research and conversations with Sheena and Pete. 

My first stop was what they called the "taxidermy museum" (I'm pretty sure) but is actually the Banff Park Museum National Historic Site. It is indeed full of taxidermied animals. 

 Will continue to take pics of moose until I see the real thing!

An adorable grizzly bear that really wanted me to hug it but not allowed. 

I crossed the bow river on my way to the Banff Springs Hotel which is the big famous expensive spot (think Awahnee at Yosemite but bigger). 

the administration building

deer on the Bow River

Banff Springs Hotel

There are people everywhere, this is a random dude

view from the back terrace

I walked back along the Bow River Trail to see the Falls. 

I don't remember what building this on, but I thought he was cute

this is apparently a Squirrel - I don't know that ours stand up like that

the calm "above" the falls

this was coming off the bridge - all of Canada has been so welcoming to all

On the way back into Downtown, I saw some of the historical sites along the walking tour. I wouldn't be me if that didn't mean churches!!

After this trek (I was at almost 10,000 steps at this point) I really needed to sit down and eat. I know it is weird but Ramen sounded really good! And it was! Creamy Garlic Miso

After lunch and a break for my poor feet, I saw more historical sites (and tourists everywhere - this is a very popular destination).

this is currently the visitor center where I was able to purchase my bus day passes

From there I started to make things up a little. I did a little shopping (my cough is back so needed cough drops, hand lotion, and souvenirs!).

Today is National Indigenous Day so there was a festival of sorts in Central Park. It wasn't huge but when I was there the live music was nice. 

Oh, somewhere in there I also visited the Whyte Museum which was free to celebrate National Indigenous Day. Oh and all National Parks and Historic Sites are free this summer which has been good for my wallet. I did have to pay entrance to the Buffalo Nations museum but that's okay. Don't mind supporting! I don't have pictures of either of those museums though. They were informative and interesting. 

I then took the bus to The Cave and Basin which I had no idea what it was. It is the site that basically started Banff and the National Park system in Canada! Both the Cave and the Basin smelled to high heaven of sulfur. Folks used to bathe in the basin (and other pools). I'm sure it was lovely, if you didn't have the ability to smell. 

not sure why this turned out blurry

the Basin - outside

Unfortunately the bus wasn't coming back for an hour (according to Maps, which was wrong - I saw the bus while I walked) so I walked back though I was SO tired of walking. But I did see baseball!! It was too far away to go see who and what and why.

BUT my room was ready when I arrived at the hotel so I went upstairs and collapsed for an hour or so before I left to get some dinner and explore some more - on the bus this time. Dinner was a burger at The Eddie which was yummy. Then I hopped on the bus to the Gondola. 

the view while waiting for the bus half a block from my hotel

I did not ride the Gondola cuz I have to draw the money line somewhere and I just couldn't justify $95 (okay, a little less than that in US$) to get a nice view for a few minutes - there was live music and festivities at the top but I was exhausted. So I just wandered around and took some pics before taking the next bus back.

Now I'm watching a random MLB game on TV, eating chocolate chip cookies that I brought with me, and preparing for tomorrow. A bus tour of all the pretty lakes! 

Canada Day Two

 After a good night's sleep and a shower, I was ready to explore Calgary. I had a list of things that the internet told me to see. I saw those and so much more! Sheena and her oldest daughter Katherine joined me which was nice and allowed me to do much more than planned. 

We started out by driving to the Calgary Library (Central branch) which was stunningly beautiful and also a very nice library. It was very bright and open and all the stacks were like a bookstore or museum. 

Looking up from the main lobby area. The stairs are the wooden parts. It's hard to explain!

From the library we walked a couple blocks to Studio Bell, the National Music Centre. It's built around the King Edward where musicians come to Calgary to play.  The museum was quite large and had many exhibits of various Canadian artists from over the years. Several displays were dedicated to musicians who are in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. I only knew a few names but it was still an interesting time. Though I didn't take any pictures.

Sheena and I

From there we headed to Sheena's church. They were hosting a prayer vigil that Sheena was the presiding Pastor for. Sheena's church is in the heart of downtown and has a congregation made up of all walks of life. The vigil was to share space in support of individuals on a local assistance program that the government has decided is unnecessary. I support the cause but I was excited to explore the church. Knox United Church was once Presbyterian but then the Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists merged into the United Church. The current building was built in 1912 and expanded in the 60's. The organ is the 2nd largest in Western Canada. When we arrived, the music director was practicing on it and it was beautiful. I even got to see the pipes from the back! 

Katherine gave me a tour while Sheena set up for the vigil. Funny story... Katherine unlocked doors, showed me the room and then we moved on. Except at one door, she couldn't get the key out of the lock. We tried for a good ten minutes, yanking, jiggling, etc. Finally we found a screwdriver and I took the lock apart and voila, key was removed. Yes, I put the lock back together but we've alerted the caretaker that they probably should look at it! We attended the vigil and helped clean up and then we headed out.

The next stop was Prince's Island but on the way there, a couple streets were blocked off and there was some sort of festival thing happening so after we parked, we walked over to see what was happening. It was a parade of sorts for the Festival of Chariots which is a Hindu celebration. There was dancing and people holding a rope that pulled a large "chariot" carrying what we presume was the holy man. Lots and lots of people! Many dressed in their finest Hindu type clothing. 

The parade actually went to Prince's Island where they were offering a free vegetarian feast to anyone who wanted (and was willing to stand in line). There were vendors and even a tent where you could go see the "deity". It was all quite fascinating.

The Chariot (the holy man is on the left in light blue)

We did also walk along the river on the island and saw a LOT of Canadian geese. And people. The Bow River was lovely. I will be canoeing on it on Tuesday! 

Our last stop for the day was Calgary Tower. It was once the tallest building in Calgary. It afforded excellent views of the city and beyond.

Only moose I've seen so far!

the white building kinda in the middle is the saddledome

me standing on the glass bottom, NOT looking down!