By Sherman Shifflett
For those who have not been, put this at the top of your bucket list. Consider flying to Vancouver, B.C. and taking the Rocky Mountaineer train thru the Canadian Rockies to Banff, about 2 days. Banff is a beautiful town surrounded by snow-capped peaks. It is located within the Banff National Park. Wildlife is everywhere. It is also a snow-ski mecca.
Banff Avenue is the main drag and nearly all the streets are named for animals – Elk, Wolf, Bear, Rabbit, Gopher, Buffalo, Beaver, etc. The gondola is probably the main attraction, but there is also a nice museum, neat shops, sporting goods stores and good restaurants. Ava and I tried the Maple Leaf Grill and the food was excellent. Best sweet potato fries we’ve ever eaten.
Ava and I were walking down the street and a large man in a
realistic-looking “Big Foot” suit was standing on the corner high-fiving tourists. Ava swore she saw Keanu Reeves (whomever that may be) on the street.
Lake Louise (absolutely beautiful) is only 35 miles away, and of course we had to visit and spend the night at the Fairmont Chateau.
One of the best anywhere, the hotel has several restaurants and most were booked, but we found a good one under the lobby – Alpine Social. Fantastic Canadian chowder with grilled chicken over a bed of lettuce. Good wine.
There are no large airports, so we had to travel to Calgary to fly home. Calgary is much larger than we had anticipated. We stayed at the Delta Hotel and it has a great restaurant, The Shoe and Canoe. We had dinner and breakfast there.
Canadians serve large portions. The bacon is thicker and almost all meat. Here, the bacon is thin and mostly fat. One morning the waitress asked if I wanted some “sunshine.” I didn’t know what it was, but Ava did – orange juice. There was a veggie in a tossed salad I had not seen, a “watermelon radish”, sliced, striped and sweet.
The waitresses “top off” (re-fill) your coffee. Or, give you a “splash”
We made travel arrangements thru AAA. If you go, try to tour via bus (motor coach in Canada). We ran into some snags with rental car.
Plan your trip now.