Banff and Trans-Canada 1

Driving Trans-Canada Highway 1 west from Calgary, the landscape quickly morphed from flat prairies into the Canadian Rockies. The change in scenery took my breath away. I was surprised by how much I'd missed the grand western mountains! The town of Banff is cute and touristy, filled with hotels, gift shops and overpriced restaurants. (It reminds me of Whistler BC.) I'm not especially fond of super-touristy places, so didn't spend much time in town.

The scenery in the area is spectacular. When I first arrived I stopped at the Cave and Basin, a historic site considered the birthplace of the Canadian National Park system. The site consists of a small cave with sulfur hot springs, a replica of the 1887 pool and bath house, and wooden boardwalks through the surrounding sulfur marsh -- with a great view of the surrounding mountains. It's a nice place to start a visit to Banff to learn the history of the area.

After settling into my Tunnel Mountain campsite I took a walk to the Bow River Valley to get some much-needed exercise and watch the sunset. In the morning I hitched a gondola ride to the top of Mt Sulphur, which hosts an abandoned weather observatory used in the 1920s -- and of course spectacular views. On my way out of Banff NP, I stopped at Johnston Canyon to hike a short path to a decent waterfall -- worth a stop if you're in the area.

By mid-afternoon I felt compelled to hit the road toward home in Seattle. Nonetheless, in the late afternoon I couldn't pass up a tour of the 3 Valley Gap Heritage Ghost Town. An eccentric entrepreneur/collector has assembled dozens of abandoned buildings from the region into a little town complete with a saloon, school, hotel, Chinese laundry (etc.) and holds guided tours. The proprietor also collected trains and automobiles, so visitors to the ghost town are treated to a tour of a full-size railway roundhouse with several furnished rail cars, as well as a respectable collection of 14 fully-restored automobiles built from 1902 to 1929. This out-of-the-way roadside attraction has something for everyone.

Even without the roadside attractions, the drive along Trans-Canada 1 through Canada's national parks is truly spectacular and worth repeating. (I imagine it would be even nicer in the summertime on two wheels!)

(Photos)