The BVE broke tradition in 2008 by not traveling to a U.S. National Park. This year we went to Banff a Canadian National Park.

We rented a house in Canmore on Walker Street. The home was spacious and had a gorgeous view of the Canadian Rockies. We made ourselves to home very quickly and took our first group shot of the trip in the back yard. We arrived late in the afternoon so after unpacking we went into town for dinner and called in an early night.

The first day we hiked around Canmore to check the area out. Our first hike was to Quarry Lake. We dressed in warm clothes and were surprised to see the locals in shorts jogging to the lake for a quick dip.

We went back to the house for lunch out on the deck.

After lunch we hiked to Grassi Lake, which is named after Lawerence Grassi a local miner who created the trail.  The lake was a beautiful green color.

That evening we had toasting time on the deck at half past wine o'clock.

The second day we drove into Banff for the first time. We started at Lake Louise near the Hotel Fairmount. The trail around the lake was very busy. We walked around the lake to pick up the trail to the Lake Louise Tea House.

Once we left the lake and started the climb to the Tea House the crowds started the thin. The view from the trail was beautiful and we stopped often to take in the view and pose for a group shot.

We stopped at the Tea House for lunch. Everything that is served there is carried up the trail by the staff that works there. They prepare all the food on site. The pie was wonderful! Lisa L. and Sue decided to stay at the Tea House and the rest of us went on to hike the rest of the trail.

The end of the trail was very narrow and steep. The view was well worth the hike.

Back to the Tea House the group picked up Lisa L. and Sue and started back down. Part way down was the turn off for Lake Agnes and Mirror Lake. Brenda, Jill, Connie and Lisa R. decided to check that out and Peggy, Julie, Lisa L. and Sue continued on down to the Lake Louise.

The third day we went into the town of Banff. We checked out the visitor center and got suggestions for hikes for the rest of the week. Then we went to Fenland Trail which is an easy nature walk. Technology has really changed since we started traveling. While we were in Fenland, Lisa L received a call from a friend of hers who lives in Finland. After the walk in Fenland we had a picnic lunch there.

After lunch, Lisa L and Sue shopped in Banff, while the rest of us hiked Tunnel Mountain. We were told this was our best opportunity to hike to the summit of a mountain in Banff. We felt pretty good about our accomplishment until we saw Tunnel Mountain later in the week for the top of Sulfur Mountain.

The fourth day we went to Jasper to see the Columbia Ice Field. On the way there we saw a few cars pulled over and stopped to see what they were looking at. This was our first siting of a black bear on the trip. We saw several bears driving that day and learned that the best way to spot a bear is to look for cars pulled over on the side of the road.

At the Ice Field we bought tickets to ride out on a Glacier. They have special buses that take people out on the Glacier we we got out and walked around. We drank 10,000 year old Glacier melt. While we were on the Glacier it started to snow.

In the visitor center at the Ice Field we saw our first Canadian Mountie.

On the way back to Canmore, we stopped several times including this stop at Peyto Lake.  

The fifth day we went to Johnston Canyon. There were seven water falls along the trail and we stopped at everyone for a group shot. The trail was crowded at the bottom, but the higher we went the fewer people we saw.

At Upper Falls, we split up. Lisa L. and Sue went back down and the rest of us continued on to the Ink Pots. The Ink Pots are six clear greenish pools filled with spring water that stay at a constant 1 degree Celsius year-around. The Ink Pots are feed from an underground spring. 

After the hike in Johnston Canyon we had a picnic lunch at Sawbuck Picnic area, then back to Banff where we took a Gondola to the top of Sulfur Mountain. From there we were able to see Tunnel Mountain. Seeing Tunnel Mountain from the top of Sulfur Mountain made our accomplishment of climbing to the summit earlier in the week seem less impressive. But we did summit a mountain in Banff!

On the top of Sulfur Mountain is the 1903 Weather Observatory. Norman Sanson manned this station for forty years.

On the sixth and final day of our trip, we went white water rafting. We were so confident as we geared up. The water is cold (4 degrees Celsius which is about 39 degrees Farenheit). We wore wetsuits and fleece to stay warm in the event that 

Our guide Liam gave us a quick lesson on how to row and we were off to challenge the Category III and IV rapids. Our raft was the last of three in our group. Our group consisted of the 8 of us, Liam and Pia a dairy farmer from Germany who was traveling by herself.

We hit the first rapid wrong and quickly got into trouble. Our raft dump trucked and everyone except Julie and Pia were thrown from the raft.

Lisa R., Connie and Peggy were washed away from the raft and were picked up by the other rafts. Liam was able to get back in the raft by himself and started pulling people back in. 

Julie had a hold of Jill and Lisa L, but wasn't able to pull them in because she couldn't decide who to let go of so she could help the other one in the raft. Pia had a hold of Brenda and was trying to pull her in the raft. Liam had Sue and once he pulled her in he helped with the other three. Everyone was back in a raft before we hit the next rapid.

Our bragging rights from this trip was swimming a Category IV rapid and surviving. It was a thrilling and scary experience. The BVE are hanging up their paddles.