Beautiful Banff

I got to spend a few days recently with Robyn, who was in Banff for seven weeks this summer. What a delight to leave behind Houston's extreme heat and humidity and breathe some fresh mountain air! Since Robyn had already been there for a while, her legs were hill-worthy, and she quickly started me on a "training" regimen of walking uphill. I arrived on a Saturday afternoon, and we walked up from town to the Centre for the Arts, where she was staying. My lodging was a 1930's era guest house in town; I was on the 2nd floor in a tiny little room tucked under the eaves. On Sunday morning, I discovered that my legs were already sore, and I had to walk down the stairs very carefully! We rode a city bus up to the base of Sulphur Mtn, which has a gondola for those who prefer not to hike the 2 hours it takes to reach the summit. We rode the gondola up and hiked across to the weather observation station on an adjacent peak. The views were just gorgeous from up there, and Robyn was a great tour guide, telling me the names of all the surrounding mountains. Even the chipmunks were friendly on Sulphur Mountain!

After eating lunch, we joined a group from the Banff Centre for an expedition to Johnston Canyons, where we hiked along a beautiful mountain stream to view the various rapids and waterfalls along the way. It was a fairly cool day, so it was nice hiking weather. Unfortunately, since it was a holiday weekend in Canada (Heritage Days), we shared the path with about a million other hikers and had to turn sideways at time to pass safely!



Back at the Centre that evening, I got to hear the orchestra perform. Robyn only played on one piece for that concert, but I did get to hear her play!

By Monday morning I was truly ready for a soak in a hot tub, so we went to the natural hot springs and loosened up our muscles in the luxurious, constantly 40 degrees centrigrade water. Then we ate lunch and headed out for a river rafting trip. Since it was my first time going white-water rafting, I opted for the low-level rapids. We donned wetsuits and got on a raft with a family of seven from---guess where?---Texas! It was really fun, even when the ice-cold water came rushing up the sleeve of my jacket and had to be poured out! Next time, I'll definitely be willing to try some higher rapids. We don't have any pictures from this adventure; the rafting company recommended leaving our cameras at home, so we didn't have them with us.

Robyn had rehearsals on Tuesday and Wednesday, so I spent a good bit of time browsing in the shops up and down the main drag. I didn't buy much, but I enjoyed looking. When I woke up on Wednesday morning, my legs finally didn't hurt, so I hiked up Tunnel Mtn. while Robyn was in rehearsal Wednesday afternoon.


The scenery in and around Banff is nothing short of spectacular. It was a real treat for my eyes to see mountains all around (there's just something about mountains, isn't there?). I could get used to it!

Robyn got home a few days ago, and we have been doing a lot of errands getting her ready to start school again next week. I'll have to write another post about Tim's adventures, etc., etc., etc. (You'll understand when I post it!)