Banff and JJJ - Blogabond

Well, Banff and I didn't get off to a great start. We arrived early in the morning, to rain, more rain and an australian at our hostel, who managed to wind tom up like a clock. So lets be honest, our first day in Banff, a complete Australian write off. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE jjj radio station, but hearing it broadcast at a hostel in Canada, while hearing more aussie accents then in Werribee....it wasn't what I was quite looking for. Thrown in with poor weather and so many gift shops (with signs in Japanese) and I'll be honest, my first impression of Banff was less than good.

Tunnel Mountain

After a good snooze though, the next day we awoke to great sunny weather, and we managed to get out off the main tourist strip and explore (and for the first time see the mountains without a hazy wet blur). Being in the Rocky mountains, wow. Banff is basically a valley nestled inbetween some amazing mountains. In the middle of summer, and the middle of winter Banff would be a great place to stay - but Spring, maybe give it a miss. In saying that, we hiked up Tunnel Mountain, and had a small picnic lunch, and the views were nothing short of spectacular. It was a decent walk up there, but for panoramic views of the Rockies, priceless.

The view from Tunnel Mountain

That evening, we headed out on a bus to Saskatoon, which is further east about 10 hours. That wasn't too bad, we were two of ten people who also had the crazy inclination to spend 10 hours on a bus from Calgary (we had to swap buses) to Saskatoon, so it was a quiet and comfortable leg.

Once we arrived at Saskatoon, at 5.30 in the morning, we were greeted by a rather surreal experience, of Stu running through the bus station waving a giant aussie flag. Lucky we weren't in Banff, or he would have been mobbed. After a very early morning breakfast out at Denny's, we also made a quick stop at Wal-mart, to pick up the essentials. Oars, charcoal and lifejackets. What else do you need at 7am?

written by

no_fosters_thanks on June 7, 2007 from Banff, Canada

from the travel blog: Canada

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