Sunday, the 27th, we crossed into Canada at approximately 0915. The border crossing went smoothly and we drove on to Calgary. The plan was to stay at a Passport America campground; however, to make a long story short, that place was a disaster and we headed for the nearest WalMart parking lot. This wasn’t exactly how I’d planned to spend my first night in Canada, but it worked! We found another campground the next morning and moved to it. The rest of the day was spent exploring and getting acquainted with Calgary. We decided to move on the following day (May 29) which we did after washing the RVs and meeting a gentleman who is an RVing single for breakfast. Roberta had corresponded with him online and he provided some helpful information as we were headed north.
The drive to Banff N.P. was indescribable with lush green fields, lots of wildflowers (including LOTS of dandelions), and spectacular views of the Front Range of the Canadian Rockies! The upthrust was really impressive with the knife-edge tops. After getting into the mountains, the views were absolutely fantastic. Snow pack is still 50% above normal for this time of year so we are getting to see snow-covered peaks. Very pretty! We parked at Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court right outside Banff. It has nice pull-throughs and deer roam through frequently. Columbia ground squirrels are all over the place and really make a lot of racket—but they sure do entertain Zia! What a day!!!
The next day (May 30) was fabulous! (I will probably be using this description frequently. Ha!) We were up early to drive the Bow Parkway to the Lake Louise gondola. The ride on the gondola
was beautiful with spectacular views from the top. We decided we didn’t have time to do the Columbia Ice Field today so drove west of Lake Louise to the “Spiral Tunnels” just over the border in British Columbia. It is hard to describe the scene, but imagine a train snaking its way up or down the side of a mountain, going through tunnels, and on three elevations of the mountain simultaneously. We saw, perhaps, the longest train I have ever observed do exactly this. Roberta talked about this sight for several days afterwards—and it really is an incredible sight. Thank you Bob and Gene Nora Jessen for this wonderful recommendation. I will put a photo in of the view; however, it won’t do the scene justice. You may want to enlarge it so you can see the closest level.
We next drove to Lake Moraine in the Valley of Ten Peaks near Lake Louise village. This lake
was featured on the back of Canada’s $20 bill at one time and it truly is a beautiful location. This area of Canada was under water 500+ years ago before the Rockies were formed—part of the Pacific Ocean which stretched well east of Calgary—so a lot of sea life fossils have been found here. From Lake Moraine we drove to the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise hotel on Lake Louise. It was crowded around the lake with tourists already; however, this is really a beautiful location and we decided we must return in the morning. We hurried back to camp to change clothes and drive on to Cranmore for the “Oh Canada Eh?” dinner show. This production was very entertaining with Canadian “color” and featured a good cast as well as a good dinner served family style. I think we were at one of 2 or 3 large tables that weren’t a tour group, but we struck up interesting conversations with folks 
from England and Ontario. After the show we arrived back at Banff about 10 p.m. and, since it wasn’t yet dark, we decided to drive to Lake Minnewanka before returning to camp. We saw some bighorn sheep, elk, and deer on that drive. The highlight of the drive, however, was to watch the moon rise above Two Jack Lake—the nearly-full moon reflecting on the water coupled with the last sun rays on the mountains ahead and to our right was a spectacular view.
The drive to Banff N.P. was indescribable with lush green fields, lots of wildflowers (including LOTS of dandelions), and spectacular views of the Front Range of the Canadian Rockies! The upthrust was really impressive with the knife-edge tops. After getting into the mountains, the views were absolutely fantastic. Snow pack is still 50% above normal for this time of year so we are getting to see snow-covered peaks. Very pretty! We parked at Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court right outside Banff. It has nice pull-throughs and deer roam through frequently. Columbia ground squirrels are all over the place and really make a lot of racket—but they sure do entertain Zia! What a day!!!
The next day (May 30) was fabulous! (I will probably be using this description frequently. Ha!) We were up early to drive the Bow Parkway to the Lake Louise gondola. The ride on the gondola
was beautiful with spectacular views from the top. We decided we didn’t have time to do the Columbia Ice Field today so drove west of Lake Louise to the “Spiral Tunnels” just over the border in British Columbia. It is hard to describe the scene, but imagine a train snaking its way up or down the side of a mountain, going through tunnels, and on three elevations of the mountain simultaneously. We saw, perhaps, the longest train I have ever observed do exactly this. Roberta talked about this sight for several days afterwards—and it really is an incredible sight. Thank you Bob and Gene Nora Jessen for this wonderful recommendation. I will put a photo in of the view; however, it won’t do the scene justice. You may want to enlarge it so you can see the closest level.We next drove to Lake Moraine in the Valley of Ten Peaks near Lake Louise village. This lake
was featured on the back of Canada’s $20 bill at one time and it truly is a beautiful location. This area of Canada was under water 500+ years ago before the Rockies were formed—part of the Pacific Ocean which stretched well east of Calgary—so a lot of sea life fossils have been found here. From Lake Moraine we drove to the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise hotel on Lake Louise. It was crowded around the lake with tourists already; however, this is really a beautiful location and we decided we must return in the morning. We hurried back to camp to change clothes and drive on to Cranmore for the “Oh Canada Eh?” dinner show. This production was very entertaining with Canadian “color” and featured a good cast as well as a good dinner served family style. I think we were at one of 2 or 3 large tables that weren’t a tour group, but we struck up interesting conversations with folks 
from England and Ontario. After the show we arrived back at Banff about 10 p.m. and, since it wasn’t yet dark, we decided to drive to Lake Minnewanka before returning to camp. We saw some bighorn sheep, elk, and deer on that drive. The highlight of the drive, however, was to watch the moon rise above Two Jack Lake—the nearly-full moon reflecting on the water coupled with the last sun rays on the mountains ahead and to our right was a spectacular view.May 31 found us up early and driving to Lake Louise. We arrived before the horde of tourists and were greeted with beautiful reflections of the surrounding mountains in the lake’s water. There was still some ice on the lake which cut into the photo opportunities; however, it was a quiet, peaceful, beautiful scene just the same. 
Before leaving, we walked around the hotel’s grounds and through the lobby area—it is a beautiful hotel in a beautiful location. We next drove the Bow Parkway to Johnston Canyon where we walked on catwalks much of the way up to the lower falls. It was a beautiful walk to the falls which drop about 100’. The gorge below is approximately 3’ wide at one point, so the water really rushes through there. We then went to downtown Banff and walked around there while getting our daily (?) ice cream fix—well almost daily.
We have not been impressed with the Canadian drivers to date. They drive fast and seem to be quite rude; however, the people we have dealt with have been very friendly. We have been very surprised at the large number of rental RVs on the road—Class B’s and C’s. I would estimate that over 50% of the RVs parked at Tunnel Mountain C.G. are rentals.
Before leaving, we walked around the hotel’s grounds and through the lobby area—it is a beautiful hotel in a beautiful location. We next drove the Bow Parkway to Johnston Canyon where we walked on catwalks much of the way up to the lower falls. It was a beautiful walk to the falls which drop about 100’. The gorge below is approximately 3’ wide at one point, so the water really rushes through there. We then went to downtown Banff and walked around there while getting our daily (?) ice cream fix—well almost daily. We have not been impressed with the Canadian drivers to date. They drive fast and seem to be quite rude; however, the people we have dealt with have been very friendly. We have been very surprised at the large number of rental RVs on the road—Class B’s and C’s. I would estimate that over 50% of the RVs parked at Tunnel Mountain C.G. are rentals.
