Days 5 & 6, September 4 & 5, 2019 -- Northwest Mountains Expedition

Day 5, September 4, 2019 … Banff Gondola

It’s been a very relaxing day, as we slept in a bit, washed some clothes and packed for tomorrow’s departure. Diane and I went to this wonderful quilt shop here in Canmore and found the fabric we wanted … beautiful Christmas material for a table runner for her, lovely wildlife material for me.

Banff Gondola

This evening we drove back to Banff to take the Banff Gondola up Sulfur Mountain 2,295 feet to a marvelous 360-degree view of the mountain range and the Bow Valley below.   The panoramic views are amazing, the Interpretive Center is very informative and the theatre provides the sense of soaring over the Canadian Rockies from the perspective of the bald eagle. We all agreed that it was good to do this after exploring the parks, because we were able to recognize many places as “having been there”. 

Banff

The summit of Sulfur Mountain was first a tea house opened in the summer of 1940 when all of the building materials and supplies had to be carried up the mountain on horseback.  The first gondola was constructed in 1957; but of course, improvements have been made over the years, adding a beautiful eco-friendly summit complex as well as a very nice base and an up-to-date gondola system to accommodate the influx of tourists, like ourselves, who want to take part in this mountaintop experience.  While this, like most everything else we found here, seems over priced, it is well worth doing!

Dining on the patio of The Wood this evening was very nice … we certainly have been fortunate to have such beautiful weather the entire time we’ve been here.  Tomorrow we leave Banff and will continue our expedition of the Northwest Mountains, but I think these Canadian ranges will turn out to be the highlight of the trip. 

Day 6, September 5, 2019 … Kootenay and Glacier

Cascade Mountain

As we travel west on Canada 1, we see Cascade Mountain in Banff for the 3^rd or 4^th time; but this morning a cloud hangs across the middle of the mountain. It’s almost mystical and quite beautiful!

Castle Mountain

Burnt Section of the mountains in Kootenay National Paark

We’re headed south out of Banff National Park, across the Continental Divide into Kootenay National Park in British Columbia.  For the entire two hours, we drove in the Vermillion Valley with the Vermillion River and then the Kootenay River escorting us most of the way.  Look to the right and look to the left and we see green evergreen trees below the barren Rocky Mountain tops.  We notice that a very large area had been burned out maybe 15-20 years ago, but the new crop of evergreens are emerging among the tall pole-like burned trees.  After leaving the park, we continue south to the US border, always with the Rockies to our left.  It was a pretty drive.

Because we got to the West Glacier Park area a bit early this afternoon, we ventured into the Park to enjoy the beautiful Lake McDonald. This 10-mile long, 500-feet deep lake was formed by a huge glacier over thousands of year.  The Lake McDonald lodge near the end of the lake is quite beautiful with its rustic interior.  After viewing the lake, what better time is there for huckleberry margaritas, as this area of the country touts all things huckleberry!!  Very enjoyable. 

Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park

Our hotel in Kalispell called My Place has a kitchenette, is very modern and is quite inexpensive. The pizza at Bricks Urban, however, was barely adequate. It’s been a good day with beautiful weather and, of course, continuing beautiful mountain scenes as we continue our expedition of the Northwest Mountains!