Day 45: Banff, AB

Today was a rest and recharge day. It also happened to be Seamus’ favourite day of the trip so far. We started by NOT getting up early - lol. We slept in until 8 am. After Ian cooked eggs, which is Seamus’ favourite breakfast, we headed to Banff’s Upper Hot Springs. We arrived right in time for opening and took our time having a long healing soak in the rejuvenating hot springs pool. At this time of year, the pool is filled entirely by water from the hot springs, though it is chlorinated and the sulphur is filtered out. The water was 40 degrees Celsius and we lasted about 1.5 hours before we were too hot and ready to go.

We headed into Banff for lunch. I had a local wood fired pizza place picked out but it turned out that they weren’t serving pizza until 3 pm. Disappointing. Instead, we headed to Boston Pizza just down the street since Ian had an old gift card in his wallet. Lucky for us, it was Kids Appreciation Day at Boston Pizza Banff. It was pretty much like taking the boys to a kids birthday party. There was face painting, free kids meals, make your own kids pizza and ice cream sundaes (part of the free meal), giant Jenga, and a colouring contest with a draw for a Nintendo Switch. The kids had a fantastic time. Their DIY pizzas turned out amazing, their face painting (on their arm like a tattoo) were incredible, and their sundaes piled sky high with toppings and loaded with sugary sauces. Ali was crushed when he didn’t win the Switch but he rebounded quickly - the sundae helped.

Following lunch, we headed to Banff’s old timey cinema to catch the new Star Wars movie. The kids had never been to an old movie theatre before and loved picking their own seat, the stale popcorn smell and the vintage vibe. The movie was a definite hit. The kids were delighted with the Mandalorian’s combat skills and Grogu’s cuteness. A win on all fronts.

Finally, it was back to the trailer in the midst of a rainstorm for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for supper and an early bedtime. We are feeling relaxed and ready to move on to Jasper tomorrow.

Day 44: Banff, AB

It was another early morning for Team Adventure (aka the Kehoe MacLeod family), though some  of us were more on board with getting up early again this morning than others - it is still pretty chilly here at 5:00 am. We were up and on the trail by 6:00 am. We selected the extremely popular Johnston Canyon trail this morning and wanted to beat the crowds - which we did. The canyon was lovely with the water really high and rushing furiously. Both the upper and lower falls were ample, with lots of water and mist.

After experiencing the falls, we headed into the backcountry - our first backcountry hike in a national park - to visit the ink pots. The trail wasn’t very interesting and, once again, we went up, up, up. The mountain landscape once we reached the valley was worth the climb. I also loved the ink pots, though other family members were less impressed. I thought that they were beautiful. Liam liked the mud currents running around the rim of the muddy pool.

After returning to the campsite for quick showers - mine was ice cold while Ian got hot water in his (so unfair) - we dressed up nice and headed into Banff. Our first stop was Bow Falls, which was also roaring.

Next up, we visited the site of the very first Canadian National Park - the Lower Hot Springs and Basin on Sulphur Mountain. It was very cool to learn about the history of this site - first as healing waters for the rich, then as a place to hold “undesirable” citizens in interment camps during the First World War, and generally, the close connection between hot springs and sanatoriums.

The original hot springs in the cave were beautiful, especially the crystallized sulphur formations on the cave ceiling. They were stinky though. We also loved seeing the historical photos of the various pools that have occupied the lower hot springs site and the funny bathing suits of yore. We also saw the infamous (and very tiny) snails that feed on the algae pads - a bit underwhelming, honestly.

Watching the tiny snails eating the yucky moldy algae pads. Ew.

Finally, it was time for today’s big and very special event - afternoon tea at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. Ohhh, ahhh! The boys (and I) were SO excited for this. We love pretending that we are fancy people. The tea party did not disappoint. It was fabulous. The mountain view from our table was incredible. The tea was divine. The scones, sandwiches and desserts were delectable. It was so good we wished that we could live it (and eat it) all over again (but we were very full and also now very poor - living like fancy people comes at a (high) cost!)

Afternoon tea is pretty much my favourite thing in the whole world.

We certainly managed to hike the boys out today, fill up their (always hungry) bellies, and voila - everyone is asleep. Our job here is done!