Banff a day in the Canadian Rockies

 Banff what a beautiful place! But wow what an expensive place. Looking on Zillow most of the homes for sale range from 1M to 3M! 

We started our day with a hike from our hotel. It followed the small Spray River. Part of our walk was on a walking/Mountain bike trail. There was a mountain bike race going on from somewhere north of here to the Mexican border all on off road trails. 

The hike started out in the pine forest but came down to the river. On the crossing we had a great view of our hotel.

After went to the Banff Gondola and went up 2600 feet spent time on top of the mountain peak. The views were stunning but blunted some due to the smoke in the air making things hazy. 

At the top there is a trail that follows the mountain ridge line. The trail was far from perfect. There were several false trails and Ila decided against daring it worried about her knees so early in the trip. I went out a moderate ways. Great views along the way. I came to a peak that was rough stone without trees and turned around.

Along the way saw several small flowers. Mountain Avens. They are an arctic flower that grows at higher altitudes in the rockies, otherwise in the extreme north along the Arctic Ocean. 

We did see some animals along the way.. Female Big Horn Sheep (that we thought were Mountain Goats at first)

We also saw Columbia Squirrels. They look like prairie dogs more than the typical squirrel. From what I read their favorite habit is to stand by there nest hole in the ground,

The area is incredibly international. Since being here we have met people from:

England- Manchester, and London

Pakistan

Australia Perth and Eastern

Czech Republic

France Versailles

Even some from Canada Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Ontario 

Finally a few that are Local to the area from Canamore, Calgary, and Edmonton 

If you come by car and stay a while bring your Mountain Bike, otherwise there are bike rentals in the area that will allow you to ride. 

Another Great day of travel and thanks to All trails I managed to keep from getting lost as I hiked today!