Vancouver to Banff takes one day if you are nuts and drive for 12 hours and break all the speed limits - enjoying the drive into the Canadian Rockies takes two days. We as most people do stayed over in Kamloops, the town is full of motels and hotels for the passing visitors.
This is one of the places where the Canadians encourage you to stop and part with some dollars for their amusement. Hell’s Gate was fine, but not really anything much to see just lots of rushing water. They would certainly not get people on the way back as what lies ahead is so much more interesting, oh and I hate bloody cable cars.
By this point the Rockies are getting fairly spectacular anyway. The driving here is so civilized it is scary. I remember once driving through Switzerland and the traffic slowing down to obey the speed limit signs. Well it is the same here except they don’t get to go fast to start with. The fastest speed limit is 100km per hour, and drivers on the whole stay pretty much around or below this.
On the theme of driving they have these four way junctions where no-one has the right of way - it works. Now I don’t know if I should be giving way at any of these, but hell I get through them quick.
Banff is one cute and very expensive little town that lives on summer tourists then quite quickly afterwards their winter season starts. I think it is almost impossible to get a hotel room here for less then $200 per night, with boiled eggs and muffins for breakfast. Seriously they love their eggs and muffins, every hotels since Vancouver has had this for breakfast.
Talking of hotels we had booked into the Banff Aspen Lodge over the internet for 5 nights. We left after one night. I must admit complete disappointment when we first arrived. We had paid a good amount of money for something we thought was going to be very nice - but instead the Aspen has seen too many visitors without much upgrading or looking after. Deciding that it was not worth the money we moved a few doors down into the Banff Inn - very nice, the rooms are not as big, but bigger bed where we don’t roll into the middle during the night and the lights work - over all more comfortable.
Anyway enough for now, and since today is a rest day maybe another post this afternoon showing some of the Rockies and our walks.