We just spent an awesome week in Banff National Park in Canada with our good friends Becky and Jenna.  This has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world!  We had an amazing time. Here’s some of the highlights.

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Lakes

The Canadian Rockies have some amazing blue and turquoise colored lakes.  The color is due to tiny particles deposited in the lake from melting glaciers.  Some of them are opaque and milky-looking, and others are very clear.  Even the main river that flows through the valley is turquoise.

Boating on Lake Minnewanka – One day we rented a fishing boat and trolled around a lake near Banff.

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Hiking

Hiking is the best thing to do in Banff National Park.  There are tons of trails, and once you get out of the parking lot and onto a trail, you quickly lose the hoards of tourists.

Consolation Lake – A short hike that we had mostly to ourselves, and we enjoyed scrambling around on huge rocks near the lake.

Parker’s Ridge – A steep hike up to this ridge that overlooks an amazing valley with the Saskatchewan Glacier.  Once we got to the top, I realized that I had done this hike 14 years ago with my family.  It was my favorite hike then, and still is now.  I could just sit up there forever and enjoy the view.

Sunshine Village – We took a bus up to this ski village which had pretty lakes, good views, and beautiful wildflowers.

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Wildlife

There’s a lot of wildlife in the parks: moose, bears, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, marmots, wolves, elk and deer.  Becky, Jenna and I made it a mission to see as many as possible.  We were only mildly successful.  We did see a bunch of bighorn sheep, including babies and also an adult male up close with the full round horns.  Also a small black bear ran across the road in front of us.  However, we looked and looked and never saw a mountain goat.  We were confused all week between the difference between goats and sheep, but finally asked and found out that the mountain goat is completely white and furry – nothing like what we had seen.  We left the park disappointed.  But to our amazement, Ben and I saw two at a random stop on our drive through Glacier National Park on our way home!

Mountain Goats in Glacier National Park

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Gondola Ride

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Sunrise and Sunset

Sunrise – While Ben slept, Becky, Jenna and I got up early to hike up Tunnel Mountain and see the sunrise.  It was really pretty!

Sunset – A couple evenings we went out searching for wildlife, since we heard they come out at night.  This was a stop at Mt. Norquay with a good view of Banff.  It’s also where we saw the bighorn sheep with the full horns.  Jackpot!

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Biking

Ben and I had our bikes along, so we biked the “best trail in Banff” called Goat Creek.  Sorry to be a bike snob, but it was just a gravel road, nothing spectacular.  But the views were great, and it was a nice change from hiking.