Category Archives: Canadian Rockies (2013)

Day 9 – Returning Home

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As we stayed last night at a hotel by the Calgary airport, I don’t have much to report for today. After packing up, we drove around the area a bit before heading to the airport for our flight back to Toronto. We checked our luggage and relaxed in the lounge while waiting for our flight home. It was an uneventful day, which in this case, is a good thing.

Although the rain and flooding caused us a bit of extra driving, stole a day out of our vacation, and caused us to change some plans on other days, it was still a great trip. My heart goes out to the thousands of Alberta residents who have lost their homes in the recent floods. The minor impact to our vacation is nothing compared to what they are going through.

After two trips to the Rockies during late June, one lesson I can take from all of this is that when we return to this beautiful area, it will likely be in August or September. While June offers some very long hours of daylight, there’s too much rain and still too much snow on the higher elevation hiking trails at this time of year. We’ll definately return to the area to complete some of the hikes we didn’t get a chance to take this time.

Day 8 – Banff to Calgary

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We awoke again to beautiful sunny skies!  Below is the view from our bedroom window.

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After getting dressed, I went down to the lobby to talk to the concierge about the current state of area highway closures.  It was good news!  No, not fabulous news like the reopening of Highway #1 to Calgary through Canmore, but at least Highway #93, the Icefields Parkway, is open north of Lake Louise, which was previously closed due to mudslides.

One of the reasons I love Fairmont hotels and stay with them so often, is the fabulous service they provide.  Lawrence on the concierge desk was particularly helpful at keeping us updated on the state of the roads.  This morning, when he confirmed that we are able to get out to Calgary through Red Deer, he also took the time to get us a room for tonight at a Calgary airport area hotel.  It was nice not having to worry and research about how we were getting out.  Instead, we were able to enjoy our vacation and explore the sites (well, the ones that were open), knowing that Fairmont was looking after the travel details.

At this point, the hotel was looking rather empty, as guests departed over recent days with very few new guests arriving.  Checking out of the hotel a day early, I was fully prepared to pay for the final night since it was our decision to leave early.  However, Fairmont was very understanding of the situation and adjusted our rate without me even asking.

The valet brought our car around, the bell staff loaded up our luggage, and we were on our way.  We stopped at Tim Horton’s for a quick breakfast on the way out of town, and we were on the highway around 9AM.  The drive north felt very strange.  With the highway closed at Banff, we felt like we had the entire Trans-Canada Highway to ourselves.  If only traffic could always be like that!

Heading up the Icefields Parkway, a journey we did last year but hadn’t planned to do this time around, we stopped for photos at a few places.  This is one of my favourites.

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Once we reached Saskatchewan Crossing, we left the Icefields Parkway and turned east toward Rocky Mountain House and Red Deer.  We watched the scenery gradually change from mountains to farms.  Eventually, we arrived in Calgary and checked into our hotel for the night.  While we had to cut our time in the mountains short by a day, at least we’re going to make our original flight home.

We drove around Calgary for a little and found a place for dinner before returning to the hotel.

Day 7 – Banff Again

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The sunny weather that came yesterday continued today.  We started the day by heading into town for some breakfast and to look around a bit more.  Below is a photo looking up Banff Avenue.

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Although the weather is good, the rain from days earlier that have caused so many road closures across southern Alberta are limiting our activities somewhat.  We’re still unable to get out of the area to the east toward Canmore or north past Lake Louise.  Also, many low lying places in the immediate area are also closed off.  Therefore, we decided to just explore whatever we could.

Below is a nice picture of our hotel, the Fairmont Banff Springs, from across the Bow river.

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We took a drive up toward the Norquay ski area for a view of the area.  The photo below shows us why access to the Vermilion Lakes has also been closed off.

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We then drove out to the Cave and Basin National Historic Site.

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The discovery of the Cave and Basin was the beginning of Canada’s National Park system.  This site has recently opened after a three-year renovation by Parks Canada, and is very well done.

Below are some photos from inside the sulphurous cave first uncovered in the late 1800’s.

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There is an excellent museum and interpretative centre here.

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Following are some photos of the area outside.

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We then returned to the hotel for another nice dinner in the Rundle Lounge.

At this point, it’s confirmed that we will have to cut our time in Banff short by a day.  The Trans-Canada Highway #1 east of Banff is still closed and unlikely to open any time soon.  Because the only alternate routes to Calgary involve a very long drive, we don’t want to leave Banff on the same day that we need to catch our flight.

The only officially open route now involves driving up to Lake Louise and then west through the Kicking Horse Pass into BC, turning south at Golden, turning back east into Alberta through the Crowsnest Pass, and then north into Calgary on Highway #2.  This route will take about 11 hours, or possibly more depending on detours through some of the other flooded areas south of Calgary.

A better option, and it is now looking hopeful, is a 6-hour drive up the Icefields Parkway to Saskatchewan Crossing, east to Red Deer, and then south into Calgary on Highway #2.  Still much longer than the standard 1-hour drive through Canmore, but better than the southern alternate route.

Whichever route we end up taking, it looks like we’ll be checking out of Banff tomorrow morning to spend tomorrow night in Calgary.