Friday 4th July Banff

We were up at 8.15 and drove to the Alpine Helicopters for the Mount Assiniboine Glacier Helicopter tour. On our way we passed three bears crossing the road. They had tracker devices around their necks so the rangers can trace their movements, make sure they don't come into town. The bus driver told us that a "fed bear" is a "dead bear".

Our helicopter adventure began and we flew past the Three Sisters Peaks and entered the Spray Valley. We saw the magnificent Goat Range and the radiant aqua blue/green colours of the Spray Lakes. We climbed up through the Goat Range Pass and along the Sundance Range of Banff National Park where we saw mountain peaks, alpine meadows and pristine lakes. Finally, we saw the "Matterhorn of the Canadian Rockies" which rose majestically to 3,611 meters along the Great Divide. The surrounding glaciers and icefalls were spectacular especially when we got up real close to the Gloria Glacier as it tumbled off of Mount Assiniboine. This adventure was truly awesome.

Back to our hotel and we packed our backpacks and walked through Banff, over the Bow River and began a walking trail to Bow River Falls. From here we walked up to the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. This luxury hotel was built during the 19th century as one of Canada's grand railway hotels constructed in Scottish Baronial style and opened to the public in June 1888. It was very luxurious with spectacular views over Banff. We walked back along the road to Banff and stopped at the Fur Trader shop. Back to our hotel, then we walked around downtown, had a quiet drink in an Irish Bar and dinner at the Spaghetti Factory.