SALMON ARM to BANFF – from fishes to skiers

Thursday – today we are up early for today’s journey to Banff.  The skies are blue and the sun is shining and all is well with the world in Salmon Arm British Columbia.

Before moving out though it’s time to have a little breakfast and instead of a nice quiet meal – there are Fakers everywhere.  Are they following us?  Don’t they realise there are other places to stay where they will be welcomed with open arms?  Obviously not. 

There is not a spare table anywhere and by the looks of things they have been here since the first sausage was put on display!  Off the main dining room there is a small outdoor area so because you actually have to move away from the food to get there – one would call this a Faker Free Zone – we decide that this would be a good place to eat – plenty of fresh air and plenty of room. 

Kylie is the first of our band to get her juice etc and heads on out leaving the door ajar so that we can follow with a minimum of juggling to open the door.  Meanwhile ‘Arsehole Faker’ as Kylie christened him, thinks this is just too much air for him and closes the door.  Yep, arsehole.  While all this is happening Tyler and I have found a nice quiet spot inside so we signal to Kylie to join us.  Unfortunately what with Mr A Faker closing the door with such force – the door has now locked itself and we cannot get it open. Talk about comedy capers, Kylie outside with her breakfast and we inside trying to unlock the door.  Mr A Faker just looks smugly at us. 

We are not having any luck so we have to get the waitress to unlock it for us and as we walk past Mr A Faker we are tempted to tip our breakfast over him.  Comments are made in his direction along the lines of ‘you would think fresh air would kill all these old farts’ and we return to our table, feeling indigestion is not far away.  I have pineapple juice, muffins, bacon, mushrooms and tomato – nothing flash but very filling and I have remembered to bring my Vegemite to the table for my muffins.

As Mr A Faker finishes his breakfast and walks past our table, the words ‘Arsehole Faker’ are clearly heard but Kylie is still going about eating her breakfast and looking very innocent.  I nearly choke myself when I see his footwear – sandals and socks.  Typical Faker Fashion.

After breakfast it is back to the room to pile our belongings on the trolley and then downstairs to check out. I make the suggestion that maybe we should explore Salmon Arm a bit and pick up some postcards to send home so off we go.  We find the township and Post Office – I am happy – Kylie discovers a Tim Horton’s so she is happy (hotel coffee is really not the best) and I think Tyler is happy.

Driving around we discover a very picturesque park right opposite the Lakeside Marina and because the weather is so Summery we get out and explore. The park has lovely fountains and pretty flowers, it is so serene. We then walk out to the marina which is on stilts so I presume that the tides get extremely high here.  We do not walk to the end but it is a nice walk nonetheless.

There are some ducks swimming in the little stream which is emptying into the lake and it’s nice to stand in the sun after all the time on the cruise spent under heavy clouds. 

Would have been nice to have a picnic here but alas we have already eaten breakfast.  We should have piled up a hamper of brekky goodies and brought it here but then again hindsight is always 20-20.  Doesn’t it look lovely?

We have a plan – we are going to pick up some rolls, meat and salad and have a picnic lunch at Picture Postcard Perfect Lake Louise so all is not lost.   Back in the car and on the highway heading for Banff we make our way through the mountains but are soon passed by a truck with Keith Urban scrawled all over the back of it.  I suggest that maybe Keith is driving with Nic up front and Sunday Rose in the back but this suggestion is scorned by the other two.  Possibly it is some of his gear heading for the next concert?

As we climb higher into the Canadian Rockies the weather deteriorates and big black clouds soon appear. These give way to even lower clouds hugging the mountains.  All of a sudden it has turned dark like late afternoon and it is still only about 10.30am.  So much for the fine weather.

The inevitable rain drops start to hit the windscreen which does not do any good for my movies from the front seat of the car but every now and again we catch a glimpse of blue sky and sunshine but that soon disappears.   We also get to see the water gushing down the side of the mountains which looks really pretty.  The heavy rain stays with us for many miles until we start coming into the township of Golden.

A point of interest – Sikhs arrived in Golden in the 1800’s. They were employed in the forest industry by the Columbia river Logging Company who built accommodation for them.

As we continue our four hour journey there are lots of road works being carried out and I can imagine that in some parts there are many rock slides, let’s just hope that today is not one of those days.

Our constant companion, the rain, comes and goes, sometimes just enough to be a nuisance, but every now and again the sun hits the countryside and the colours in the cuttings where the highway passes are incredible.  As we climb even higher into the Rockies the clouds become more intense and every now and again we glimpse white cut outs of stag and elk along the road.

Do these mean that those animals frequent this area and drivers are to watch out?  Or are they the typical ‘Nat Geo cut outs’ that tantalize.  No such luck with the real thing – we press on.

Finally arriving at Lake Louise we follow the signs for the parking area and as the weather has not improved, our picnic lunch by the lake is a no go.

Pretending we are staying at the 22 star hotel Fairmont Chateau right on Lake Louise we continue through to their parking area but then decide to give it a miss as we are getting rather dubious looks from the parking attendants.

We hot foot it out of there to find the ‘ordinary people’ parking area which is still in the same area.  Knowing that we are just here for a quick 10 minute look we decide to risk it and not pay the Entry Fee.  We are certainly living dangerously! Parking the car – we grab cameras and as luck would have it the sun has come out as we head off for lakeside.  What a view! Spectacular comes to mind – and just as I press the shutter button a ray of sun hits the lens.

This would have been a wonderful place to have a picnic but maybe next time.  There are a rather large hoard of Korean tourists who decide to jump up and down on the water’s edge having their photo taken mid air.  Unfortunately it takes quite a few photos to get it just right but they are having fun and it does not disturb us.

We admire the glacier in the distance and the blue of the lake – the sun is now raying down upon us but the clouds coming overhead are threatening so it’s back to the car.

Time to head for our hotel in Banff – grey clouds – black clouds and rainbursts follow us but every now and again we come into a patch of blue and sunshine that lights up the famous Canadian Rockies. This truly is a scenic wonder of the world.

Cameras are going left, right and centre just to try and capture the majesty but I would presume that any photo taken will not do them the justice they deserve.

We arrive at our hotel – The Best Western Siding 29 Lodge. The car park is underground but we cannot get to it because someone has decided to park right across the entrance. Walking up to the check in desk there is a woman making all kinds of stuttering remarks about whether she will stay here or not even though she had made a reservation.  She wants to see her room before checking in and has decided that everyone must know that she is not a happy camper.

I get the feeling that the poor desk clerk who is smiling and putting up with this nonsense is about to reach for some blunt instrument.  Finally deciding she will stay after all – maybe it has something to do with being told she will forfeit her deposit – she heads off to get her luggage from the car and yep she is the piece that has parked right in front of the entrance to the car park.  What a charmer.

The desk clerk smiles and welcomes us and gives us the key to our room – 205 a nice typical Best Western room – but what’s this??? We have a verandah and the verandah has lots of potted petunias – and we have a view!!!

What has happened to our normal car park view?  Word must have spread that enough is enough.  I can just imagine what this place is like in Winter all covered in snow – magical.

After parking our belongings we head out to discover the town of Banff.  Very quaint and we must of course suss out the tourist stores – exactly what we need to do – more shopping.

One interesting point is that apparently a lot of Aussies come here. ON one of our shopping moments we meet an Aussie girl from Brisbane who tells us it is very expensive to live here especially during the snow season but hey if you like to ski and snowboard then that’s not a problem right? And what a place to carry out those activities.  It is right at your door!

After shopping and looking and shopping we decide to get something to eat as we are feeling hungry and after perusing the menus out the front of some places – yep, we agree it is very expensive and not even the ‘season’ yet plus we cannot agree on what to eat.  We head back to the hotel and get some brochures on the local takeaways from the desk.  Our earth shattering decision is made – pizza.  This turns out to be not the best but it stops our grumbling tummies.

Soon we are away with the Banff fairies enjoying a nice quiet night of rest.

Highlight of the day:  Those wonderful mountains!