The Mountains are Calling

Our Alberta adventure started with a pretty uneventful trip to the airport. Normally I fly in and out of Toronto Pearson International Airport, but for this trip we were flying out of the much smaller regional airport about an hour away. We got there in plenty of time, only to find out that our flight was delayed by about 40 minutes.

Honestly, we didn’t really care. We were together, talking about the trip, catching up on each other’s news and having some dinner. We had five days ahead of us, so what was another 40 minutes?

The flight itself was a good one. Free Wi-Fi - gotta love that! I was able to watch the whole Blue Jays game, and they won. Yay! It seemed like a pretty good way to start the trip.

By the time we landed, it was 11:30 p.m. Alberta time - 1:30 a.m. for us Toronto girls. One of the ladies in our group had flown ahead of us, so she had already picked up the rental car and was waiting at the curb when we came out of the airport.

We were all tired when we reached our hotel for the night. There was a quick goodnight and then we crashed.

Banff

The next morning, after breakfast, we hit the road and headed toward the mountains and Banff.

There is something pretty special about driving toward the Rockies. The mountains seem to get bigger with every kilometre, and before long we were surrounded by the scenery we had come to Alberta to see.

Banff is the heart of Banff National Park, Canada’s first national park, established in 1885. The town sits in the Bow Valley, surrounded by the Rocky Mountains, and it’s hard to walk anywhere without looking up at those enormous peaks.

We spent some time wandering around town, doing a little shopping and, of course, enjoying the scenery. But really, the best part was just being together. There was plenty of eating, laughing, talking and shopping. Just four friends with nowhere we particularly needed to be.

And then it was time to head up the mountain.

Up to Sulphur Mountain

We took the Banff Gondola up Sulphur Mountain. The gondola climbs about 698 metres in just eight minutes, taking you from the valley up to the summit at 2,281 metres above sea level.  When purchasing the tickets you have to plan ahead and know what time you want to go up, and what time you want  to come down.  We allowed ourselves plenty of time as we had dinner reservations at the restaurant at the top as well.  We gave ourselves a 4-hour window to make sure we had plenty of time.  It turned out we still didn’t have enough time!

The Gondola ride was  a great experience.  We quickly rose from the base and within seconds were rewarded with gorgeous, sweeping views. 

Once we got to the top, we spent a lot of time just taking it all in. The views were spectacular. From up there, you can see across the Bow Valley and out toward six different mountain ranges.

We walked along the boardwalk, stopping often to take photos and admire the views. There were stairs to climb as we made our way toward the higher viewpoints.

We had a lovely dinner at the restaurant overlooking Banff and the valley below. Sitting there, looking out at the mountains after spending the day exploring the town and the summit, was a great way to end our first full day.

Eventually, though, it was time to head to our Airbnb for the night. We stopped at the grocery store on the way and then settled in.

We were tired, but not wanting the day to end just yet. We sat around sharing our photos, and talking about our plans for the next day.  I have a feeling we will have more nights like this over the next few days.