THURSDAY, SEPT 19

THURSDAY, SEPT 19:

     What a gorgeous day!  Yesterday’s rain and clouds gone – blue, sunny skies with just enough fluffy clouds to make it interesting.  Could see the gorgeous  mountains surrounding us here in the campground, with fresh snow no doubt from yesterday’s storm.

                                                                            

                                                                         

 

     Loretta & Steve met us in town at 11:00.  We had driven the truck to a gas station/repair shop recommended to Bill by some guys working on the road here at the campground.  Late yesterday the brakes started making a grinding noise.  Bill was obviously concerned & wanted to get it checked out.  Not good news – pistons were frozen, brake pads were worn through.  Metal on metal.  Even though there’s always a nagging question if a mechanic in a tourist place like this is being straight with you, Bill didn’t think it was worth the risk of trying to drive to Calgary to get a second opinion and having the brakes fail or seize up.  So he authorized the guy here to do the work.  It’s a blow, but not a huge one.  We’ve been very fortunate on this long mountainous trip, with minimal unexpected vehicle expenses.  Not like horror stories we’ve heard along the way – wrecked axles, tie rods, blown engines, multiple sets of tire replacements . . . we’ve felt divinely protected.  Plus, if this had to happen, it couldn’t have come at a more fortuitous time & place.  Loretta & Steve were already planning to act as our chauffeurs.   And we were in civilization, where help was available.  What if this had happened on one of the more remote places we’ve been?  Where we might not even have had cell phone coverage to call anyone.  Scary to think about.

     So once the truck was left at the garage, we drove up to the Banff Gondola. 

 

 

 We took it to the top of Sulphur Mountain, where we had absolutely spectacular views.  We stayed outside in the brisk wind for as long as we could stand it, simply soaking up the breathtaking scenery in front of us.  The stunning beauty here matches the most breathtaking scenery we saw in Alaska.  And 360 degrees of it – all around us.  I had moments (Loretta said she did too) where it almost seemed as if I were in a movie observing this – with the snow-frosted jagged mountain peaks surrounding us, vista after vista, the turquoise Bow River below us, the pine, spruce, & fir forests below us - it was almost too perfect a scene to be real.

 

                                                          Happy faces:

 

 

 

 

 

 

         Went inside to have lunch, where every seat had a marvelous window view.

          Reluctantly left & came back down.  But no need to feel bad – there was more to come!  Drove over to the Banff Springs Hotel, a historic grand hotel built in the late 19^th century by and for the Canadian Railroad to attract wealthy visitors. Still attracts the affluent today!  As Bill said,  “Would you like to trade in all that we’ve spent in the last 16 weeks for one grand weekend here at this hotel?”

      Walked on a little trail behind the hotel which led to the Bow River and Falls.  Again, words fail to describe the total picture of grandeur we looked out upon.  

 

                                                                           

                                                                                     

 

                                             Rainbow created by sunlight on the rushing water:

                                                   Is this a foretaste of Heaven??!

 

     It was late afternoon now; on our way to pick up some groceries for dinner at the market, we let the boys off at an Irish Pup to have a Guinness, and Loretta and I went back to the same coffee shop to get a cold drink. Gave us a chance to catch up. Picked up a large Steelhead fillet, veggies, salad ingredients, and rolls for dinner; came back to the RV and got the grill going.  A lovely ending to a wonderful day.