Banff in the sunshine

Heading back into Banff, the sun was out in force. And what a difference that made. Whilst the mountains and lakes looked glorious under the clear blue skies, it also brought out an army of tourists all armed with huge RVs into the national park. The sight of these monstrous vehicles choking the small streets of Banff and filling the campsites is hugely dispiriting. Equally, it was interesting that the park looked equally beautiful shrouded in cloud and rain as in sunshine.

At Lake Minnewanka, we scrambled down to the lake front and padded in the water. Initially we considered a swim until we realised that just being in up to your shins was enough to give you frostbite! The view was stunning though, and none of the photos do the scale of the whole park any justice.

At Tunnel Mountain Village II camping, we checked into our oTENTik, the absolute best place to stay in Canadian national parks. We dumped our kit and headed out to the Cave and Basin, home of the Canadian national parks, where we learnt about the endangered Banff snail which feeds on the sulphur in the springs. Certainly, the smell of the nine hot springs in hangs in the air around Sulphur Mountain.

For dinner, we barbecued up sausages, mushrooms and sweetcorn with some beer whilst covering ourselves liberally in deet to protect against a mosquito onslaught! We then headed to Banff Upper Hot Springs for a late evening soak. As we imagined, it was rather a tourist trap, but nonetheless worth a visit in the shadow of the surrounding mountains. On our return, we set a small campfire and enjoyed a night of beer, wildlife and reading.

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