Bamf Park Museum National Historic Site

Today we took a midday Greyhound bus service to the magical town of Banff. My sister has purchased our tickets several months back. The boarding procedure included a thorough check through of our day packs. And because the bus was going to continue all the way to Vancouver, it was a fully occupied trip.

It was exhilarating to see the Canadian Rockies slowly get bigger and bigger as the bus inched closer and closer to our destination. We passed by Canmore which I thought was quite a quaint, yet trendy, ski town.

We then checked in to "Moose Hotel." Like most other structures in Banff, the building featured plenty of wooden panels, as if it was an overgrown log cabin. My sister and I secured some swim gear so we may be able to use the included amenities in our accommodation. Back in Australia I never entered a Billabong shop, but because there were no other stores around selling swim wear, we ended up purchasing from them. It was amusing as the lady in the counter came from Kingscliff, a town just 20 minutes south of where I live in.

We then had a very late lunch in Chaya, a cosy Japanese restaurant just beside McDonald's. It was manned by Japanese personnel. The ramen was delicious and tasted authentic and goes down well on such a cool day. Afterwards, we took a free bus (compliments to our hotel) to the base of Sulphur Mountain.

The Gondola ride to the summit of Sulphur Mt made my heart skip a few times and my hands sweat. It was a small, glass lined gondola, much smaller than what I have experienced in Hongkong's Lantau Island towards the Giant Sitting Buddha. My sister was telling us how, during the previous summer, she managed to walked to the top of Sulphur Mt by walking along the paved way from the base up to the summit. She pointed to the treacherous-looking track below as our Gondola continued to ascend.

The trip to the top was well and truly worth it. It was a spectacular, breathtaking 360 degree wonder. Snow capped mountains everywhere you look. From this vantage point, Banff was dwarfed by the majesty of the Canadian Rockies. And we saw a turquoise river snaking around the valley. We took heaps of selfies and panoramic views, and had some friendly tourists take our family picture with another "Canada 150" signage affixed there for tourists' photographic pleasure.

It was already dark when we got back to the town centre, We had a look around their shops: dad and I checked out a photo shop and marveled at some fantastic nature photography by a local artist. He ended up purchasing one of his works. Then we all headed to Evelyn's coffee bar where we enjoyed some pastries and hot beverage to keep us going in our walk back to Hotel Moose.

My sister and I then used our new swimwear in the hotel's pool and sauna and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It was my first time using a sauna and it completely removed the chlorine smell in my skin that usually follows after swimming in the pool.

Tonight, as I go to sleep, I wish I could dream of the view up Mt Sulphur once more. And maybe even be able to fly in that dream.Read more