History versus Nature!

Visibility was no better this morning, so sadly, we had to come up with an alternative plan to the Gondola. The decision was to spend the morning investigating the history of Banff and the afternoon communing with nature!
We battled our way through the Banff traffic over the Bow River to the Cave and Basin National Historic Site. This is where the National Parks of Canada began. The sulphurous cave had been known to the indigenous populations for hundreds of years and had become a meeting place, the waters being important for spiritual healing. In 1883 three Canadian Pacific railway workers discovered the cave. This coincided with the completion of the railroad to Banff and the tourist potential for wealthy Victorian travellers was realised. By 1885 the Canadian government had been petitioned and declared the hot springs a reserve. In 1887 a greater area of 260 square miles became known as The Rocky Mountains National Park, inspired by the the Yellowstone example. This was followed by additional parks at Yoho & Glacier in 1886 and Lake Louise and Jasper in 1892 and so the fascination and trek to Western Canada began. It was not until 1911 that people could access the area by road from Calgary. Before then the only option was by the Canadian Pacific Railroad. The company promoted Banff as an area of outstanding natural beauty and a spa, where guests could take the waters. They financed the building of the Banff Springs Hotel, Chateau Lake Louise and Jasper Park Lodge to accommodate their clients and many more hoteliers followed suit. The Park was extended to 2600 square miles in 1930 and the success of Banff and the Rocky Mountains was guaranteed.
The cave itself is tiny and accessed down a low dark tunnel. A natural hole in the roof admits a startling and unexpected shaft of light that falls onto the warm pool of turquoise water. First Nation warriors would lower themselves on hand made ropes to collect the water in skin vessels. Outside is another warm pool, one of many that once existed. A swimming pool was on the site at one time. In the small outside pool resides the worlds only population of a very tiny snail, that can tolerate the hot, sulphurous conditions. They are about the size of a small finger nail and spend their time eating the algae that reside in the pool. A perfect symbiotic relationship between snail and pool! We could see some moving about on the surface floating algae. Isn’t it strange how the discovery of a small cave at exactly the right time has resulted in the creation of these beautiful parks that we can enjoy today.
We moved on to the Banff Springs Hotel for a drink, to get a feel of what the Victorian visitor took for granted. It is a massive grey stone gothic castle perched high above the town and the River Bow, looking out to the mountains. I was struck by the incongruity of the building now and it must have seemed even more a fish out of water in the late 1800s. I then remembered a similar feeling in Shimla, northern India, before concluding yet again, that baronial Scottish architecture was the style of the time, during Queen Victoria’s reign and copied all over the world. Inside, the feeling of Victorian splendour is replicated with opulence and we sat in the Rundle Bar sipping our drinks, feeling as if we had been transported back one hundred years. A wedding was being staged out on the terrace and a grand piano being played in the bar to entertain us. A reminder of gentler more formal times, when the ‘shorts’ brigade would not have been tolerated in the building!
Our afternoon took on a different hue. We moved on to Vermillion Lakes on the outskirts of the town, walked the Fenland Forest trail (couldn’t not, could we, with a name like that!) and to explore Vermillion Lakes Drive. This is one of the few wetland areas to be found in the Rockies, home to different plant species and lots of birds. The views across the water to the mountains beyond are breathtaking, as you will see!Read more