Banff, Alberta Canadiadadia

Today I had a rare field day off. My vote was for staying in the hotel and trying to balance a tub of pork rides on my ever growing belly. Everyone Else's vote was for me to go and do something.

Here was my chariot for the day:



Calgary has a decent amount of things to do and see. There is a zoo, dinosaur quarry, and other Olympic related sites that you can see in a short distance.

Today's trip was to a place called Banff.



The drive took me about 1 hour and 45 minutes. I was driving pretty slowly though. Somehow I thought taking pictures while driving would be a good idea.

Here is a picture I caught of the Calgary mass transit system.



The path to Banff is a very enjoyable drive.

It really reminded me more of a drive to a place called "Sajama" more than Utah. The mountains grow gradually, and build up a sense of suspense. In Utah, especially near the cove/holiday area, the mountains are right there. (not that one is better than the other, they just stand in contrast to each other)



There were a couple of spots where I wish I would have pulled over to get better shots.



Since Banff is a national park, there is an admission fee. Luckily, with the series cancelled, the smurfs were out of work. So the Canadians just moved their village to the park entrance! TWO BIRDS, ONE STONE!



When I arrived in Banff, I was somewhat surprised. It is a resort type town. I would describe it as what you would get if you crossed Moab with Park City.



I parked the car, and proceeded on foot.



First, I came across the mayor's house. I didn't want to disturb his afternoon nap, so I kept going.



I was then confused when I came across this advertisement for bear mating, or some other such northern tomfoolery. I figured whatever there was to see there, I didn't need to be seeing it.

I then found my way into a local museum.



I have always heard that a "Canadian tuxedo" is a denim shirt with denim pants a-la-Jay Leno. This exhibit said otherwise. Maybe its more of a British Columbia thing. Formal wear is formal wear after all.



I then came across an advanced alternative fuel concept they had on exhibition. They said it had plenty of "horsepower", but I might have misunderstood. Maybe another north/south communication issue.



Further into the museum, I found the art gallery. This piece was called "Road to Banff", or something like that. I don't really remember, because shortly after taking this picture I was chased out of the gallery by some Asian woman. I only wish I was joking about this part. I guess the *click *click *beep of my camera must of upset her nirvana/zen state. or something.

So then, it was time to head back outside.


I headed towards the central park area of the town. There is a walking path that follows the shore of a small river.


It seems rare to come across water this clear, at least it is to me.

Here is a view from the shore, to the mountain in the background.


More of the same:


I saw 8 Imprezas that I could count today. Here are pictures of two I was able to photo:

I really liked this red wagon:


On the way out, I caught a few more pictures:
Flowers in front of a hotel

Here are some ski jumps on the way back to the hotel


It was a good trip. Next time, I'm going to bring liderhosen and a bullhorn to the museum though. Then the Asian lady will be really confused.