Calgary airport
Banff, Alberta
It’s an early start with a 6am alarm call but, hitching a ride back to the airport on the Hilton shuttle bus, we check in with minimum fuss for our Alaska Airlines flight and swiftly clear security, before making our way to the lounge for a relaxed breakfast and multiple cups of strong coffee. The slightly bumpy flight gives us great views of Seattle and Lake Okanagan before the air turns a more murky brown due to the pall of dirty smoke from forest fires which hangs over the parched Alberta plains.
Flying over the Rockies
“Welcome to Canada,” pronounces our ever-so-friendly immigration official and very quickly we’re in our white Chevrolet Impala, negotiating our way along the Stoney Trail highway out of Calgary. Coman takes the wheel and we chance upon a country music radio station who’s hosts are getting super excited about Garth Brooks hitting town tonight. It seems rather fitting as we drive through vast agricultural flatlands alongside huge trucks and American cars.
After fifteen minutes we turn onto Trans Canadian Highway 1, and follow a straight line for 115km to Banff. Soon the dry, yellow flatlands around Calgary start to give way to the once-distant mountains, and an increasingly pretty landscape. We stop briefly at Lac Des Arc, with its vast quarry and mines, and then continue into the fabled Rockies.
Hanging our entrance pass to the Canadian National Parks from the mirror (free in 2017 to celebrate 150 years of independence) we soon enter Banff National Park and, a couple of hours after leaving Calgary, we arrive in the town of Banff itself. Busy with tourists on account of it being the Labor Day Weekend, we drive through it slowly, following the Mountain Road on up towards the Banff Gondola and Hot Springs where our hotel, The Rimrock Resort, is situated.
Stoney Trail Highway
A rather grand affair, we take advantage of the valet parking and sit in its bar, sipping a complimentary glass of Canadian sauvignon blanc as we look at the mountains rising above us, while our room is prepared. Once we have unpacked our shorts we head to the hot springs, all ready for a relaxing dip on Sulphur Mountain. Unfortunately, it's rammed to the gills with weekend families so, any notions of tranquillity long gone, we opt instead for the more chilled environs of the spa in our hotel, easing the day’s travel away in its hot tub, sauna and steam rooms.
That evening, changed into our finest outfits, we have dinner in the hotel’s Primrose Restaurant, enjoying stunning views whilst sampling the vegetarian offerings, which get a decent thumbs up from us both, aided by the over-priced wine. A nightcap in the hotel bar rounds things off nicely, sending us into a wine-induced slumber, ready for some serious sightseeing in the morning.
