Day 1-Wednesday-5/22: We had to get up at 4:30 am in order to drive the 50 miles to the Orlando Airport, check our car at "Pay to Fly", take their shuttle and be at the Northwest Airline counter at 6:00 am for our 8:00 am flight to Minneapolis connecting with a flight to Calgary, Alberta, Canada which would get us in Calgary about 1:00 pm Mountain Time.

We landed on time in Calgary only to find that there was about 10" of snow on the ground and the snow was still falling.

We rented a Ford station wagon ( sub for the mid-size car we ordered which they were out of ) from Budget and immediately headed west and then north to the Banff National Park where we had reservations at the Banff Park Lodge in the Village of Banff for the next 4 nights.

By the time we had driven the 80+- miles to the entrance we had climbed to an elevation of over 5,000ft and it had snowed over 11".  The countryside and trees were beautiful covered with snow.

We were totally bushed, so we had an early dinner in the hotel and were asleep and dreaming by 8:00pm local time (10:00 pm Orlando Time).

Day 2 - Thursday 5/23/02: The next morning at about 9:00 o'clock we set out  sightseeing to the north of Banff.  Our first stop was the Banff Railroad Station to watch the RockyMountaineer Railroad's  west bound train come in to pick up passengers for the trip to Vancouver. We did this to familiarize ourselves with the procedure as we would be leaving on this same train on Sunday morning. by doing this, we would know exactly what time to be at the station so as to beat the bus crowds and what to expect of the loading process.

After this, we started our sightseeing for the day. Our first journey was to join the Bow River Parkway at it's southern most terminus with the Cross Canada Highway just north of Banff.  This road is an almost deserted 2 lane road which parallels the Cross Canada Highway and the Bow river from Banff up to Lake Louise, a distance of about 35 miles. 

Along the way we stopped at several vistas and at the Johnston Canyon Visitor Center where we were pleased to find a great souvenir shop with very good prices on souvenir products.

Along the way we saw wildlife such as deer, a wolf and lots of various ground critters as well as some of the most beautiful mountain peaks in the park.

After leaving the Bow River Parkway, we visited the little village of Lake Louise and drove up the mountain to see the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise Hotel and Lake Louise, which was still frozen over, as spring seemed to be running about 3 weeks late throughout western Canada. 

We then headed back towards Banff Village making a side trip up the road to the Sunshine Ski Resort area, which was closed for the season. On the way we saw several deer and female big horn sheep, which, had come down from the mountain to feed on the green grasses growing close to the road.

On arrival back in Banff Village we had lunch at a delightful restaurant called Coyotes (great food at a great price). After lunch we decided to drive out and see where we would meet our guide for a scheduled fishing trip on Lake Minnewanka the next morning.  

To get to Lake Minnewanka we drove to the south end of town and at the intersection of Banff Ave. and the Cross Canada Highway, we went straight which put us on the "Lake Minnewanka Loop." The "Loop" is a 7 mile circular road which passes Lake Minnewanka, Lake Two Jacks and several meadows and scenic vistas.  

When we arrived at the Minnewanka landing, we expected to see a busy dock area with all facilities going full swing,  Instead, what we did see was a deserted business area and a lake still frozen solid with only a few cracks in the ice close to the shore line.  Someone with a sense of humor had built a big snowman on the dock which was inaccessible as they had not yet been able to place the connecting floating dock from the shore to the permanent dock house.

We then completed the loop and drove back into Banff, where we drove through town and out on the road to Bow Falls and the Banff Golf Course where we saw a good sized herd of Elk and lots of different birds such as Hawks, Bald Eagles, Stellar Jays and Magpies.

We had enjoyed the food, and the prices, at Coyotes so much at lunch, that we went back again for dinner that evening before turning in early.

Day 3 - Friday 5/24: Being completely rested from two good nights of sleep, we woke up at about 5:00 am (7 o'clock edt), fixed coffee in the room and were out in the car sightseeing around town by 6:00 am. 

At 6:00 am on a Friday morning, the streets were virtually deserted except for several deer and elk which were just wandering around the town as if they owned it.  I guess, as it is a National Park that they do what they want to do, and they were enjoying it by nibbling at the grass and plants in peoples lawns and the gardens of the various businesses.

We rode around a while in the outlying areas of the Village where we saw the residential section and several more deer and elk.  At about 6:45, when we got back into the central area of the Village not a single deer or elk was to be found.  It seems that between dawn and 6:30 the critters own the town, and after that they disappear.

After breakfast, we took the road up Mt. Norquay where we stopped at a great overlook of the Village.  Just below us was a beautiful meadow with a herd of about 20 female big horn sheep were grazing.  We drove on up to about the 1/2 way point on the mountain where the Ski Tram was closed for the season.

On the way back down we stopped at a delightful restaurant "Norquay's Big Horn Steakhouse" for lunch.  We got a window table overlooking a beautiful lawn which merged, on the hill, with a great view of Banff Village. 

After killing about 2 hours over lunch and enjoying the views, we went back to our hotel.  Norma did some shopping as we were only a block from the main shopping on Banff Ave., and that evening we brought sandwiches and snacks back to the room where we watched the NBA playoff game.

Day 4- Saturday 5/25: Having purchased for only $6.00 CAD, National Park 7 day fishing licenses and some legal lures (Absolutely no lead lures are allowed in ANY National Part in Canada) made out of Tin on Friday, we were out on the banks of Lakes "Two Jacks" and "Johnson" bright and early Saturday morning. With the exception of a couple of light bumps which could have been fish or bottom, we did not have any luck. However, with the beauty of the lakes and surrounding mountains, frankly we did not care.

We also drove up to the gondola area of Sulphur Mountain (Note: Sulphur Mountain is not a Ski area. The Gondola ride is strictly for sightseeing and runs year around) and out along the dirt road which runs along the Vermillion Lakes, and to complete all of the sight seeing drives listed in the tour guide, we drove the "Tunnel Mountain" road, which, gave us great views of everything else we had seen in and around Banff during our stay. We then drove back through the Golf Course and stopped to fish for a while below the Banff Falls.

We checked the rental car in and arrived back at the hotel around 3:00 pm. We rested for a while and then had dinner in the wonderful gourmet "TERRACE ROOM" of the Banff Park Lodge where we enjoyed a marvelous dinner prepared by Chef Erick Knudsen. (His Seafood Chowder is to die for). Erick had helped us in our fishing endeavors by pointing out locations where we could fish and explaining the local fishing laws before we went.

After dinner, we packed and went to bed early as we would start our trip across the Canadian Rockies and Western Canada aboard the Rockymountaineer Railroad - Gold Leaf Service early Sunday morning.