Two RV Gypsies: Full-Time RVers
(and Professional Travelers)

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Banff, Tunnel Mountain,
and Hoodoos
August 27, 2009
At 4,540 feet above sea level, Banff is "Canada's Highest Town". It is now a year- round attraction. Banff town and park is named for Banffshire, Scotland - birthplace of two of the original Canada Pacific Railway directors. Banff's 2000 population was 7726. There are more than 1,000 glaciers in Banff National Park.
sign for the Banff exit
sign - Welcome to Banff
below - a beautiful mountain with very jagged edges
a beautiful mountain with very jagged edges
sign - speed limit 70
sign - wildlife crossing
 
This is the first time that the two RV Gypsies ever had a camp site alongside the roadway. Here we had electric and water. No sewer. It was strange having cars drive on the road beside our RV.
the new yard of the two RV Gypsies
the motorhome of the two RV Gypsies
below is the view of our RV, known as AWO, as seen from the road below us
AWO - the two RV Gypsies' motorhome
Below is the view looking out the window on the left side of our RV. Besides seeing another mountain, you can see another road with an RV camped on one side of the road and a picnic table where another RV could camp. Then traffic drives on the road between the two RV's. A first for us.
view from campsite of another RV
From the bay windows on the right side of our RV - tunnel mountain - not bad at all. Elevation of tunnel mountain - 5,551 ft Tunnel mountain was originally surveyed as the site for a railway tunnel. Plans were abandoned for a more economical line, which is the current route of the TransCanada Highway.
tunnel mountain
tunnel mountain plaque
 
sign in store while shopping in town - and Karen with a big stuffed moose in a store
silly sign in a store window
Karen Duquette with a big stuffed moose
 
Walking high up the hoodoo trail and looking down into the valley for spectacular views from the lookout point off Tunnel Mountain Road. Mt. Rundle is named for Robert Rundle, the missionary who passed through the region in the 1840s, and it rises 9,700 feet. It is one of Banff's signature sights and is often seen on postcards with the Banff townsite nestled just below it.
Mt. Rundle
Mt. Rundle and Bow Lake
looking down into the valley
great scenery
scenery
an island far below
bow lake
Mt. Rundle and Bow Lake
Hoodoos sign
sign - what the heck is a hoodoo?
Hoodoos were nocturnal giants who awoke to pound the passerby with rocks hurled from the mountainside. Geologists believe the formations were cemented together with dissolving limestone over 20,000 years ago. Scientific analysis tells us the hoodoos were pillars of glacial till.
hoodoos
hoodoos
hoodoos and bow lake
hoodoos
hoodoos
hoodoos
There are two trails down to the Hoodoos but as you can see in the below photos, they are extremely steep and the two RV Gypsies chose not to hike down these trails because then they'd have to hike the steep trail back up again.
the steep trail to the hoodoos
sign about the Bow Valley View
sign about Bow Valley
Bow Valley
Bow Valley
sign about Bow Valley
sign - about the distinct landscape
Bow River
Bow Valley
Bow river
Mt. Rundle
 
The entry to Banff Hot Springs where Karen went to relax in the hot springs which turned out to be nothing more than a heated pool outside, unlike the hot springs at Liard and Chena that Karen visited earlier - as they were in a natural setting, not a pool. However, the waters in the pool at Banff are from a natural hot spring bubbling from the base of Sulphur Mountain. This discovery led to the establishment of Canada's first National Park and the 3rd oldest in the world, established in 1885.
Banff Hot Springs Sign
While at Banff Hot Springs, Karen signed up for a one-hour facial, a full-body massage, and a body wrap. She got the facial which was fine. The massage was inadequate - they didn't even do the feet. And Karen never got the body wrap as they said time was up. No, Karen does NOT recommend Banff Hot Springs to anyone. Karen was completely dissatisfied with the service.
go to the next page Lake Louise
one of the most famous glacial lakes
in the Canadian Rockies