Canada Trip (Part 4): Banff to Waterton

After a long day of animals, we knew we were back to civilization when we saw an elk grazing in front of a unicycling-baby-crossing sign:



The town of Banff was lots of fun. I got to see another Stanley Cup game in Canada, and again, everybody looked at me every time I cheered for a goal. Vancouver lost 4-0.

The cloud cover (or is it considered a "marine layer"?) had finally cleared earlier in the day while we were enjoying the Kootenay animals so we finally got a chance to see the Rockies' peaks:



We spent the night in the town of Canmore and then returned in the morning to experience all that Banff had to offer. Banff is the largest city inside a Canadian National Park, and the 2nd highest incorporated municipality (Daddy had to teach me that word; Banff is technically a "town") in Canada (Lake Louise is #1, and it is a "hamlet"). To be or not to be a city, town, or hamlet is a question I don't understand.

Mom told me Banff is picturesque. I have no idea what that means, but I'm guessing "Full of souvenir shops selling pictures of the town," some of which look similar to this:



Then we left Banff National Park and the Rockies behind, and started across the great Canadian plains to Calgary:



We explored downtown Calgary, and I liked the tall buildings and pedestrian street (though I could have done without the stranger who tried to get me to touch his parakeet).



I was very confused by this statue:



I mean, guys that big have gotta be American!

We also discovered Uncle Tristan has a store there where he's apparently been channeling his love for women's clothing. Maybe it makes a great tax shelter for the profits from his landscape design business:



We headed South during rush hour toward the duty-free shops at the American border, stopping at the Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump on the way. It was closed, but we saw the cliffs, and we saw Buffalo:



Our last stop before the border was Waterton National Park, which Daddy was excited to visit. Waterton is the Canadian portion of Montana's Glacier National Park, and Waterton's upper lake straddles the US border.



Since it was so pretty and the border was about to close, we ended up staying the night.

I'll show you more about Waterton, Glacier National Park, and the Columbia Gorge in my next post.

☺

P.S. Happy birthday Uncle Tristan!