We had no Internet or TV last night which made for a very quiet evening. We wanted to get an early start since we had much to do today. We got on the Trans Canada highway around 8:15am. We needed breakfast so we decided to stop at the Tim Hortons in Golden, BC. What is it with that place. It does matter where in the country I go, it is always so slow.
The weather today started out like most of the days on this trip, raining. But that did not stop the wildlife from appearing. On our way to Banff, we saw two black bears. We stopped in Lake Louise to pick up lunch before getting on the Bow Valley Parkway. Once again, it took us a couple of hours but this time we saw big horn sheep on the side of the road. We stopped about half way to enjoy our lunch in the car.
Before heading into Banff, we actually drove past it to the Stoney Nakoda Resort and Casino. For my birthday, Karen got me a helicopter ride. We got to the resort and checked in with Kananaskis Heli Tours. It was so windy when we got out of the car, I was worried that they might cancel the flight.
Before getting into the helicopter, there was a safety briefing. The first thing they did was weigh us. Thankfully they weighed us as a group and not individually. Second thing they did was mention the air sickness bags. We were told to use the bag within the bag since it was bigger. Good to know. The last thing they mentioned was if something blows away while we are approaching the helicopter to get into it, do not reach up and try to grab your item. You might lose a limb due to the spinning blades. Karen was chosen to be the co-pilot on this flight. Even before taking off, the helicopter was bouncing pretty good. The pilot mentioned that it will get bumpy at times during the flight.
The tour that we did was the Signature Rockies tour which was a 30 minute flight. Here is the description from their website … “Our most popular tour! Cruise at 100 mph as you climb above the Bow Valley and cross the imposing massif of Mt. Lougheed before circling the summit of Mt. Sparrowhawk, a 10,000 ft (3,200 m) Rockies peak. Return over Mt. Allen, site of the 1988 Winter Olympic Games Downhill Skiing – a thrilling finale to a remarkable tour!”. It was so amazing seeing the Rockies from 10,000 feet. The flight did get really bumpy at times and there was one valley we could not get into because of the high winds. I was able to open up the window and get lots of pictures. Towards the end of the flight, the couple sitting next to me got engaged. How cool is that. A helicopter ride is something that everyone should do once in their life. Thanks again Karen. It was awesome.
We got back on solid ground and headed back to Banff. Before actually getting into the town, we did the Lake Minnewanka scenic drive. We saw more big horn sheep and what we thought was a cougar turned out to be a fox upon viewing the photos.
When in Alberta, you need to have Alberta beef. We had one final steak dinner at Melissa’s Misteak Restaurant where they actually rolled out the cuts of meat for you to view. We did a quick walk through the town before getting back into the car.
Karen’s niece Liz is engaged to Ray who happens to live in Calgary. We were able to meet up with him and his parents Graham and Carolyn for a quick visit before heading to the hotel for tonight. We are staying at the Delta Calgary Airport Hotel ($139 CAD). The benefit of this hotel is that it is literally 60 seconds from your room to the gates. That is going to come in handy tomorrow morning for our 6:00am flight.
WOW. We live in the most beautiful county. Great photos, Dorothy! It sounds like the helicopter tour was a hit.