Daryl and I took a Friday evening flight to Calgary and checked in to a downtown hotel. We got a really good rate at the Westin, apparently because it's right next door to a Shell Canada office.

Saturday morning we had a leisurely breakfast at Eau Claire Market in what appeared to be a very popular rustic shack remnant of Calgary's logging days. We found an ATM and got some Canadian dollars.

We then took a bus westward into the Canadian Rockies to our rendezvous with our other Toto Tours compadres.

When we arrived in Banff we were surprised to see so many tour busses driving around the town. This place obviously knows how to draw the tourists and move them about.

Our destination was the Mount Royal hotel. It sits in the heart of downtown with plenty of nearby T-shirt/sweater shops, restaurants, etc. etc. The preeminent view from anywhere in Banff is Cascade Mountain. During winter the nearby ski slopes here, in Lake Louise, and Jasper draw big crowds. As cool as it was in July, it must get very, very cold in the dead of winter. We were also amazed at duration of sunlight. It would still be light outside close to 11pm.

The first guys from the tour group we met were Bob and Charlie. Bob offered to take us on a walking tour of Banff. "Sure", we said. Our first stop was the beautiful Cascade Gardens.

Next we headed towards the Banff Springs Hotel. On the way we got a close look at Bow Falls.

The primo hotel in Banff is the Banff Springs Hotel. As I said we didn't stay there that time, but between the heli-hiking and horseback riding, and again at the end of the trip we stayed there. The view we had from our room at the end of the trip is shown below on the right.

	The hotel is very grand and has a rich history. It was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1886 as a means of getting tourists to ride the railway to the awe-inspiring scenery of the Rockies. I never did get the reason for the bellmen and valets running around in kilts, though.

While Bob was giving us the tour around the hotel, he took an unfortunate tumble over the ledge and broke both his arms. But just like a trouper he made it through the rest of the tour, even though his arms were in traction.

Next: Heli-hiking