Exploring Banff - Day 2

Friday, September 15th

Our campsite.

                                        If you look really close you can see the streaks of snow!

Hard to believe it is mid-September already. Fall is definitely here in the Rocky Mountains ... winter temps for us Snowbirds. Thankfully we have learned to have some warmer clothes stowed away for times like this. :)

Here are some pictures Ray took near our campsite from yesterday.

Cascade Mountain with the Bow River

Cascade Mountain with a few Hoodoos

Mt. Rundel

Mt. Rundel

Today again, the morning temps were only 3C. Tomorrow it is forecasted for -2C. It's good to be plugged in. Around 9 am it started to snow! Yikes.

This morning we waited until the snow/rain ended, about 10:30 am and geared up for the Cave and Basin National Historic Site. The clouds remained quite heavy so we saw very few mountain tops but the Historic Site was pretty cool.

Geology and setting from Wickipedia

The Cave and Basin is the lowest component of nine sulphurous hot springs clustered in three groups on the northeast flank of Sulphur Mountain. All are located along the Sulphur Mountain Thrust Faultbelow Devonian limestones. The water is heated geothermally from an estimated depth of three kilometres. The Cave and Basin is the only underground cavern large enough to comfortably accommodate groups of people.

Human habitation in this area can be traced back to 10,700 years BP with the retreat of the last great glaciation, and it is unlikely that the hot springs escaped being noticed. The first recorded reference to hot springs here is by James Hector of the Palliser Expedition in 1859, followed by Joe Healey in 1874 who found the Cave and Basin site in 1875. But it was Canadian Pacific Railway workers William McCardell and Frank McCabe who brought national attention to the Cave and Basin. In 1883 they descended through the skylight entrance into the cave using a felled tree, and the following year constructed a small cabin nearby with the intention of commercializing the Cave and Basin site. Conflicting claims by other parties prompted intervention by the Canadian government headed by John A. Macdonald, and in 1885 an order-in-council reserved 10 square miles (26 km²) around the Cave and Basin, the Banff Hot Springs Reserve. This was the genesis of Canada's national parks system. In 1886 the Canadian government held an inquiry into the various private claims to settle on compensation.

In 1886 an artificial tunnel was driven into the Cave and Basin to aid visitation. In 1912 bottled water from the Cave and Basin site was sold for its alleged curative powers. In 1914 a naturally heated swimming pool was opened to the public and continued to operate until 1994.

The built facilities include an artificial tunnel to natural grotto, a replica of the original 1887 bathhouse, the restored 1916 swimming pool and structure, interpretive displays, hiking and snowshoe trails. The 1887 bathhouse, the first structure on the site, proved inadequate by 1902, and a new pool was built in 1904. The stone bathhouse was completed in 1914, designed by architect Walter S. Painter. The pools were closed in 1975, restored in 1985, then closed again in 1992. An interpretive center now uses the structures. The Banff Upper Hot Springs is a separate facility some 5 km (3 mi) southeast of the Cave and Basin.

Old truck at the entrance of the Cave and Basin Historic Site

 This is the actual Cave that was initially discovered.

Vent hole at the roof of the cave and how it was originally discovered and accessed.

The next pictures are from the exhibits they have in the area of the old bathhouse.

The old VW ready for a camping trip.

 This is the outdoor exhibits where the "basin" or pool used to reside and was closed in 1992. They have a couple of young men dressed in period costumes explaining the outdoor exhibits with steam train sounds in the background.

The outdoor pool.

Upstairs are several lookout spots with a view of the Bow River and mountains as well as the marshlands.

This is where you access the boardwalk up the hill to view where the spring actually erupts.

The boardwalk also takes you to the vent hole for the cave.

                                     Source of the creek.

As we were leaving 3 tour buses that arrived .... glad we were done as the viewing area in the cave is really small. We walked the boardwalk up to where the spring originates but we did not do the marsh boardwalk as we still had other things to see today and Ray would not be able to manage it. Freya stayed in the car as she is not allowed in the exhibit. We did not go to the actual hotsprings either ... just swimming pools with the mineral water, not a natural environment. If the weather had been better this morning so you had a fantastic view we might have considered it. With the snow/rain decided against it. The cost though was only $7.30/person so much more inexpensive than Ainsworth Hotsprings.

Picture from Google.

Up next was a drive to the old train station where the Rocky Mountaineer stops 3 times a week.

The front of the station.

The back of the station ... I'm way down sitting on a bench. A huge building.

From there we drove the Vermillion Scenic Drive and let Freya out for a short walk. Unfortunately the mountains were still in the clouds. We really hope that tomorrow the sun comes out as forecasted for our last day here in Banff.

They have several docks for people to launch a canoe or kayak.

With all this lovely marsh area we thought we might see a moose. Nope ... but we did see this elk just as we were leaving the road back into town. Several cars all stopped to take pictures but he did not seem to mind.

We chose another Tavern/Pub for our lunch called Bear Street Tavern. Ray had the best fish tacos he ever ate and I thoroughly enjoyed my Mac and Cheese with Pork Belly. Yummm, lots left over for another meal (mac and cheese only of course)

The place was packed so we ended up sitting at the bar ... not great for Ray's back but we were too hungry to wait 20 minutes for a table.

They are trying for a stretch of road in Banff to be more pedestrian friendly, where cars, pedestrians and cyclists all share the same road at slow speeds. This happened to be in the same block as the Tavern we had lunch. They are trying this out for a year and if it works more streets in Banff will be doing the same thing.

Shortly after eating we were on our way back to the campsite to relax for the rest of the afternoon. Other than Freya getting a walk. The clouds seem to be breaking up and the sun is shining through with some blue skies showing. Good stuff. Hopefully the trend continues overnight. This precipitation is from Hurricane Irma if you can believe it! Hopefully this rain hits Waterton National Park to help with the forest fire down there.

For Freya's last walk in the evening, Ray took his camera and managed to get some much better shots of the hoodoos and the Bow River near the campsite.

Another good day in spite of the weather first thing this morning. Clouds were clearing significantly by 7 pm so hopefully it is clear tomorrow for our gondola ride and boat cruise.