Sunday, September 1
We slept well in our first hostel. We were in a 4 person room with a young couple from Germany. They were very quiet and kind and spoke English very well. Anna was funny – she walked up to the sink and said, “where’s the soap?”. Lol – Hostels don’t typically provide soap, shampoo and towels. Some do, but you can’t count on it. She was in trouble because not only did she not have hand soap, she didn’t have a towel either…guess I will have to share mine!
We attended Sunday service at St. Paul’s Presbyterian church and loved it! The congregation was 90 percent visitors and the entire service was geared around making us feel comfortable and welcome in their faith community. It was VERY informal and very different from what I am used to. The minister came around and introduced himself to everyone and then remembered where we were all from and incorporated it into his sermon. Because of Labor Day, his talk was focused on the work in our lives and how we can make it sacred. He used a lot of media and there was a lot of joyful singing. It was a great start to our day.
It was still drizzling when we located our first waterfall of the day, but it cleared up quickly. That is one thing about this region of Canada. It can be raining and 5 min later it is over. Of course, it works the other way around too.
We ate our picnic lunch at a park with an amazing view. We are getting very good at living out of a cooler. The hostels and Airbnb’s have freezers where we refreeze our water/ice. We also have had access to full kitchens each day and cook all of our meals.
We then headed to Johnston Canyon to hike into an area with a larger waterfall and river with multiple bridges and crossings. There were SO many people because of the holiday, but it was also worth the hike.
We talked with a park ranger named Amy who was carrying around a rack of horns from an Elk. They weighed almost 50 pounds! She explained how they are illegal to remove from the park if you find them and how they are filled with calcium and are good for the other animals to chew on in the winter months. She also told Anna about the Banff Mountain Film Festival that is held in October of each year. Film makers and students come from all over to share their documentaries. She encouraged Anna to participate.
We then drove down Bow Valley Scenic Parkway and enjoyed more spectacular views.
I LOVE listening to all of the different languages. Everywhere we go, we hear German, French and Oriental dialects. One thing unique to Banff is the pedestrian traffic crossings. They cross in an X pattern as well as the usual pattern – at the same time. Pedestrians have a traffic signal just for them and when it turns green, the streets are filled with people coming from every direction.
One sadness I am finding is that I cannot buy any souvenirs. I have absolutely no room to collect anything from anywhere. I have decided to collect patches from the places I go and sew them on to my backpack. However, being in these beautiful mountain towns, I have seen so many sweatshirts, cards, etc. that I normally would have bought to remember my trip. I am so glad I have photos. One day next year, you will see them on note cards. Be looking for them!
And finally, our day concluded with a wonderful dinner at the Lake Louise hostel. We arrived at dinner time and heard that the best restaurant in town was at our Hostel. It was fabulous. We had a hearty homemade vegetable soup with fresh baguettes. Yummy! But the best part was our dinner companions. We were seated with a couple from Bath, England and a young man from China. We had the most interesting conversation! Given the current political situation in all three of our countries, we were able to share how it is affecting the citizens. I learned so much about China. Our friend, Bo, was 30 years old and was traveling for the first time outside China for two weeks. He was not married and did not plan to ever have children. He described how both men and women typically have a 10 hour work day with a one hour commute each way due to high housing costs. That leaves no time for family time or teaching children. He also described the pressure he feels as an only child to care for his aging parents and if he was married, they would have 4 to care for. He lamented over the seriousness of the situation for generation to come. We definitely had the most fun at our table that night!
Living All In 