Museum of Boredom, Sulfur Spring, and Long Lake

Today we spent our day in Banff National Park engaged in a variety of activities. Our first stop was to Lake Minnewanka only to find the parking lots were full. We decided to shift gears and go to the town of Banff for some sightseeing, then return to the lake later in the day. We stopped at the Visitor Center first and then walked over to Banff Park Museum. This was the first museum established in Banff and we asked not to touch any of the display cases since they were some of the original ones. The museum was essentially a giant taxidermy exhibit. While I’m sure it was fascinating to some people, I was not one of them. After briefly looking through all the birds, buffalo, and bears, we departed to our next stop.

We hopped on a bus which took us to Banff’s Cave and Basin. Back in the late 1800s, this cave and basin was explored by some railway workers who then quickly made a claim and started selling access to thermal mineral water. Soon after, the Canadian government reserved 10 square miles and created the first national park in the country. We walked into the cave and the smell of sulfur was unmistakable. I’m not sure how people could stand swimming or bathing in this water, but I suppose they got used to the unique odor. I hiked up to the top of the basin and could see the opening to the cave I was just in. The sulfur smell was still present from there too. I continued to the source of the hot spring which I also learned is slightly radioactive (not to a level of harm). I’d had my fill of the sulfur springs, so I descended back to the entrance to meet mom and Joe. 

We took the bus back to town and had lunch at Melissa’s Missteak. Joe ate a teriyaki burger and mom got some soup. I ordered a simple burger and a ceasar salad. The burger was satisfactory and I have to say I’ve never been given a salad with more dressing than this one, but I’m not complaining. We hopped back on the bus to Lake Minnewanka.

We arrived at the lake and waited for our boat cruise to begin. It started to sprinkle, so I bought ponchos, and then right on cue, it stopped sprinkling. We boarded the boat for our tour around Lake Minnewanka and were on our way. Our guide had a bubbly personality and told us various tidbits and stories about the lake. Some of the facts I learned were that Minnewanka means Water of the Spirits and this is one of the longest and deepest lakes in the Canadian Rockies (21 km long and 142 m deep). When we sailed further onto the lake, we had 10 seconds of silence, and it was refreshing to hear only the sounds of the waves hitting the boat. Afterwards, our guide told us a few more stories about Lake Minnewanka as we returned to shore. There used to be a town where a portion of the lake is now. Basically, a dam was constructed to provide power for a WWII ammunition factory (which never came to fruition), and this was going to raise the water level and submerge the current town. In response, the villagers burned down their homes, so that the construction workers couldn’t use them as they built the dam. Seems kinda spiteful to me considering the Canadian government gave them a generous cash settlement for their homes. After disembarking the boat, we boarded the bus one last time to go back to the town.

We walked through the different gift shops in Banff as I searched for the perfect souvenir for my friend DeRon. I think I looked through about 7 stores before I found the gift that spoke to me. Needless to say, I am well pleased with my friend’s souvenir and look forward to watching him open it. It started raining again when I left the store, good thing I still had that poncho. We got back in our car and started back to the lodge. We spotted some deer crossing the road on our way back which was a pleasant surprise to end our day. Tomorrow is an early rise since we are visiting many lakes via the bus. How many lakes can we see in a day? Tune in to find out.

 

Now there's a great souvenir

If you want to read a different perspective of our trip, you can read my mom’s blog here.