Flying in a storm over the Grand Canyon

We have both flown over the Grand Canyon in a commercial airline flight, but to travel over this magnificent spectacle at 13000ft was nothing but awesome. Travelling from Las Vegas over the Hoover Dam to the South Rim of the Canyon was an incredible experience. We then boarded a six seater helicopter to take us down into the valley itself, to take in the glorious colours of the valley, following the Colorado River meandering like a giant snake in the floor of the valley.

The colours of the cliff walls, danced as the sun gave way to a thunderstorm and then reappeared, while we watched from the edge of the escarpment.

We had quite a frightening trip home, as we watched the storm get closer. The plane dipped and dived, and we held our stomachs as the pilot skillfully delivered us to the airport

Storm coming

Rough ride home

Storm over Grand Canyon

Sunset over Vegas

Flying over Hoover Dam

Squirrels keep guard over Sulphur Mountain

Overlooking Banff, Sulphur Mountain, was very popular for its sulphur springs. We took a gondola ride up to the top of the mountain. There we found the usual coffee and souvenir shops, but also a boardwalk to the top of the mountain, where the Cosmic Ray Station had been re-created.
The Cosmic Ray Station was established in 1956 by the National Research Station, Sulphur Mountain was chosen for the site because of its high elevation and was the most important station in Canada during the International Geophysical Year 1957-1958.
In 1903 Norman Sanson, established a weather observatory. Ottawa sent him enough weather recording blanks to last him 33 years. However, not only did he use them up, he continued to climb the mountain for another ten years to record his observations.
The view from the top of the mountain was spectacular and being above the tree-line, its was rugged and barren, but that didn't stop the Golden Squirrels from being inquisitive and letting us all get some great photos. Including one who perched himself on a rock above the pavement and kept guard over who was entering his territory.

Bow River Valley and Banff

Banff

Beautiful Banff, with its location in the Bow River Valley it is surrounded by rugged Mountains, with their towering peaks reaching for the sky. We have had temperatures of at least 30C for four days and the locals tells us it is unseasonally warm.  In early August, there is very little snow, or ice on the peaks   in stark contrast to the valley of green below them.We spent the morning strolling through downtown Banff, found the river with a beautiful park beside it and continued on the Bow River Falls track which follows the river east and is situated in a dry Montane forest of fir,  cypress,spruce and wildflowers. The trees are providing welcome shade and have created a cooling breeze. On either side of the river, there are sheer cliff walls and on the opposite side are cyclists riding through forest and stopping to take photos and then continuing on their morning ride.
The river is a gorgeous emerald green colour, which flows from glacier water and it is wide at this point, approximately ten metres. The river is full and the water is fast and furious. There is one large set of falls, dropping about four metres and two other sets of falls , dropping approximately one metre each.  In a space of approximately fifty metres there are numerous other smaller falls.  The track has a timber and stone railing, which follows the falls and  there are numerous high vantage points, until we reach the end of the drop-off and the river flows to a sandy beach and curves away out of sight.
On the sandy beach are kayaks and white water rafting boats, having negotiated the falls and waiting to be packed onto their trailer and taken back up to the start of their journey for their next adventurers to experience the exhilaration of the Bow River Falls and the intriguing "hoodoos"

Bow River bridge

 The Fox Hotel, built from Rundle Rock, which is limestone and is mined locally from Rundle Mountain

 The Caribou Lodge - where we stayed in Banff

The base of Bow River Falls

Mt Norquay and Cliff House Bistro Banff

MOUNT NORQUAY AND CLIFF HOUSE BISTRO

We only have a couple of days in Banff and had spoken to our waitress at the hotel after breakfast and she suggested a chairlift ride up Mt Norquay.  A twenty minute bus shuttle out of town, Mt Norquay overlooks the Bow River Valley and Banff.  On top of Mount Norquay we would find a quaint English tea house built in 1959 and recently renovated into a bistro, the Cliff House Bistro.

We caught a shuttle in Banff Avenue and this took us up to the bottom of the mountain and the start  of the chairlift.  Not being skiiers, we are nervous about using the chairlift and speak to the  attendant, it doesn’t take long to pick up his accent and he is Josh and he is a paramedic from Melbourne.  He is friendly and helpful and we are soon comfortable and on our way to the top.  The magnificent Douglas fir trees surround us as we make our way up and the air begins to cool down.

We spot rabbits and a cheeky little squirrel is sitting out in the sun, eating his nuts and another is shy and runs into the bushes away from us.  Half way up the mountain, quite a lot of young ladies must have come to misfortune, as we find a number of bras and beads hanging out of a dead tree.  I couldn’t get my camera out in time to take a photo. I would love to know the story behind this adventure.

At the top of the mountain, the Cliff House Bistro overlooks the Bow River Valley, it is beautiful scenery, with the mountains towering over the town of Banff the emerald green of the Bow River winding its way out of sight.

 We enter the Cliff House Bistro and order lunch from another Australian expat, a young man from Terrigal. My meal was calamari stewed in tomatoes, onions and olives, served with slices of dry toast. I had never had calamari served this way, but it was delicious.

Having spent a very pleasant, relaxing, couple of hours, we travelled down the mountain again, looking out for the squirrels and rabbits, but they were nowhere in sight.

Kamloops to Banff - Rocky Mountaineer Journey

As we leave Kamploops and are eating our beautiful breakfast, the scenery gradually changes from dry ranges to the lush Douglas fir trees on tall mountain peaks closer to Banff

Breakfast

Atlantic Salmon

Desert

Rocky Mountains

Rocky Mountains

Farm buildings Thompson Vallery