I left early this morning and took the Bow Valley Parkway to Banff instead of the faster and more heavily traveled route 1. The parkway is touted as a scenic alternative to route 1, but trees close to the roadside block most of the view. Still, it must be better than route 1.

I stopped to take some pictures of Castle Mountain and did the Johnston Canyon Trail. The trail was short and interesting, but given the early hour and date (I think the peak season for this park starts in July), I expected fewer people. I spotted several mule deer grazing on the road banks.

The hike the day before really took a lot out of me. Even small hills were a challenge.

I pulled into Banff around lunchtime. There are a few exits for Banff. You want to take the second or third one, the one that goes downtown, not the one that goes up a mountain. The national campgrounds were located on a hill above the downtown area. I went there first to secure a good site. The attendants warned me about "large game carnivores" in the park. When someone mentions the word carnivore, Jurassic Park dinosaurs spring to mind. I imagined a t-rex ripping through my tent to get at some Powerbars. Unfortunately, they didn't have anything that exciting in the park, just the usual bears, cougars, wolves, and coyotes, but mostly bears.

I didn't like the town of Banff. Too touristy. I only took one picture - one of a deer mowing the grass in someone's back lawn. I wanted to see the Chateau, but I surmised it was probably up a steep hill, like everything else, and I wasn't interested in climbing any more hills.

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