July 1 – Canada Day!

We left Hinton and headed back through Jasper National Park and the Ice Fields, past Lake Louise, and into Banff National Park and the town of Banff.

Again, we are surrounded by these magnificent mountains…

Our campground was interesting – parallel parking! We did have good electric power, but not much else…

At dinner time we meet in the camp cabin and enjoyed a “champagne” toast to Canada Day!

We all sang “Oh, Canada”, accompanied by a recording by Rob McConnell and the Canadian Brass; for those of us who are not Canadian, we had the words to read and sing…

Some didn’t need to read the words because they knew them well…

We had a fine dinner in the camp cabin. By the way, every time I say that we had a great dinner in the campsite, one team provided all the leadership to make this happen: Stacy and Amy (with un-pronounceable last names) did the planning, shopping, and most of the preparing and serving of all these meals, with various helpers from the group. This was a great treat for all caravaners and led to a lot of good times…

Another note here: Our three oldest grandchildren left home today for a week-long sleep-away camp…

George X. – 8

Ian P. – 10

Roisin M. – 11 (r) and friend…

Tuesday, July 2, we drove into Banff and toured the beautiful Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel…

A National Historic Site of Canada, the Fairmont Banff Springs has been a shining example of Canadian hospitality from its inception. William Cornelius Van Horne, the General Manager of the Canadian Pacific Railway, set about to construct a brilliant grand dame of a hotel that would be one of the world’s most luxurious hotels. As soon as it debuted as the “Banff Springs Hotel” in 1886, it rapidly became one of the top three mountain resorts in North America.

The Banff Springs Hotel briefly shutdown in 1942 as a result of the scarcity in labor wrought by World War II. It would not reopen until the war ended in 1945. Though it took most of the 1950s and 1960s to reclaim its former status as one of the greatest resort getaways in the North Americas, the war had not completely ruined the hotel’s charm. Significant changes to the hotel, which adapted it to the economics of the era, provided it with new life. A pivotal point came in the 1970s, as this was the when the Banff Springs Hotel began to stay open year-round, offering guests a bevy of new winter activities. More renovations and expansions were done a decade later, providing guests with the most cutting-edge accommodations and amenities of the time.

We began our tour in the Photo Gallery, seeing historic photos of the hotel’s beginnings…

We visited the bar…

…which has a secret door in a fake bookcase.

The door leads to a private room…

We saw many beautiful spaces…

…and grad fireplaces…

The main ballroom…

The conservatory…

And another banquet room…

We gathered as a group in the conservatory for a photo…

We had a grand lunch, then we returned to the Villa…

After this lovely day we both were coming down with a cold, so we spent a few days hibernating in the Villa…

We did celebrate Independence Day – 4th of July – with another “champagne” toast and a dinner of hamburgers, hot dogs, and other typical American holiday fare, again prepared by Stacy and Amy…

We returned again to the Villa. An enjoyable time was had by all…

xxx