On to Banff . . .

055ca

Tommy, Billy and I got up early and our hotel was not serving breakfast until 7:00am, so at 6:30am we found the local bakery!!

056aca

Soon we were checked out of our hotel and heading to our pick up point yesterday afternoon, Peote Lake. Beautiful morning as the crew headed south.

056ca

An hour and a half down the road it was time for a little snack . . .

057ca

. . . including Billy’s unique little ‘flask’ filled with trail mix. Brilliant idea . . . he should patent it!!!

058ca

. . . don’t gulp too much though!

059aca

Here Billy and TommyH pass under an overpass . . . looks innocent enough

071ca

. . . but many of the underpasses do not have a road over the top rather a ‘wildlife corridor’ such as this one. It allows wildlife to traverse from one side of the road to another without becoming road kill.  Brilliant!!!

061ca

BillyB and TommyH leading the way out for . . .

062ca

TommyG and Greg

063ca

. . . as they all parallel creeks, after streams, after rivers. Visually stunning and water running everywhere!!!!

064ca

If only one could ride with earphones. The traffic is UNBEARABLE and we are hoping it will diminish some as we head west. As we rolled through a park entry point, one can see the lines of cars waiting to get into the park.

067ca

After finishing the days ride, we had enough daylight left so decided to drive over to Banff and check it out since our riding route will not take us there. Yikes . . . it was as bad as Wisconsin Dells. Traffic EVERYWHERE and hundreds of souvenir shops.

072ca

But there is one site not to miss and that is the grand dame of a hotel, The Banff Springs.

070ca

So we decided to tour around some . . .

069ca

walking through the concierge stations . . .

068ca

. . . here was one of the dining rooms being set up for an Indian wedding which are known to last for days. TommyH tried to talk his way into being  invited but still wearing his biking kit, was promptly turned away. That is beginning to become a habit for our group, not being admitted to venues because of our clothing!!!!

075ca

So, we headed back to our rooms at Deer Lodge, located right next to the Lake Louise Chateau. Great old wooden hotel with a great dining room.

074ca

One of the nice lounge areas. Gets chilly enough up here for a fire at night.

073ca

But speaking of fire . . . in these great old WOODEN hotels, best to know where the closest fire escape is. As the attendants always say on planes , , , “the closest exit may be located behind you!”

066ca

We decided to eat right at Deer Lodge . . .  a good choice! I had the flank steak, medium rare, with an eggplant tomato salad and onion crisps, a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon  . . .

065a

. . . and topped it off with a crème brulee. Should sleep good tonight. Tomorrow we climb over the Continental Divide. Should have these calories worked off before noon!!!!