CANADIAN ROCKIES TRIP

Labeled as one of the best world road travels, the drive through the Canadian Rockies, in the province of Alberta, from Banff Springs to Lake Louise to Jasper and back is scenic and panoramic. 

But it’s not free, if you plan to stop at any of the towns you have to pay an entry fee.  At the toll booth gates located along the stretch of Trans-Canada Highway 1, a single adult has to pay C$9.80 for the day or a C$67.70 annual Discovery Pass which is valid at most national historic sites and participating national parks.  If you are planning to stay in the Rockies for at least a week, it would be cost-effective to buy the national pass.  With your entry, you will be handed out a free Parks Canada Mountain Guide which is really all you need as to what to see and where to camp. 

The park guide has a clear listing of the numerous camping grounds.  Note that camping in Canada is more expensive than in the United States.  A tent ground with shower will cost you around C$27 a night whereas south of the border it averages C$15.  For online details, see www.pc.gc.ca

I started from Calgary where renting a car is easier and cheaper than the ones at Banff and Jasper. 

I took Highway 1 which is the old Crowfield Highway starting from Calgary.  Along the way, at Cochrane, I “sampled” delectable ice cream flavors at MacKay’s, so good even locals buy a cone at subzero during winter.  One of the sister owners travel a lot and often adapt flavors from abroad such as the superb Filipino–inspired concoctions Halo-Halo (a fruit medley) and Purple Yam (or “ube”).

From Cochrane, my first stop was the very touristy town of Banff.  Warning: During the summer when school is out, the Rockies can be very crowded, traffic congested along two-lane roads with waiting times of up to an hour for parking.  Plus all prices shoot through the roof.  Best time to go: April to early May and late August to October when the kids are back in the classrooms except when there is a long weekend such as Labor Day.  Then expect a deluge from the cities of Edmonton and Calgary.

There is a package deal for the Banff Gondola, Lake Minnewanka (also in Banff) boat cruise and Athabasca Ice Glacier tour (further north) but it’s not worth it. 

At Banff, to save money and if you have the time take the toll free moderate hike up and down Sulphur Mountain instead of taking the Gondola. 

There is also nothing outstanding about Lake Minnewanka.  Save your dollars for the more expensive bait, the 90 minute boat ride at Lake Maligne in Jasper at a whopping C$55 a head! 

At Athasbaca you can walk to the foot of the glacier.  The C$35 guided bus tour will take you to the top, which you can see anyway from a distance at the information centre. 

Back in Banff, walk along the Bow river trail, and soak yourself for a C$7 dip at the Hot Sulphur Springs, the original reason why the town became popular.  Do the easy trail on Tunnel Mountain.  There is no tunnel, there were plans for one, but it never materialized. 

To save money, buy at the local supermarkets and have a picnic.  There is also a breakfast buffet at Keg Steakhouse, Banff Caribou Lodge, 521 Banff Ave., Tel: 403.762.4442.  Don’t get too excited, the buffet is standard breakfast fare and does not serve steak.

Sometimes there is a lunch buffet at the iconic Banff Springs Hotel (see my post dated   ).   There is a Food Court at the Cascade Plaza Mall’s basement (most meals under C$10).   Parking can be a hassle.  For two hours, you can park at the Visitors Information Center or at Safeway supermarket.

After Banff, my next destination was Lake Louise.  Instead of using Trans-Canada Highway 1, take the older Highway 1A, also called Bow Valley Parkway, a two-lane road with more opportunities to stop and see the sights, such as the Castle Mountain along the way. 

At Lake Louise, there are really just two things to do, walk around the lake and walk a couple of hours up the hill to a Tea House (crowded and pricey).  Make sure you bring a bottle of water. 

Near Lake Louise, on another 20 mile road, are the ten jagged peaks of Lake Moraine.  A sight to behold especially in the worst of weather.  

Then we’re off to Jasper.  More peaks, more lakes along the 150 mile stretch.  A postcard view most people miss is right across the Saskatchewan River Crossing station.  This rest stop is famous for its exorbitant gas prices and $ 7 hot dogs! (which will cost you about a third at a 7-11).



Spirit Island, Maligne Lake

In Jasper, drive up to Mount Edith Cavell with a withering Angel wings shaped glacier.   But what’s really a must see are Medicine Lake and a few more miles up the road the truly panoramic Lake Maligne.  I took the plunge and paid for the overpriced C$55 cruise.  What to do?  There is only one company which runs the cruise and how many times will I be able to return to this place?

Medicine Lake, Jasper, Alberta

After Jasper, I drove back the same way to Banff then later to Calgary where I took the Greyhound bus, 18-hour ride return to Vancouver.

THREE HISTORIC HOTELS

As I travelled from Banff Springs to Lake Louise and finally Jasper, I made a pilgrimage of some sorts to each place's historic hotel. These hotels were built to encourage rail travel in the late 19th century. The Canadian Pacific Railways (CPR) wanted to recoup its investment in its newly built railroad crossing the Canadian Rockies and what better way to attract passengers and freight? Tourism. But it was the wealthy clientele who can afford a month’s stay or more that came. I wanted to capture, albeit a modern-day account, of what tourists experienced in the late 1800s in these three historic hotels.



Driving from Calgary it took me less than two hours to reach the town of Banff Springs chosen as a resort site by CPR because of its hot springs. I did take a dip in the hot springs but that is in another story. The iconic Banff Springs Hotel overlooks the Bow River. Just like the two other hotels I will later visit, Banff Springs Hotel is now a Fairmount Hotel chain property. Although most of the facade remains what it was since 1888 - with extensions - renovations were inevitable, and at the mezzanine there is a room dedicated as a museum to the hotel’s past. Banff Springs is the kind of hotel you would expect Greta Garbo or Sydney Poitier to check in. The lobby is not as grandiose as one would expect, more like a notch up airport check-in terminal. Nonetheless remnants of the grandeur still linger especially in the banquet rooms such as the Alhambra.

I decided to have a lunch buffet at the hotel’s Bow Valley Grill which at $27.00 was not surprising for the reputation of the hotel. My server was Penelope a French-Canadian from Quebec who told me she has been in the hotel for a decade and she remembers serving a rather shy Robin Williams. There was the usual steak, roast chicken, and salad creations. But the surprise was a chicken Galantina – a Filipino dish one never sees outside Filipino homes. And for the coup d’grace the desserts looked fabulously incredible. Alas, the flourless cake was definitely a day or more old – dry and gritty. The custard flan sparkling in golden caramelized sugar tasted like cough syrup.



After the filling meal, I did take a gander at the balcony overlooking the canyon and the river. Later, I went on the other side of the Bow River to shoot postcard angles of the hotel.

Next day, I drove up to Lake Louise and as body fuel for a day's hike, I had breakfast buffet at the Fairmount Chateau Lake Louise. Not as vintage looking as its counterpart in Banff Springs because it has a concrete hull, the lobby of Lake Louise is what you would expect of a grand hotel: gigantic chandeliers, car-size murals, two-story paintings, and forever lobby ceilings with plush William Morris style carpets. The chateau is where you would expect to bump into Kim Kardasian or Justin Bieber. A contrived air of celebrity with a fleeting sense of fame. The breakfast buffet, $23, was at the Poppy Brasserie at the hotel’s basement. Now the word basement sounds terrible but this one has huge window views right in front of the painting-like Lake Louise. The coconut muesli was good, the eggs benedicts have been standing too long under the warming light, and the sausages, bacon were typical wholesale supplier variety. Fresh grapefruit juice was a delight. My servers were: Maria who wanted to move to Vancouver to escape the minus 40 chill of the Rockies, and Ken who used to work in a cruise ship but discovered the money was not good and at Lake Louise he was doing better. I gave him $4.00 tip which did not elicit a gratuitous smile. I guess small change comparatively.

A day later I was off to Jasper. Unlike Banff Springs and Lake Louise, Fairmount Jasper Park Lodge is not a gigantic towering edifice but a two-story lodge with satellite cabins spread all over the grounds. You have to walk outdoors from the lodge lobby to get into your cabin, with some house-like in proportion. The Jasper Park Lodge has a western cowboy decor. John Wayne or Lady Antebellum will feel right at home here. For a breakfast buffet, I dined at Cavell’s Restaurant, again at the basement level but this one had good views of Mount Edith Cavell which I had visited the day before. My servers were: Peter, a short stocky guy who had a fixed granite face, and April said she was bored with the smallness of Jasper. Now this breakfast buffet offered some unusual fare: poached eggs, an apple cinnamon bacon mousse and clotted cream.



Now I can say I have “tasted” the lifestyle of the rich at the turn of the 20th century. It was fun!