Day 17 – Banff National Park - Alberta, Canada

It’s moving day after 5 nights at Glacier.  We were a bit sad to leave that place.  The KOA at St. Mary is first class.  We loved it.  One more day there would have been relaxing.

Today’s route takes us north into the Canadian Province of Alberta to Banff National Park.  It’s probably about 80 miles west of Calgary.  Our mileage from St. Mary to Banff was 290 miles.

Our route actually ended up taking us back into Glacier for a stretch of twisty, winding road…with the usual “free range” cattle on the road shoulder here and there.

It was a scenic stretch of road and the skies were as clear of smoke as they have been all week.

It was only about 20 miles to the Canadian border where we passed through customs.  The officer seemed a bit annoyed that we interrupted his morning.  I don’t think many vehicles pass at that crossing.  The officer had to come out of an office and remove a traffic cone for us to approach.  It was like we were the first customer.

The route ran along the mountains to the west for most of the trip.

Once into Alberta, the landscape changes to more farming.  It looks a lot like southern Michigan…except for the mountains in the background.

Nearing the Trans-Canada Highway, the mountains again make an appearance.

Turning west toward Banff, we’re closing in on the Rockies.

These hills are much more towering than the ones at Glacier and I thought those were large.

This is one big rock!

We arrived at the Tunnel Mountain 2 campground and checked in.  We were surprised to find elk grazing among the campsites.

This youngster was keeping a close watch on me as I walked back to the RV.

After parking the RV, we hopped on the city shuttle that picks up here in the park and went to town.  It’s a good mile from here…maybe two.

The town is filled with a mixture of upscale shops, expensive eateries, and souvenir shops.  It’s like Mackinac Island, Bar Harbor, Key West or any major tourist destination.  This is a little different because the town is actually within the national park and you have to have a permit to gain access.

The shuttle system will be our wheels for this stay.  We paid a total of $15 Canadian for three days unlimited use anywhere in the Banff area.  There are electronic signs at some of the stops indicating when the next bus will arrive.  There is an app that will do the same thing.

We finished in town and came back to the “house”.  Our neighbor had returned.  He’s stretching the boundaries of his parking spot a little.

I found out later he was from Michigan, the Lansing area.  Figures.

The sites here are electric only and like parking along the side of the road.  It’s an interesting layout.

We’ve got a nice view out our window…at least until something parks across from us.

So we’re moved and here for 4 nights.  Tomorrow we’re shuttling up to some falls and out to a lake.  I don’t think these treks will be anything like I had at Glacier.