Sightseeing in Banff

We have been here a few days now, although this posting probably will be towards the end of our stay due to no internet at the RV park.  We have done some hiking around the campground and the town and I thought I would share some pictures.

Here is a picture of the town looking down Banff Avenue, which is the main street of the town, with the mountains as a backdrop.

Leaving our campground to go to town there is a road, Tunnel Mountain Drive, that is open only during the summer months that gives you some really great elevated views of the town, but the best is the view of the famous hotel, Banff Springs Hotel, which is over a 100 years old and modeled after a Scottish castle.

Today, Monday, we took a hike on a trail called the Cave and Basin.  It is right outside of town and goes around a marsh area and next to the river.  While on the trail we came across and elk.

Across from our campground is an attraction called the Hoodoos (I have no idea how the name was derived), which is a rock formation made over the years from glacier movement and water runoff.  It is a huge attraction for this area as our campsite is just down the road from the parking lot and tour buses are constantly coming by on the road, even as late as 8:30pm on Sunday evening.  It does not get totally dark here until around midnight!

For wildlife we see lots of these prairie dog type animals (see my first Banff posting for a picture) around our trailer, they are all over the place and make an annoying squeak to communicate.  They must get fed by campers because they will come up to you if they smell food.  We have seen an eagle flying overhead while sitting outside our trailer along with many large ravens. On a bike ride through the campground woods we came across two deer that were not at all frightened of us and we have a coyote that we see running around the campground periodically.  No bears have been spotted yet.