The Big Day!

This was to be a very big day of firsts ... and a fun and full day as well.  Almost as soon as we got on the coach, the driver suggested a small change to our itinerary.  We were scheduled for a lunch drop off in Banff, with tours and events outside of Banff both in the morning and the afternoon. 

 However, it was the day of the Suburu Triathlon, and Banff was going to be full to overflowing, and Al (driver) suggested that trying to find lunch was going to be way more challenge than we wanted to face.  Instead, he suggested going to Canmore for our lunch stop -- one more place for us to visit!  We agreed and set off.

The first really momentous stop was in Kananaskis country where we went to a helicopter field and toured the area by helicopter.  It was my first time in a helicopter ... and here we were in the foothills of the Rockies, getting to see the area from a completely different perspective.

Set, and ready to fly!

The highway below as we circled back was an indication that we were soon leaving the pristine areas of the Rocky Mountains and heading back into "civilization" ... Hmmm ....  But I now have a certificate confirming that I flew in the helicopter!

No photos from lunch in Canmore, a pretty little town that is far less commercialised than Banff.  It's also outside of the national park so people can own their homes AND the land on which it sits (land is only on lease inside the national park and Banff's size is rigidly controlled.)

Then on to our next adventure.  A gondola ride up a mountain!  AND a sense of perspective ...

The night before we'd been advised to go to the top of the centre ... that there were three floors but many people thought that there were only two and didn't walk up to the top.  The top is open air and we were braced for it to be windy and perhaps a little scary.  It was open air, but it was not windy -- nor was it cold.  It was lovely, and as we had been told, it was NOT crowded.  In fact, it was probably the least crowded spot!  Perhaps that's a reminder to check and be sure that you have seen all that is there to be seen.

It took us longer to get through the line to return to ground level than all the rest of our adventure there.  It was also the first time I'd ever been on a gondola lift like that.  Two big firsts in one day!

The end of this day also marks the end of the coach section of our journey.  Tomorrow morning we board the Rocky Mountaineer train for our two day trip to Vancouver.