Rainy days in Banff and Kananaskis

On 3rd and 4th July, rain was announced. We did a day trip to famous Banff which was quite packed with tourists, way more than Canmore. On the popular Banff Ave, there’s basically one giftshop after another. We paid the Park Museum a visit which is a great opportunity to see stuffed specimens of various animals living in Banff National Park, including moose, bears, cougars, beavers (they’ve got a really huge one!) and so on. It was great, especially to see a lot of animals up close which we already spotted in the wild. And we even figured out the difference between chipmunks and golden-mantled ground squirrels (chipmunks are smaller and have stripes on the head, too). When we took a walk along the Bow River to the Bow Falls, we could spot 3 gorgeous male mule deer (this time living), just 5 metres away, in the centre of the city!

In the evening, we drove to the campground in Kananaskis, which definitely felt more like being in the wilderness than in Bow Valley. I had to go pee in the night the first time and honestly, I was afraid when leaving the tent. I held the bear spray tightly and talked and sang loudly like a little maniac. Because of the rain, I couldn’t hear much despite the drops on my hood which didn’t improve the situation. I was so happy when I could crawl in the tent and wrap myself up in the sleeping bag again. Next day, it was raining cats and dogs. So, we spent the whole day working and planning in Peter Lougheed Visitor Centre. Their exhibition about nature and wildlife in the Rockies was also really informative.