9/6-7 Bow Valley to Banff & Elk Visitors

Bow Valley is a Provincial Park west of Calgary, on the edge of the Rocky Mountains.  Because it is on the edge, it shares the hot and dry weather of the plains, but fantastic views of the mountains.  It looks a lot like this as you get close to the valley. 

 

 

 

 

 

Still on the TransCanada Highway, by the way.  

  

 

 

 

I had made a reservation here for two nights in what they called a "power site," but I missed the fine print that said that the power was only 15 amps, which means I could not use my AC.   And considering that the temps outside were close to 90 with no  breeze, and the temps in my vehicle were more like 95 degrees, I started to panic.  The problem was that this is still heavy tourist traffic, so everything has been booked for several months.  I told the ladies at the check-in that I would see if somehow my AC might work if i used no other power.  Unfortunately, I blew a fuse and they ended up giving me special "medical" permission to use my AC. 

 

How can someone not want to stay here??

 

  

I had a really nice campsite with good views of the mountains in the distance, and just a bit of late afternoon shade, but it was not enough with the heat.  I hate running my generator in a no-generator part of a campground, so got busy online and kept checking some other campgrounds closer to Banff that had real 30 amp hookups.  Luckily, it got cool in the evening, so I was able to turn the generator off, but I did not want to spend another hot day here. 

Luckily, I was successful and found a 30 amp site in Banff in what they called the "Trailer Court" campground.  It was part of the national park, but had full hookups and was limited to trailers and motorhomes. The next morning, I got up and used Bow Valley's HUGE dump station.  No waiting in line here!!

Onward to Banff, which was only about 30 miles away.  Lots of high mountains and most of the road had high wire fences to prevent animals getting killed on the highway.  There were also several animal bridges and a couple of animal tunnels under the freeway. 

After a stop for propane, I made it to Banff. 

This mountain never seems to go away.

Some quick photos of the business (aka "tourist") area of Banff.  Lots of shops and restaurants.  Nice thing was the free shuttle from the campground.  

Sorry, but I completely forgot to take some photos of my one-night camping spot in Banff.  I had started to fix myself some dinner about 7 pm and went out to add some water to my tanks for the night, but I got distracted by most of the campers wandering around and taking photos of elk in and on the edges of the campground.

This road is on the edge of the campground.  This is the rut season for elk, and you could hear the very loud calls of a couple of bull elk in the distance.  Since all of the elk in the campground and on the edges were cows with calves, the bulls were advertising their interest in them by these very loud calls. 

And here is one of the big bulls!!  Bulls can weigh up to 1,000 pounds and have antlers with a spread of 5-6'.   They are dangerous animals, not only to other elk, but also to people. 

So, at this point, two national park rangers showed up in trucks with flashing red lights.  Between yelling and honking, with not much of a result of scaring the bull away, they got out the paint ball guns and fired a few at the bull.  The cows recognized the guns and what was happening, so they shepherded their calves back into the woods and away from the campground.  The grass might not have been so green in the woods, but it was safer for their babies! 

Anyway, I ended up chatting with several groups of neighbors and did not get back to fixing my dinner until it was very dark, about 9:30 pm.  Did not the bull elk bellowing again, so I assume they continued their courting deeper into the woods.  Pretty good excitement for an evening, in any case.  

Tomorrow morning, I head to town to ride the gondola to the top of a mountain and then drive to Lake Louise, where i have reservations for six nights.  Hope I can get TV there as I have been without satellite reception for the last couple of nights.  

I've been taking a lot of photos, so am doing my best to keep up with my blog posts, but it takes me at least an hour for each posting, so I do things when I can.