Gondola and Banff Highlights tour

 Steve did a great job describing our last day in Banff, where we took the Lake Louise Gondola up to a wonderful restaurant "The Whitehorn Bistro" 

From Steve yesterday: The ride each way was 15 minutes. Going up we chose the open 4 seater chair lift that skiers use. Cloudy with  threatening skies but beautiful views. Maria informs me that the last time she was on a chairlift they had to stop the lift to untangle her on her departure. No problem this time 👈. A short hike down (what goes down must come back up) to the Whitehorn Bistro with panoramic views of Lake Louise and ten majestic Canadian Rockies mountain peaks, all towering between 8,000' and 11,000'. Whoa! We sat inside as staff said rain was imminent. Food and service was great. Our hike back UP to the lift required a couple of rest stops as the oxygen content of the air is very thin at 8600' elevation 😅. We chose the enclosed four person capacity gondola for the ride down. I noted the manufacturer of the gondola was out of Switzerland, they know how to make safe and reliable gondolas 👍. We hastened our 45 minute drive back to Banff with 20 minutes to spare to catch a wildlife (maybe) tour of likely and beautiful locations around Banff. We did spot elk on the tour and on our drive back to our campsite as it was getting dark. Big day! Today we check out and head west on the Trans Canada Highway towards Vancouver, British Columbia. We only traveling around 200 miles a day so we can smell the roses along the way. 😊

On the wildlife/highlight trip two highlights were the Hoodoos and Bow River. I realized from this trip that there is/was so much more to do/see in Banff. We will have to go back! 

All through Canada, there are a pair of red chairs; here they are at Lake Minewaka (sp) 
Bow River Falls, Stage 5 (not doable) rafting
This was the Bow River falls. 
We actually saw these elk headed back to camp
Charcuterie board at Whitehorn. Incredible. Some different items were duck wings, bone marrow and rabbit pate! We had enough for two meals from that board. All was delicious. 

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