27th September 2016

We had a lie-in this morning. I had to be woken up around 9:30 am. Then the fun began.

After coffee, Jamie had what was left of the sausage, and I had cereal for breakfast. While he used the RV for his shower, I ventured out into a surprisingly warm day beneath clear blue skies to have my shower in the camp block. On returning to the RV, I discovered that, after scrubbing himself clean, Jamie had decided to empty the sewage tank. This is done by connecting a large hose to the outlet valve on the side of the RV, running it to the drain on our pitch, after first opening the valve for the toilet, followed by the one for the shower and sink to flush the pipe. It sounds simple enough. Except, if you don’t check that both valves are already closed and securely holding back the contents of their tanks when you open the main outlet valve, it’s not going to end well for anyone standing in front of it!

I found a distraught Jamie bemoaning his sorry state and noticed a large pool of unpleasant liquid beneath our vehicle. To cheer him up, I assured him that accidents happen and wondered why the RV Centre hadn’t ensured the valves were properly shut in the first place. I reassured him that, since I had always used the camp’s facilities, the contents of those tanks didn’t need emptying, and he could shower there safely. He wasn’t impressed.

After Jamie and the RV were cleaned up, we left our pitch, with the large brown pool we had created stubbornly refusing to soak into the ground, and headed into town. Worryingly, there is a $25,000 fine within the park for feeding the wildlife.

Our first stop was the cinema to check the opening hours so we could recover Jamie’s coat, it turned out it opened at 6 pm. Next, we visited the gas station to fill up the RV. We chickened out when the pump clicked over to $150. To our relief, the tank showed as full. We certainly didn’t want to do that too often!

Today, we decided to hike around Mount Norquay. It’s the mountain used for skiing in Banff, so it has trails all over it. Driving up the winding but spectacular road to the Ski-lift Station, which is roughly three-quarters of the way up its southern flank, we parked in the car park of the still-operating lifts. It was hot. We chose a trail that led into the tree line and followed its shady meanderings. Since all of the trails were long-distance, we decided to follow ours for an hour and then return.

It was a gorgeous day, with towering mountains and stunning views that revealed themselves every time the forest chose to show off what it was hiding. Crossing one alpine meadow, which offered a fine view of a line of majestic mountains stretching into the distance, I filmed Jamie doing his 22 press-up challenge for Facebook. At the end of the hour, we reached a very pretty wooden bridge spanning one of the tributaries of the River Bow. We took some photos and then set off back. We could see that large deer used the track, based on the evidence of hoof prints in the mud, though thankfully, bears and wolves seemed to prefer other routes.

Back at the lift station, we sat for a while in the sun and enjoyed large tubs of ice cream to cool off under what had now become a rather fierce sun.

After driving back down the mountain to Banff, we had lunch in an Irish pub. Jamie opted for a burger, and I chose Guinness and beef pie. Our next stop was the supermarket for provisions, followed by a visit to the inappropriately named Dollar store for a pack of cards. We have yet to find anything that costs a dollar here.

We spent the rest of the afternoon hiking to the Bow River Falls, which also offered a great view of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel across the river. We spent some time climbing the cliff along the river before heading back into town. Luckily, the cinema was open, and Jamie picked up his misplaced coat.

We drove back to the RV site, checked in for the third time, and located our pitch for the night. We played cards and had an evening meal of microwaved Chinese food, which we had bought earlier in the day.

We plan to set off for Lake Louise early in the morning.