The next morning we took Dad to Cave and Basin NP, a park within a park. This is the birthplace of the Canadian National Park system. This bubbling sulphur spring was pretty amazing but it sure did have a rotten egg smell! We explored the spring hiking trails while Dad worked for a while. We could see for miles but it was still a wee bit smokey. We earned another park dogtag. There are a total of 9 in this area to earn.
Next up was the Banff Natural History Museum hosting over 5000 preserved species for your educational and viewing pleasure. We inspected every single item with gusto! We were impressed by the variety and stories behind them. There was a 70lb beaver! An insect collection from 1912 in a cigar box that was in pristine shape, even pinned and labeled! Some of the mounted animals were creepy like this owl and bunny. Even creepier was this bison leg that a tree grew around. We checked out the Sharp Shinned Hawk and saw how small it really was, this will help with 4-H next year in the Forest Ecology Contest.
Dad and B went to explore downtown and Mom and E hung out at an amazing park in town. Emmerson climbed all over the tree structure and had a blast. What an amazing backdrop! That afternoon we went for tea at the Fairmont Banff (another hotel Grandma Susie will stay at on her journey). We enjoyed ourselves and some yummy tea. The boys both had Maple-Maple and loved MOST of the finger sandwiches and desserts.
After tea we headed to Johnston Canyon to hike out to the waterfalls. It was very crowded but not as bas since it was late afternoon. It was a fun hike along the canyon wall. The boys enjoyed climbing a few big rocks along the way. For some reason Emmerson whines and whines about hiking of paved trails but if the trail is either or a boardwalk he could hike for hours without a complaint. He really has to be in touch with nature. The lower falls had a line to go through a tunnel to see the back part of the falls. We patiently waited and enjoyed the treat. On the way out we saw many park rule violators. Our top two were the lady on the opposite side of the guardrail along the canyon taking selfies and the couple sitting next to the don’t feed the wildlife sign feeding the wildlife their granola bars. We figure if the park fined these people they could make more funding than in park admission revenue. There are a lot of people not respecting our National Parks both in Canada and in the USA.
On the way back to the campground we stopped at the Hoodoos. They weren’t as amazing as the ones in the four corners area but it was still a nice hike. We found red chairs and enjoyed a view of the oxbow of the Bow River. We watched a Golden Manteled Ground Squirrel nibbling along the trail.
