I slept in today, but not to worry as I only had 70 miles to ride. After some coffee and donuts at Timmy’s, I topped the tank off and headed for Banff. The ride was great and the weather definitely warmed up. At one of the photo spots outside the park I ran in to a pair of bikes from North Carolina, had a good chat, and then rode in to the park. Hotel rates were as high as I’d expected, but I wanted to stay in Banff so paying for the convenience was justified.

After unloading the unnecessaries from the bike I scooted over to the Banff Gondola and rode up to the top of Sulphur Mountain. The views were spectacular! It was a little hazy thanks to all of the fires in British Columbia, but still well worth the trip up. Many pictures were taken before my empty stomach insisted on being filled. And what better way to fill it than poutine at 7500 feet elevation? I can’t think of one.

I then headed back to the hotel to drop off the gear and walk over to the post office to mail a post card to Reese and do some shopping. I found some neat stuff in The Bear and Butterfly, and they directly support the park so it was money well spent. After that I went over to The Bison for some local beer and food. I had a most excellent meat and cheese board and a couple really tasty local beers. The first was a Gopher from Big Rock, a nice hoppy lager. The second was a pilsner from Grizzly Paw, very malty and quite delicious.

After that I made my way back to the room and am off to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, hopefully the last of them, as I ride the Icefields Parkway and head over to British Columbia to meet some friends.