Banff National Park - Day 2

7/6/2011
We ate oatmeal for breakfast. Judy and Mom ate apple and cinnamon flavored, Dad ate regular, while I the best, maple and brown sugar. I think oatmeal is good for us; it has a lot of fiber.

We went to Moraine Lake first. We went there two years ago. I was disappointed; I really wanted to see the odd-looking flowers we saw last time, but we didn’t see any flower of any kind at all today. However, the lake was still beautiful, the air fresh, the sky clear, so I was in a good mood. The only thing that wasn’t perfect was that there was a huge dog; I’m afraid of that kind of animal. There were a few plastic boats beside the lake, and the mountains surrounding had patches of white on them.

All of us were feeling famished, so we went to Lake Louise Village to find food. The bakery was quite expensive, therefore the subs and sandwiches in the supermarket felt like a great option. However, as we sat down on a picnic table beside a flowing, energetic river and started eating our lunch, we realized that all of them except for Mom’s chicken salad sandwich were too salty.

On the road, we stopped at a curve of the Bow River. Mom, Dad, and I climbed up to the overlook to enjoy the view. It looked prettier in the pictures Dad took than with a naked eye. I suppose cameras are essential. The railroad curved with the river, setting off the panorama beautifully. It’s a pity Judy did not see it; she did not sleep well last night (she accused my snoring), and was dozing in the car.

Our next stop was Castle Camp, a monument that was dedicated to the people that lost their lives building the Canada Pacific Railroad. We also drove to Castle Cliffs and Castle Mountain (they were at the same place). After taking a few pictures, we drove to Johnston Canyon.

Dad woke Judy up when we arrived at Johnston Canyon. She wasn’t feeling well, so she and Mom rested on a bench while Dad and I hiked to the Lower Falls. At first, when we thought that Mom and Judy were still walking, we sat on a large piece of boulder (it was limestone, I think). It felt very smooth and cool and comfortable, but after a long while, we started walking again. We went to Lower Falls, where the powerful wind sprayed us with tiny water droplets and cooled us down. Our clothes look sparkly as if there were tiny crystals hidden beneath the fabric.

We arrived at our hotel, Hidden Ridge, next. Our room was half in the ground, but it was quite comfortable. There was a living room, a full kitchen, a bathroom, and a bedroom. In the living room was a sofa bed without pillows, so I had to call the front desk to request some. Soon a person brought two for us. Then the four of us drove to a Chinese restaurant called Silver Dragon. We ordered a soup (三鮮豆腐湯), fried rice, beef(芥藍牛肉), and chicken(木須雞). They were very expensive and salty.

After dinner, we walked to Saveway and drove to Vermilion Lakes. To my disappointment, the water was not red, as the name suggested. Soon, we drove back to our hotel. When Mom was in the bath, Dad decided to try to light a fire. We spent the rest of the night trying to light a fire in the fireplace. We succeeded in making the whole room smell smoky, but we failed at building the flames.