DAY 12 - Cave and Basin & Lake Minnewanka
Last night we had a VERY long, restful sleep.
After falling asleep at 9pm and waking up at 7am, we actually fell back asleep again until 10am. It appears this altitude in Banff and that hike yesterday really got to us!! It was so nice to just sleep in, listening to the trees and feeling the sun beam down.
Today we decided we would check out the Cave and Basin National Historic Site. This area was protected in 1885 to become the Banff Hot Springs Reserve and paved the way for Canadian National Parks. It still remains protected now, and is home to the Banff Springs Snail which has been on the endaged species list since 2000.
We arrived first to the museum portion and spent some time reading about the history of the basin. It was at this moment that Zack realized these snails were the mere size of an unpopped popcorn kennel, and not the size of his fist as he had assumed. He thought we were going to see some giant Canadian snails (like a moon snail)... needless to say, he was very disappointed 😂 Although not much to see, the cave and basin was pretty cool. It started off with a very long, dark cave walkway with low ceilings, leading to the cave opening which lit up the basin. It was still pretty dark in there so you couldn't see much, but you could not miss the turquoise glow of the water. And you certainly couldn't miss the terrible smell of sulphur from the cave. After that we ventured outside to see some local photography, and noticed their was also an outside basin. This one was much clearer to see, but still no snails in sight ... All in all it was a sight worth seeing, but definitely not what it is hyped up to be.
The cave and basin took us a lot less time than we expected, so we decided to head to Lake Minnewanka and check that out! This is a lake just outside of Banff that tends to be a little less busy and touristy than the rest. Because all of these sites are within Banff National Park, you need a parks pass to even drive through. We are so happy we decided to order an annual National Parks Pass before we left! We have gotten into many things free with it, and it has definitely paid for itself already.
We took the long, windy road lined with trees up the mountain and arrived at the Lake Minnewanka parking lot. "Parking lot is full". Well shit. We should have known that even if it's not the most touristy spot, it will still be full anywhere in Banff. We headed past the parking lot towards the park and ride area, and noticed a little pull off with a path down to the water. We decided to park and check it out, and we are so glad we did! The view was incredible, with the stunning blue water and the ginormous mountains in the background. We had a perfect rocky area on the water that we could sit and enjoy, without any crowds. The first thing we did of course was dip our feet in the water - which was almost as cold as Lake Louise - and Zack actually took the plunge!!! He dove right into the Glacier water and swam to the middle of the lake. While he was out there we noticed a GIGANTIC spider (no lie it was the size of a toonie 😵) floating on the water. This was my nightmare. I of course, did not go in the water because of that. And also because of the fact that it was -10000000 degrees. But I did promise myself that I will swim in atleast 1 lake before we leave Banff, so stay posted on that.
Once we were finished up soaking in the beautiful view, we decided to head back to camp. Along the way we checked out the Banff Indian Trading Post which had the most beautiful leather products and carvings, and many animals on the walls. Back at our campsite we had some dinner (KD and hotdogs tonight 😉), did some more planning for the next step of our trip and called it an early night. Tomorrow we are heading the Johnston Canyon to hike up to see the beautiful falls!
After falling asleep at 9pm and waking up at 7am, we actually fell back asleep again until 10am. It appears this altitude in Banff and that hike yesterday really got to us!! It was so nice to just sleep in, listening to the trees and feeling the sun beam down.
Today we decided we would check out the Cave and Basin National Historic Site. This area was protected in 1885 to become the Banff Hot Springs Reserve and paved the way for Canadian National Parks. It still remains protected now, and is home to the Banff Springs Snail which has been on the endaged species list since 2000.
We arrived first to the museum portion and spent some time reading about the history of the basin. It was at this moment that Zack realized these snails were the mere size of an unpopped popcorn kennel, and not the size of his fist as he had assumed. He thought we were going to see some giant Canadian snails (like a moon snail)... needless to say, he was very disappointed 😂 Although not much to see, the cave and basin was pretty cool. It started off with a very long, dark cave walkway with low ceilings, leading to the cave opening which lit up the basin. It was still pretty dark in there so you couldn't see much, but you could not miss the turquoise glow of the water. And you certainly couldn't miss the terrible smell of sulphur from the cave. After that we ventured outside to see some local photography, and noticed their was also an outside basin. This one was much clearer to see, but still no snails in sight ... All in all it was a sight worth seeing, but definitely not what it is hyped up to be.
The cave and basin took us a lot less time than we expected, so we decided to head to Lake Minnewanka and check that out! This is a lake just outside of Banff that tends to be a little less busy and touristy than the rest. Because all of these sites are within Banff National Park, you need a parks pass to even drive through. We are so happy we decided to order an annual National Parks Pass before we left! We have gotten into many things free with it, and it has definitely paid for itself already.
We took the long, windy road lined with trees up the mountain and arrived at the Lake Minnewanka parking lot. "Parking lot is full". Well shit. We should have known that even if it's not the most touristy spot, it will still be full anywhere in Banff. We headed past the parking lot towards the park and ride area, and noticed a little pull off with a path down to the water. We decided to park and check it out, and we are so glad we did! The view was incredible, with the stunning blue water and the ginormous mountains in the background. We had a perfect rocky area on the water that we could sit and enjoy, without any crowds. The first thing we did of course was dip our feet in the water - which was almost as cold as Lake Louise - and Zack actually took the plunge!!! He dove right into the Glacier water and swam to the middle of the lake. While he was out there we noticed a GIGANTIC spider (no lie it was the size of a toonie 😵) floating on the water. This was my nightmare. I of course, did not go in the water because of that. And also because of the fact that it was -10000000 degrees. But I did promise myself that I will swim in atleast 1 lake before we leave Banff, so stay posted on that.
Once we were finished up soaking in the beautiful view, we decided to head back to camp. Along the way we checked out the Banff Indian Trading Post which had the most beautiful leather products and carvings, and many animals on the walls. Back at our campsite we had some dinner (KD and hotdogs tonight 😉), did some more planning for the next step of our trip and called it an early night. Tomorrow we are heading the Johnston Canyon to hike up to see the beautiful falls!
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