TUESDAY,
JULY 15:
We took advantage of the cool morning to
do a hike up to the top of Tunnel Mountain.
This is an approximately 3-mile round trip trail with lots of
switchbacks which aren’t too steep.
Offers outstanding views of the town below, with the Bow River winding
through it, and on a clear day would also be great views of the surrounding
mountains. 
We found out that the haze is actually due to smoke
from a forest fire up on the northern border of Banff Nat’l Park. Hope they extinguish it during our time here
in the Banff/Jasper area; otherwise, we’ll really be missing out on some
spectacular scenery, particularly on our way north from Banff to Jasper on Hwy 93. Heard they’re even having some road closures
up past Lake Louise for the fire-fighting crews.
Was a very nice hike for us. We just took our time, stopping to look at
the views below us. Was fun identifying
places we’d been, both last fall and this trip, including our RV park.
We
spent nearly an hour on top of the mountain just relaxing, having fun watching
the chipmunks, and enjoying the warm sun.
Seemed much drier today, although still very
warm. We saved the downhill climb for
the early afternoon heat.
Since we hadn’t eaten a real breakfast, only a
couple of small granola bars on the trail, we hit McD’s for lunch. And rested our feet there before the short
drive back to “home.”
R
& R in the afternoon. Perfect temp
in the late afternoon shade. I’m about
2/3 of the way through John Irving’s classic, A Prayer for Owen Meany.
What a fantastical imaginative world he creates! Not to mention
laugh-out-loud hilarious at times. I’ll
miss those characters when the book comes to a close.
After a little walk with Pappy around the
campground & beyond, lit up the fire for grilled salmon.
Not freshly caught like last year in Alaska, but delicious all the same.
Stayed outside til nearly dark,
finishing our wine and just enjoying the moment.
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