In the land of Princess Louise

Alberta

So we spend today and the next few days in the land of Princess Louise, princess who I hear you say? Well Alberta is named in honor of Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848-1939), the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and the wife of the Marquess of Lorne who was Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883. As he put it:

In token for the love which thou has Shown

For this wild land of freedom, I have Named

A Province vast, and for its beauty Famed,

By thy dear name to be hereafter Known.

Alberta shall it be!

Our Route

Today we travel along the AB1, the Trans-Canada Highway and AB201, the Stoney Trail on our way from Medicine Hat to Banff. This was the route we took:

Medicine Hat to Banff

 
Breakfast

I woke at 4.10am and get up and begin the long but enjoyable blog post which I wrote, or perhaps better, crafted about our wonderful Winnipeg day. It was such a great day that I got lost in the memories as I wrote, so it took quite a while to get it done. 

Drew woke at 5.00am and I made him a coffee. He was very patient waiting for me to finish the blog post.  So, after ablutions, we went for breakfast at the later than usual time of 8.00am, but we only have a short journey today. 

We both had sausage and fried egg for breakfast and Drew finished off with two pancakes with plenty of maple syrup. He wasn't amused by my offer of sugar-free syrup 😊 I hope the sugar rush won't impact on his driving this morning. 

Four Sausages and two eggs, a nice change from yesterday 

Pancakes and Maple Syrup, more syrup was applied post photo!!

We left the hotel at 8.30am and bought petrol. This was more expensive by 15c per litre ($1.339) than in Winnipeg and Regina. While I put the petrol in Drew washed the windscreen of all the dead creatures. It was in quite a state after the two days along the prairie. 

Lots of creatures died on the front of our car!!

We left the petrol station at 8.50am and it was one left, one right and we were back on the Trans-Canada highway (called the AB1 around here). 

The day was warm but the hazy, heavy, sky we’d seen yesterday continued. I've not seen sky like this before and only found out when we reached Banff that its cause was the British Columbia fires which were blowing their smoke across the provincial line. This map indicates the impact these fires are now having on the air not just here, but in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. 

Extent of Smoke from Forest Fires - Canadian Weather Bureau

We pass the town of Brooks and see large numbers of solar panels covering the fields. <<Co-pilot's note: I told him they call this a solar farm! They certainly aren't getting any sun today. >>

Solar Panels - with no sun - see the hazy sky due to forest fire smoke

We continued along the largely empty road. The road continues to be straight and only has a few undulations along the way.

A brief undulation on the flat surface of the Prairies

We them came to the town of Strathmore at 11.00am where we stopped for a snack and coffee at, yes you guessed it, Tim Hortons. Here Drew tried some more Timbits in a box of ten. They come in ten different flavours Apple Fritter, Honey Dip, Old Fashion Plain, Old Fashion Glazed, Chocolate Glazed, Sour Cream Glazed,  Blueberry, Strawberry, Raspberry and Lemon, so he had the chance to taste them.

A Timbits Box

Timbits in the Box

<<Co-pilot’s note: Well, dear reader, my favourite Timbit is the chocolate with the raspberry second, strawberry third. My least favourite is the one with the multicoloured effect. I’m not sure which one it is as I couldn’t work out the flavour>>

I went for a Jalapeno Bagel with cream cheese. I was faced with a new, and unexpected question, do you want plain, strawberry or herb and chives. I checked that the lady meant cream cheese and she did. I decided it was safest to go with plain, but who has strawberry cheese??

A Jalapeno bagel with plain cream cheese

We travelled on the Calgary bypass (AB201) and there was a minor delay due to an accident between three vehicles with the Calgary police controlling the traffic flow. 

At 1.00pm the flatness to which we had become familiar disappeared. We had a complete change of scenery as we came up towards the Rockies and the Banff National Park. We stopped at Lac de Arcs and took some photos. At this point the mountains surrounding us seemed huge. It was an amazing site even though we were seeing them through hazy smoke, we could imagine how much more impactful they would be if it had been clear. 

Lac de Arcs

We entered the Banff National Park and paid the park fee from now until our departure on Sunday.

We arrived at the Best Western in Banff at 1.50pm. It has a parking lot below the hotel, which was easy to drive into. Having parked I went to check in, we were able to sort everything out, but the lady confirmed that the room wouldn’t be ready until the formal check in time of 3.00pm. 

I asked about laundry and the receptionist directed me to the Cascade Coin Laundry in the Cascade Mall in the centre of Banff, less than half a mile away. We walked down to it taking in the Banff scenery and the hints of mountains in the maze. The laundromat had a very efficient service in a very clean location and we had all our clothes washed and dried within the hour. 

We returned to the hotel, went down to pick up our other cases from the car, and went up to our room. The room would have lovely views over the mountains, if it wasn’t for the smoke. We settled in to the room, which is very spacious. It was a bit of a surprise to see the size of the bed which looks like it was designed for a giant to sleep in, Drew needs a ladder! 

The rather tall bed

Drew read in the hotel guest directory that he should go to the Front Desk to “ask about the fitness area” as we settled in and unpacked our cases and hung up our newly washed clothes he decided to check on the fitness area. To which the response was: “We don’t have one.” Which amused Drew somewhat <<Co-pilot’s note: You will, dear readers, know that I am not one to be picky, but in this case it is not the absence of the fitness area that is my concern, but it is the guest directory telling me to go down to ask about it, when they know they don’t have one. What kind of warped mind comes up with that I ASK YOU.”>>

The weather remains hazy the latest report from the weather network says:

Statements
3:41 PM MDT Thursday 17 August 2018Special air quality statement in effect for:

• Banff Nat. Park near Banff

• Banff Nat. Park near Lake Louise

• Banff Nat. Park near Saskatchewan River Crossing

• Clearwater Co. near Siffleur Wilderness Area

Smoke is causing poor air quality and reducing visibility. 

Smoke from forest fires in British Columbia continues to stream into Alberta resulting in widespread poor air quality and reducing visibility. Southern Alberta is likely to see smoky conditions persist until Sunday evening.
Individuals may experience symptoms such as increased coughing, throat irritation, headaches or shortness of breath. Children, seniors, and those with cardiovascular or lung disease, such as asthma, are especially at risk.
If you are affected in this way find an indoor place that's cool and ventilated. Using an air conditioner that cools and filters air may help. If you open the windows you may let in more polluted air. If your home isn't air-conditioned, consider going to a public place (library, shopping mall, recreation centre) that is air-conditioned.

Sounds serious, but at least we weren't doing more than coughing a bit more than usual.

Dinner

We had already booked our restaurant for tonight, so at 7.15pm we headed down the street to Ticino’s the Swiss-Italian restaurant in Banff. The restaurant was only 0.2 of a mile from the hotel, so we arrived in good time. Ticino is the name of one of the Italian speaking cantons in the south of Switzerland, hence the name of the restaurant, as the owners family comes from there. The place prides itself on giving a European eating experience with good local produce, and it seems to do just that.

For starters I had Lumache di vigneto all’aglio, which as the name implies are juicy snails in a herb butter sauce served with crunchy French bread, it was absolutely delicious. It was not my first time to eat l'escargot, but I don’t remember any previous snails being as juicy and tasty.

Lumache di vigneto all’aglio

Drew opted for Antipasto “TICINO” which was air-dried beef, coppa and Gruyère cheese garnished with baby pickles, cocktail onions, olives and mango chutney it was lovely and nice, the beef has a hint of garlic, the pork was nicely salted and the cheese was strong. The mango and pineapple chutney was very nice, but Drew preferred it as a side rather than lathered on the meat.

Antipasto “TICINO”

For mains I had Ossobucco d'cervo – a most delicious slowly braised local Alberta elk osso bucco which simply melted in the mouth. It was soaked in shiitake mushroom jus and orange cremolata and served with homemade spätzli and fresh vegetables. My tongue was doing a little dance of joy.

Ossobucco d'cervo

Drew opted for Lasagne bisonti macinata, his first time eating Bison, I won’t tell the joke again, as I got it wrong last time. The bison lasagne had caramelized onion, Béchamel sauce and a Swiss cheese gratiné. On first appearance Drew thought the dish looked small, but the richness of the flavour meant that the portions were, in reality, perfect as a main course. He now thinks Bison is clearly a lovely meat to eat.

Lasagne bisonti macinata

Drew finished off with dessert a Torta di noce e miele which is a caramelized nuts and honey pie. Drew thinks there is no more to be said about this, it was so delicious that he wanted to get on and eat it and not talk about it. Yum, yum.

Torta di noce e miele

We completed the meal with a cup of espresso each and walked back to the hotel by 10.30pm. The meal really did feel European as we had taken a gentle time over eating it, as, we believe, all good food should.

We were in bed by 11.00pm.