Banff, Day 7: Drumheller

On the last day of my trip, D and I woke up early to go to Drumheller, Alberta, before she drove me to the airport in Calgary. Drumheller is an hour east of Calgary, but about a 2-1/2 drive from Banff. Drumheller is known for its badlands, where dinosaurs used to roam. We first checked out the Royal Tyrrell Museum, had lunch and then drove on the Hoodoo Trail.

Hitting the road early.

Arriving in Drumheller, the scenery drastically changed. It felt like we were stepping into prehistoric times.

Fake dinosaurs are everywhere around the town of Drumheller. Very FROMAGE-y!

The Museum was very interesting with its many different fossils. I find the mounted dinosaur skeletons the most impressive. We were obviously not in Drumheller during the peak tourist season since the museum was pretty empty. When we finally went to see the hoodoos, D and I were the only ones there which made for an interesting and better experience.

Mammoth Skeleton.

The badlands near the Museum.

More arid badlands. Can you believe this is in Canada? D wondered how it would be to grow up in this area, thinking that this is a normal scenery.

These hoodoos were more impressive than the ones in Banff.

Hoodoos look like giant mushrooms.

We had the area all to ourselves!

This concluded an awesome trip to Western Canada. Banff was absolutely beautiful. The whole time I was there, I kept saying beautiful, pretty, nice. Not very original. Summer is the peak season for this region but going off season has its advantages: prices are lower and attractions are not as crowded. However, some trails may be tricky to hike because they become slippery. During the peak season or not, it is definitely worth going. And I didn't even do any skiing!

For more posts on Banff:
Banff, Day 1: Town of Banff and The Best Burger
Banff, Day 2: Lake Louise and The Bison Mountain Bistro

Banff, Day 3: Gondola, Hot Springs & Fondues!

Banff, Days 4-6: Hiking and Wild Life

Banff (again!), Moraine Lake & a Little Missteak

Banff, Days 4-6: Hiking and Wild Life

On our fourth day, all four of us girls went for a hike to Vermilion Lakes before AM drove C to the airport in Calgary. The highlight of our hike was being surprised by a white-tailed deer that crossed our paths right in front of us. We were all so stunned to see this beautiful animal gallop (do deers gallop?) in front of us that we did not take any pictures. When we turned back a bit later, it crossed our paths again but farther.

Vermilion Lakes.

Another view of Vermilion Lakes.

Me and AM. I hadn’t seen her in over two years!

AM, D and C.

The next day, D and I woke up to a winter wonderland, though it is not yet technically winter. D decided to take me on a hike to a field where she had previously seen 25 elks. Unfortunately, the elks were nowhere to be found. Maybe they were hiding from the cold. The hike was beautiful though with the trees covered with snow.

Banff covered in the white stuff.

Banff Springs Hotel covered in snow looks like a haunted mansion!

A crooked tree covered in snow.

The reflection of the trees by Bow River is postcard worthy!

On my last full day in Banff, D and I set out to hike up to the peak of Tunnel Mountain. We had just started our hike when we encountered a deer, right in front of us. It did not seem spooked by us and we just looked at each other for a few minutes. When she finally turned around and left, we realized there were two more behind, one with antlers! I've encountered deers before but I still find it exciting every time! We finished our ascent and were welcomed by a beautiful view of Banff.

White-tailed deer.

I’m not sure if she will be upset that I am showing everyone her behind, but isn’t it beautiful? Forget JLo!

D leading our hike.

Town of Banff from Tunnel Mountain.

According to D, everyone takes a picture on this tree. I needed a boost from her to get up there!

For more posts on Banff:
Banff, Day 1: Town of Banff and The Best Burger
Banff, Day 2: Lake Louise and The Bison Mountain Bistro

Banff, Day 3: Gondola, Hot Springs & Fondues!

Banff, Day 7: Drumheller

Banff (again!), Moraine Lake & a Little Missteak

Banff, Day 3: Gondola, Hot Springs & Fondues!

On our third day in Banff, we got up bright and early to do a bunch of activities before we had to return our rental car. We started with a gondola ride up Sulphur Mountain. It was very cold at the peak of the mountain and we only stayed long enough to snap a few pictures. The views were spectacular but for $26, they came at a steep price.

View from Sulphur Mountain.


Another view.

We then went next door to take a dip in the Banff Hot Springs. It is not an actual hot springs but water is piped into an exterior pool. We were there at opening hour which is probably best; the water is at its cleanest because there hasn’t been too many people. Supposedly it can get rather dirty at night. The water was 38C, which is very hot when you first dip in; it is actually not recommended to stay longer than 20 minutes due to potential heat exhaustion. After about 40 minutes, with some breaks, I actually felt quite light headed.


Hot Springs about to open.

Before returning our rental car, we went to check the hoodoos. Hoodoos are geological formations. The Parks Canada sign described them as “hauntingly beautiful” which we thought was rather hilarious. The hoodoos were not so impressive, though the ones in Drumheller (Day 7) were much more so.


The hoodoos in Banff National Park.

Finally, we took it easy until our friend AM from Calgary came for dinner. We were also joined by D’s trapeze friend. C and I gave D a fondue set to thank her for her great hospitality. We gave this gift while hinting that we wanted to have some fondue…! We made cheese fondue for dinner and chocolate fondue for dessert. Are you jealous?

Cheese Fondue
After research from the internet we bought ingredients for fondue. Plan for about 5 oz. (140 g) of cheese per person. We used the typical mix of gruyère and emmenthal, and threw in some leftover parmesan.

1 garlic clove
1-1/2 cup white wine, or until right consistency
cheese - 5 oz. per person, grated
1 tbsp cornstarch or flour

Rub the inside of the fondue pot with a garlic clove.
Add wine and bring to a simmer.
Add the garlic clove to flavour the wine.
Mix the cheese and corn starch together.
Add the cheese mixture a little bit at a time to the wine until it melts.
Repeat until you have added all the cheese, while stirring.

To dip

vegetables, blanched

bread, cubed

potatoes, cooked and cubed

dried fruit

Dip and enjoy!

Rubbing the pot with garlic clove.


Ready to dip into yummy cheese!

Broccoli tastes good with cheese!

Chocolate Fondue
For the chocolate fondue, D baked a pound cake from her Williams-Sonoma dessert cookbook (I have the same!). For fruit, we had pineapple, pears, banana, apples and clementines. Strawberries would also be good, but produce is not the greatest in Banff...

1/2 cup heavy cream
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped roughly or use chocolate chips

Bring cream to a simmer.
Add chocolate and mix until it melts.
You can also add a bit of a liqueur of your choice.

To dip
fruit, cubed
pound cake, cubed

Dip into the chocolate.
Tada!


Selection of fruit to dip into chocolate.

A cube of pound cake was definitely one our favourites!

We definitely enjoyed the fondue!

For more posts on Banff:
Banff, Day 1: Town of Banff and The Best Burger
Banff, Day 2: Lake Louise and The Bison Mountain Bistro

Banff, Days 4-6: Hiking and Wild Life

Banff, Day 7: Drumheller

Banff (again!), Moraine Lake & a Little Missteak

Banff, Day 2: Lake Louise and The Bison Mountain Bistro

Buildings in Banff must follow strict regulations regarding structures which is why every house and store look like a Swiss chalet. In addition, because the town of Banff is within the confines of a National Park, there are strict regulations about who live there. You must prove that you are employed to rent or purchase a house/condo in Banff. This means that rich Calgarians who want to build a cottage must do this in Canmore, which is outside of the Banff National Park.


View of the mountains from the condo.

On our second day in Banff, D, C and I wanted to go visit the Columbia Icefield. However, the road conditions were not the greatest after a snowfall. We were also informed that it would be hard to differentiate the glacier from the snow at this time of year. The 2-1/2 drive there did not seem worthwhile.

Instead, we decided to go to one of the most renown spots in Banff National Park: Lake Louise. Lake Louise is a glacial lake about an hour drive from Banff. D drove through Highway 1A which is the more scenic route. While the first part of our drive was very sunny it became overcast as we drove farther. The sights of perfectly lined trees and soaring mountains were still breathtaking. At a point, we drove by a prescribed burn area – trees are purposefully burned to help keep forests healthy.


On Highway 1A to Lake Louise.

We finally arrived in Banff to see Lake Louise with its beautiful turquoise water. The colour is due to rock flour, which are fine rock particles. We followed the trail on the side of The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and past the end of the lake, for about an hour. On our way back we saw a group of people who had spotted a mountain goat on the other side of the lake. It was very impressive even though the goat was just a little dot that kept moving around a bit. On our way back, it started snowing harder and the lake changed before our eyes.


C, D and myself posing in front of Lake Louise.

Lake Louise.

The glacial water was a beautiful turquoise at the end of Lake Louise.

C cozying up to a snowman.

The Fairmont Lake Louise Hotel at the opposite side of the lake.

When we finished our hike back, it was 2 pm and we were ready to eat. We decided to check the menu at The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. However, the prices were too high for lunch. We decided to hold out for dinner at the Bison Bistro. On our drive back, we stopped by Johnston Canyon, another popular tourist stop. There are the Lower Falls, 0.5 mile out and the Upper Falls, 1.5 mile out. While the hike was very scenic, it was very slippery some of the time. Once we reached the Lower Falls, we decided to go see Upper Falls next, but as we started our ascent, we didn’t think it was worth the treacherous hike up and down, so we turned back!

Hiking towards the Lower Falls. At some spots, we were holding on to those rails for dear life!

Lower Falls at Johnston Canyon.

Our rented PT Cruiser with the mountain backdrop.

The Bison Mountain Bistro
211 Bear Street
Banff, Alberta
403.762.5550
website

Before leaving for Banff, I searched food blogs for Banff restaurant recommendations. I found one review at are you gonna eat that? for The Bison Mountain Bistro. Not only did it sound interesting, but I found out on their website that they served ½ price appetizers (and wine bottles!) between 5 and 6 pm. Perfect for my limited budget! The Bison Bistro prides itself in local and sustainable food.

The list of half price appetizers was quite extensive, including salads and soup. C and D also took advantage of the half prize wine bottles. D and I selected a few of the appetizers while C wanted to try venison since she was in Alberta. The pictures did not come out very well as the restaurant was very dark. I should have used the flash on all of them. Please forgive the poor images - live and learn.

Front of the Bison Mountain Bistro.

There is an open kitchen which made it hard not to want to start eating right away because of all the great food aromas!

We were first served complementary bread and butter, topped with locally produced extra virgin canola oil and salt. D ordered the Caesar Salad that was served with whole romaine hearts. I ordered the House Mixed Greens; I really enjoyed the dried figs and maple walnuts. However, I would have liked the greens to be mixed with the vinaigrette, rather than the artsy zigzag - there just wasn't enough vinaigrette. D also had an apple and parsnip soup that she enjoyed (not picture) while I had the Bison Onion Soup. The onion soup was very good. It was very flavourful and the cheese was extra stringy. It was quite salty, however, and I did need to drink quite a lot of water.

Cesar Salad, with romained hearts, lemon confit, pink peppercorn aioili, fried capers and black olive focaccia crouton, $13 (-50%).

House Mixed Greens, with Black Mission figs, maple walnuts and Saksatoon berry vinaigrette, $12 (-50%).

The Bison Onion Soup, with caramelized onions, bison broth, red wine and garlic crouton, $12 (-50%).

For our mains, D and I shared one of the wood fired pizzas. We picked the one with roasted squash, gouda and goat cheese and paid an extra $4 to add smoked bison. Only at the end when I ate a piece of the very thinly sliced smoked bison did I appreciate its unique taste, like slightly gamey prosciutto. C had the 8 oz. venison plate on top of bacon mashed potatoes. C had never had venison before. Although she did enjoy the dish, she found venison too gamey for her. D and I tried some and thought it was pretty gamey too. Venison is just not for everyone. Lucky for Bambi…! Supposedly the mashed potatoes were excellent though!

Wood fired pizza, with roasted butternut squash, Pasilla peppers, Sylvan Star gouda and goat cheese, $18 + $4 for smoked bison (-50%).

The Venison Main, $42.

Finally, all three of us shared the Lavender Smore, made up of flourless chocolate cake, infused Alberta honey and a graham tuile. The dish tasted very lavender infused. (C and D were amused by my comment that it smelled like clean underwear since I have lavender soap in my drawer…) All three of us enjoyed this dessert, although we thought the lavender overpowered everything. The sweetness mainly came from the honey and was not overly sweet.

Lavender Smore.

All and all a great meal. We were very stuffed from all the food. We didn’t think our hiking was sufficient to make up for this meal! If you can make it Monday through Thursday between 5 and 6 pm, you can get a great deal. Otherwise, there is also a $35 table d’hote. There is a balcony which would be very nice during the summer.

For more posts on Banff:

Banff, Day 1: Town of Banff and The Best Burger

Banff, Day 3: Gondola, Hot Springs & Fondues!
Banff, Days 4-6: Hiking and Wild Life
Banff, Day 7: Drumheller

Banff (again!), Moraine Lake & a Little Missteak