Day 56- Banff

 August 6

Before I went to bed the night before the forecast was saying it was going to be raining all day.  I had my alarm set for 8:30 but planned on sleeping in.  Summer had other plans and was in and bugging me to get up.  Of course once I did she laid there all morning.  Figures.

It was overcast and foggy.  The forecast still called for rain all afternoon.  Radar was also indicating rain.  I pout a post out on Facebook on indoor things to do with the kids.  No museums.  Guess what kind of responses I got?  Hike this or that, go to this or that museum.  I swear people don't read.  

I caught up on a few things, while trying to get the girls to decide on what to do.  Radar was looking clear so I thought we could take a chance on doing something outside.  Summer wanted to do the adventure place on the west side and Davan wanted to go to the lakes.   Unfortunately my computer has not updated the time after crossing the time zone so I thought it was 11, but was really noon.  So we scrambled to get ready and eat lunch.

We finally left the camper about 1:15.  It was a 2.5 hour drive to the Golden Skybridge.  With a gas stop we got there just before 4.  Davan was refusing to go.  She was willing to sit in the truck so I let her.  Paying was a bit comical.  The biplane has a 250lb weight limit.  I think her scale was wrong but she had be at 254.  She told me to dump my pockets.  That got me to 252.  She asked if there was anything else I could get rid of.  I said I had to pee, maybe that would do it.  I took my stuff out to the truck, and realized I had my leather belt with a somewhat heavy buckle.  Ditched that as well.  I went back and still with my phone and GoPro I was at 252.  Without the phone and GoPro I was right at 250.  Figured I'd have the girls hold my stuff on the zipline as she did say they reweigh.  I had a can of pop on the way.  If I wouldn't have had that I probably wouldn't have had to keep a grip on my shorts all day long.  

Once inside the girls wanted to play on the playground and mini biplane for a minute.  Then it was to the bridge.  It's about 500 ft above the canyon.  I think this is why Davan didn't want to go.  I don't think she likes heights.  It was pretty cool, but a bit unnerving as it does sway and bounce a bit with each step.  It didn't help that one couple was letting their kid run full speed back and forth.  Idiots.

On the other side was the ropes course,  We got fitted into harnesses and had to do a quick learners course and we were off.  We got on the first platform and after watching Libby, summer decided she didn't want to do it.  Probably cause the family in front of us had a parent pushing their kid to go that was a bit scared, plus the first obstacle was walking a wire like a tightrope.  It was a bit tricky as the guide wire was not taught so it was easy to slip off.  

Libby and I did the easy and the intermediate course, then did the zipline course.  When she was getting down I asked Summer if she wanted to do the zipline and she said no.  Of course once we were done she said she had wanted to do the zipline but they made her take off the harness and said she couldn't do it without doing the beginner ropes first.

We made our way over to the alpine coaster.  Libby and Summer were going to ride together but Summer was having a change of heart and was thinking about going by herself.  After a bit of talking she decided to go alone.  The coaster was a lot of fun.

Next was the zipline.  This brought us back to the other side.  The mosquitos were horrible and the line was going super slow.  After a wait it picked back up.  We did not get reweighed.  So I ended up with Libby's phone and mine and I wore my GoPro.  Summer was excited to do it which surprised me.  I asked if she wanted to do a zipline activity in Denali and I couldn't convince her to go for anything.  

Finally it was our turn.  It was pretty cool.  We all went at the same time.  We got off the platform right at 8 which is when they close.  So we did not get to do any ax throwing or the rock wall.  Summer was a bit bummed about the rock wall.  We also did not get to do the canyon swing.  Libby claimed she wanted to do it. It was an extra cost but I would have been willing to do it.  We met Davan back at the truck.  The battery was totally dead.  Like dead dead.  She claims she did nothing but I'm sure she kept turning it to run so it would charge her phone.  Luckily someone stopped since I had the hood up and had jumper cables.  I can't believe I didn't pack them.  I normally have them in a box in the back of the truck but I took the box out.  I had intentions of putting them under the rear seat but must have forgot.  

We still had some daylight so I was going to stop at Lake Louise.  Instead I saw a sign for the Natural bridge and Emerald Lake.  The natural bridge is just a grouping of rock that had a limestone center so over time it wore away letting the river pass through it.  It was pretty impressive.  

After it was a quick 5 miles up the road to Emerald lake.  It of course had the signature emerald color all the lakes are known for up here. Because we were so late it was pretty much just us.  There is an island just off the parking lot.  They built a bridge and it is filled with rentable cottages.  Along the trail was a beach like area.  We could see someone swimming in the water.  

Davan and Summer went back to the car while Libby and I went to the beach area.  As we turned the corner the woman was getting out of the water.  She was completely naked.  There was a guy there holding up a tool but it only covered her top half.  I don't know what the deal was because when we first got there, there was a family right where she was swimming.  We had spent about 15 minutes crossing over to the island and then walking back so she must have been in the water for a while.  All the lakes around here are glacier fed so I would think the water was pretty cold.  

Davan was less than enthused about the lake.  It kind of made me mad since she is the one that made a big deal about going.  I'm sure it was so we wouldn't go to the park, but she could have at least faked it.  Especially since I've been telling them for months about how I was here when I was 15 and wanted them to experience it so bad.  

We still had a long ways home.  It of course started raining pretty hard.  Hopefully Jasper has been getting some off this rain to help with the fires.  They girls were hungry but I just wanted to get back to the camper as I had put a roast in the crock pot.  Summer has been asking for one since she knew I brought it.   Because I thought the weather would be bad and not be out late I set it out to thaw so I had to use it.  I turned it on in the morning and tossed in the potatoes and carrots as we walked out the door.  It was 11:30 before we got back so the potatoes had turned mostly to mush despite cutting them extra big.  Everything was still really good.  We ate and headed to bed.