Today it was cloudy with a temperature of -6 °C but it felt colder because of the wind chill. We started the day off with an exhilarating snowmobile tour across the rugged mountain terrain in Banff. Banff Adventures Unlimited offered a two-hour guided tour. The view of the Rocky Mountains was breathtaking. Canada is definitely not boring!
That evening, we went to the Banff Upper Hot Springs. It is hard to believe that soaking outdoors in 100% natural hot spring water in the middle of winter could be so soothing and relaxing. The water temperature is about 37 to 40 °C. I wish I could end each day like this, soaking in the hot springs with the view of the Rocky Mountains in the background. Unbelievable!
We learned so much about the Canadian Rocky Mountains. They create a border between British Columbia and Alberta. During the Precambrian Era, about 700 million years ago, the Pacific Ocean covered many of the provinces in the west. The waters went forward and backward and left layers of silt and sand on the bottom of the ocean. Over hundreds of millions of years, many layers of sediment built up and compressed underlying layers into limestone, dolomite, sandstone, shale, and quartzite. About 75 million years ago, the Pacific Plate collided into the North American Plate and went underneath it. All the land in the subduction zone was crushed, folded, twisted, and squeezed. Big huge slabs of rock broke away. In some places the older rock strata layers went on top of the younger. The rocks were forced upward making the Rocky Mountains. Over the last one million years there has been four ice ages where the glaciers, which are rivers of ice, have scraped the mountains rounding off the lower peaks and making valleys. The mountaintops have been eroded by ice, water, wind, for many millions of years, which has changed the shape of the mountains. The Rocky Mountains sure are awesome!
The next day we went to Banff National Park and decided to take the eight-minute ride on the Banff Gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain, which is 2, 281 meters high. We got to see so many different types of evergreen trees like the Alpine Fir, White Spruce, Lodgepole Pine, Limber Pine, and Rocky Mountain Douglas Fir. On top of the mountains there is a nice restaurant so we went out for lunch before heading back down. We ended our day at the Banff Upper Hot Springs once again!. We had to take advantage of being here. It was so relaxing and the scenery was amazing.
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| BANFF UPPER HOT SPRINGS |
That evening, we went to the Banff Upper Hot Springs. It is hard to believe that soaking outdoors in 100% natural hot spring water in the middle of winter could be so soothing and relaxing. The water temperature is about 37 to 40 °C. I wish I could end each day like this, soaking in the hot springs with the view of the Rocky Mountains in the background. Unbelievable!
We learned so much about the Canadian Rocky Mountains. They create a border between British Columbia and Alberta. During the Precambrian Era, about 700 million years ago, the Pacific Ocean covered many of the provinces in the west. The waters went forward and backward and left layers of silt and sand on the bottom of the ocean. Over hundreds of millions of years, many layers of sediment built up and compressed underlying layers into limestone, dolomite, sandstone, shale, and quartzite. About 75 million years ago, the Pacific Plate collided into the North American Plate and went underneath it. All the land in the subduction zone was crushed, folded, twisted, and squeezed. Big huge slabs of rock broke away. In some places the older rock strata layers went on top of the younger. The rocks were forced upward making the Rocky Mountains. Over the last one million years there has been four ice ages where the glaciers, which are rivers of ice, have scraped the mountains rounding off the lower peaks and making valleys. The mountaintops have been eroded by ice, water, wind, for many millions of years, which has changed the shape of the mountains. The Rocky Mountains sure are awesome!
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| BANFF GONDOLA |
The next day we went to Banff National Park and decided to take the eight-minute ride on the Banff Gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain, which is 2, 281 meters high. We got to see so many different types of evergreen trees like the Alpine Fir, White Spruce, Lodgepole Pine, Limber Pine, and Rocky Mountain Douglas Fir. On top of the mountains there is a nice restaurant so we went out for lunch before heading back down. We ended our day at the Banff Upper Hot Springs once again!. We had to take advantage of being here. It was so relaxing and the scenery was amazing.
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