We needed a little mountain air

I've been pining for the fjords lately, and since we don't have fjords nearby, we drove to the next best thing - Banff. The plan was - drive to Johnston Canyon for a nice walk amidst the fresh mountain air, up to the falls, then head back into Banff to stop at the Waldhaus Pub at the Banff Springs Hotel for some food.

The weather conspired against us from minute one. The clouds did not look like they were clearing out as some forecasts had promised. Oh yes - there is snow on the mountain peaks already. The closer we got to Banff, the more it became obvious that Johnston Canyon just wasn't going to happen, as a wall of rain was clearly visible in that direction. So we cut our losses and steered north for Lake Minnewanka (pictured). A little walk by the water was all we managed before the rain hit. So we piled back in the car and headed for Banff. After a quick stop downtown.... [snort] it sounds funny calling it 'downtown' Banff.... we drove out to the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel to visit our favourite little hideaway pub by the Spray River.

I made the mistake of ordering a ho-hum burger. Watching Darlene dive into another perfect bowl of goulash soup accompanied by a basket of assorted breads was just too much. Luckily for me, she couldn't eat it all, so I got to finish the bowl [grin]. We enjoyed it so much, Darlene hinted that she would be willing to go back again next weekend for another bowl. I couldn't argue. I can tell you one thing - I won't make the mistake of watching her eat the goulash soup - I'll be having it too.

After we ate, we walked around the bend and along the Spray River to Elbow Falls. You can almost feel that summer has slipped away. The shadows are tall, the air is crisp and the leaves are starting to change colour.