Monday, June 30, 2014

Banff is the birthplace of the Canadian National Park System.  We headed to the Cave and Basin site to learn about the history of the parks.  I was a bit disappointed - the park system beginnings were not exactly based on grand and glorious ideals.

The cave was one little room not far beyond this opening.  It housed a hot spring (30 foot diameter pool).

Around 1885, three guys found the hot springs and wanted to develop them commercially.  They petitioned the government for ownership.  The government delayed so long others applied as well and the whole mess rose to the level of the Prime Minister.  Instead of siding with any one of the parties he decided to make it open to all Canadians (I suspect he might have been inspired by a little something going on down south - Yellowstone had just become the first U.S. National Park in 1882).

 All of the stalactites and stalagmites were long ago taken by souvenir hunters.

 Above was an opening to the outside just big enough for a man to shimmy down a rustic ladder.

A small stream of runoff leaving the pool .

An interpretive trail starts on the roof of the structure and climbs the hill behind.

The sulfur smell was the explorers first clue that a hot spring was near by.

The Prime Minister declared the hot springs their first National Park and the government then proceeded to develop it commercially into a hot springs spa.  Fortunately, the park system grew and today encompasses and preserves millions of acres of some of the most beautiful areas of the country.

 For a few years in the early 1900's this housed a huge swimming pool filled with hotspring water.

 Took the opportunity to do some Christmas shopping in the gift shop!

In town, we visited the Banff Park Museum National Historic Site.  It was the oldest park facility in the Canadan National Park system and preserved the atmosphere of the museums original charter to preserve samples of wildlife.  In its day, people were much more likely to shoot and stuff an animal rather than helping it to survive. Those specimens were collected and displayed in natural history museums like this one.

 The town of Banff is so adorable.

 It reminded me of an upscale Gatlinburg (just as packed with tourists).

Ouch!  Carrage rides started at $60 for the first 20 minutes.

Did I say upscale?  There were still plenty of T-shirt shops!