Saturday July 25th

We got up early and quickly packed up. We drove to the first park which is called Yoho. There we saw the spectacular waterfall Takakkaw. We took a little hike and because it was so hot, we made it very short. We then drove to Banff where we bought our year round parks Canada pass. We also got some hiking information for the trip and inquired about trail conditions (very good!). We got back in the car and because it was still hot we decided to head to the hotel to check in. Norma had put our name on the list so we were able to check in before the others arrived. The room was a family-style loft with a bedroom with a set of bunk beds and a single bed (and that's about all that fit in the room!), a kitchen with all the pots and pans, a living room with a Murphy bed, a down stairs full bathroom, then stairs leading to a loft with a queen bed, single bed, and full bathroom. There was no air-conditioning so we opened all the windows and sat a few before unloading the car. That was many trips up and down stairs, but finished quickly. Norma and Katie flew into Calgary (about 80 miles south) the night before, but spent the night and waited for Brian and Andrea to get there at 2pm the next day (today). After they got in, they called us and asked for last minute requests from the grocery store. They made their purchases and headed up. In the mean time, Josh and I realized they would be a while and went to Lake Louise to hike around. We also stopped by Lake Moraine (where Mt. Temple is) to see what conditions everything was in. Everything looked good and we headed on back home. We waited FOREVER it seemed because we were so excited to see everyone. Aubrey and April were supposed to check in to the hotel that day and hadn't yet either.
Finally, Norma, Katie, Brian, and Andrea arrived! We helped them unload the car and I started dinner: STEAK! After dinner, we hung out for a while and then headed for bed.

Banff Trip - Saturday July 25th 2009