Day 9: Banff Gondola

We rolled the dice and it paid off. The Banff Gondola has a deal where kids go free (normally $60 each) if you go in the first two hours (between 8 and 10 a.m.). The later slots were already booked, so we took the latest available slot at 8:30am and booked it the day before. The weather was cloudy, but the clouds were high enough we still had all the beautiful views. So glad we did this adventure! We were there nearly three hours, and the website said a typical visit is 90 minutes, which tells you how much we liked it.

Post-hike we visited the Cascade of Time Garden at the Parks Canada Administration building in Banff, where Rob was passing along his photography knowledge to the boys to help them capture the right look of the waterfalls and flowers.

Another quick grocery store stop, where the boys insisted that powdered mini-donuts were a “camping” treat so we had to get them. I am pretty sure it is a tent camping treat, but we got them anyway.

Back to the RV for a late lunch and some relaxing time. During this time we received the devastating news we knew was coming soon: Rob’s dad passed away this afternoon. He was such an incredible man full of all the dad jokes, a phenomenal cook, fabulous dad/FIL/Pop-Pop, and a delight to be around. He is so loved and will be sorely missed.

For the afternoon we got our bodies moving again with a bike ride around the campground. Cooper gets the second biggest bike (Kelly’s) and then Cooper’s bike actually fits Nicholas nicely now so that left Kelly with Nicholas’ bike. They thought it was hilarious to see her cruising around on such a small bike and she was a good sport.

We planned an impromptu evening wildlife drive and found a nearby public park with fire pits. We packed hot dogs and s’mores, figuring we’d enjoy a fun campfire dinner beforehand—or a late-night RV snack if the drive turned out to be a bust. It ended up being a huge success and exactly the beautiful, relaxing evening we all needed. Nicholas had a great time photographing some very vocal Columbian ground squirrels guarding their territory near the main walking path. To top it off, our post-dinner drive rewarded us with sightings of two bighorn sheep and a herd of over 20 elk.