Our final full day of the tour was spent in Banff National Park and the town of Banff.  Jasper and Banff are the only incorporated municipalities within the Canadian National Park System, and Banff is the larger of the two at 8,000 permanent residents. 

The day began with a visit to beautiful Bow Falls:

(For all pictures, click on the image to see full screen view.)

We were so fortunate to have such fabulous weather, because our next stop was back up the mountain past Rim Rock Resort for a gondola ride to the top of Sulphur Mountain.  From the gondola and the top of the mountain, the panorama views of Banff National Park were stunning!

Next, we went to see the Banff Hoodoos, some interesting eroded limestone formations (with a funny name!) that can be viewed from a walking trail with more spectacular views! 

The remainder of the day was free to spend as we wanted, so Bruce and I opted to be dropped off in town where we hopped on the free shuttle for short visits to Two Jack Lake and Lake Minnewanka. 

We made sure to leave plenty of time for a look around town before ending our day at Cascade Gardens, a lovely place to kick back and relax.

For our group’s final dinner, we met up at our hotel in a private banquet room with beautiful views of the surrounding mountains.  It was a fun way to wrap up such an enjoyable tour with Odysseys Unlimited!