A gentle day

Louis the mountain boy!
Today was a bit of a lay day.

We had a great fun night in town last night. Jasper and I met up with Matt (the first guy I met on the bus), his girlfriend another couple and a nice guy who lives here in Banff. When I introduced myself the girls said 'hi' as if they already knew me which I thought was odd. It transpired that they had been with Matt following me to the Greyhound terminal in Calgary last week, and (unbeknown to me) had been racing me by taking a different route. I beat them! It was funny to then be sitting having a beer together in Banff. Its a friendly town to be out and about in and the crew were all really nice. There is even a very strategically located late opening pizza-by-the-slice shop underneath the pub we were in!

I decided not to get to a ski resort today and spent some time on the internet this morning researching hunting and guiding oppotunities. I have had some fantastic responses from one forum including several invitations to be taken hunting!! I hope I can meet some outdoorsmen over the next few months. I'm keen to fall in with that crowd rather than the Aussie backpacker contingent! I also received a very favourable response from the 'Industry Liaison Manager' from the Alberta Professional Outfitters Association, who invited me to call him to discuss opportunities in the industry. Exciting!

This afternoon I climbed the smallest of Banff's mountains called Tunnel Mountain. I forgot to take Rowl's little slip on street crampons, so it was very slippery on the ice but really worthwhile. the views were amazing and I saw some interesting wildlife. If I end up living in town I think this could be a daily exercise. Its less than 4 km to the top and there were lots of people walking their dogs. On the right is the view down the bow valley from the top. You can see the golf course in the foreground where apparently Lyle hit his only ever hole-in-one.



This is the town of Banff in the foreground.









My first sighting of Canadian antlers (even though they're virtually spikes)!


I couldn't resist this pic on my walk home from town before I spoke to Dad.

The other exciting thing I did today was have a look at a van for sale. I'm really keen to get a vehicle and depending on where I get a job maybe sooner rather than later. My dilemma at this stage is what sort of vehicle to get. Van, camper or proper pickup? I'm going to seek out another van that is for sale in town that is fully kitted out to live in. As soon as I have a vehicle I will certainly be requesting the delivery of my bike!

Some more assorted wildlife that I encountered today. There are deer and elk just everywhere, which is so nice to see, even if they are no longer afraid of humans or properly 'wild'.