Having a free day, we spent it in Banff. We visited the Upper Hot Springs Pool, a beautiful heritage bath house with natural hot springs feeding the pool with temperatures between 93-108 degrees.
Next was the Banff Springs Hotel. L
ocated on the gl
acial green Bow River, it is magnificently built of stone, marble and beautiful wood. It was the getaway for the rich as the railway opened the area for the hot 
spring and wildlife viewing. I couldn't resist walking it, out to the patio overlooking the river, golf course and the wonderful structure.
We stopped at the Banff Park Museum. This magnificent building is the oldest and grandest natural history museum in
Western Canada. Established in 1895, the collection moved to this building in 1903, which has a distinct architectural style and Edwardian 
influence, with more that 5000 specimens.The town is filled with flowers, surrounded by the rocky Mountains. There are tons of tourists and shops. It was fun to see the old Hudson's Bay Company sign with their store, which has the same colors we've seen since the beginning, when they started the trading posts.
This is the Cave and Basin National Historic Site of the original Banff natural hot springs. They were discoverd in 1883 by 3 Canadian Pacific Railway workers. Disputes over ownership prompted the Canadian Government to declare the area a natural preserve 2 years later starting the National Parks of Canada. You hike up a 100' rock tunnel to the warm sulfur smelling springs and there is a emerald colored basin outside. www.pc.gc.ca/cave
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