Yesterday was our first full day in Canada, and we spent it in Canmore. Canmore is a small community that was formed after coal was discovered in 1893. For many years, Canmore was a bustling mining town until the mines began to close. The last one ceased to operate in 1979, and the town faced a certain decline until the announcement of the Calgary Winter Olympics in 1988. The Nordic Centre, which hosted the cross-country ski and biathlon events, was built in Canmore. This brought renewed life to the area and the population tripled along with the number of tourists and outdoor enthusiasts.
The first stop of the day was breakfast at Chez Francois, the home of "world-famous Eggs Benedict." Joe had a combo of Eggs Benedict and crepes. I had French Toast Surprise, and David had Strawberry and Cream Cheese French Toast. It was all pretty good and we were full, ready to start the day.
After breakfast, we were off to the local museum, where we learned about the mining operations. It was a small but informative museum with artifacts you could see and touch. There was even a virtual reality headset where David explored a mine. My favorite part was an exhibit about the children and their lives in this mining town. There was a quote on the blackboard written by a resident that said, "You just have to look at the three sisters, and you know you are home." A popular winter pastime was to skate on the frozen Bow River, and some would skate the 22 km up the river to Banff.
The Bow River flows through the town of Canmore and has a walking trail alongside the river with various hiking trails that you can take into the surrounding mountains. We spent a good amount of time walking along the river. It was lovely. There was a small pond that was a perfect mirror reflecting the sky and trees above. The town is surrounded by mountains so regardless of which direction you look, you see mountains. There are three prominent mountains called Three Sisters. They received that name because in the winter when they are capped with snow, they look like three nuns.
We explored the town and did some souvenir shopping before going to the Safeway grocery store to stock up on breakfast and snack items. I had hoped that we might be able to drive to Banff, but by the time we put away groceries, it was 4:00 pm, and the two things I wanted to visit were closing in an hour, so we will save those visits for another day.
Dinner was at Georgetown Inn and Pub, a local British establishment. Joe had shepherd's pie, I had chicken pot pie, and David had nachos. The food was good, but David wanted more cheese on his nachos. The best part about this pub was they had a bunch of movie posters of movies from the 1920s to the present that were filmed in or around Canmore.
It was an early night to bed because we had an early call time for a trip to the Columbia Icefields.
If you want a different perspective, you can read my son, David's blog here: https://favoritesonsspiels.blogspot.com/
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