Day 11 - Epic Al-Can Odyssey

Day 11 - Banff
7 miles

We had talked about, and dreamed about this for years – going to Banff and being able to stay at the Historic Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.

So for one night, we treated ourselves to the incredible luxury the hotel offered.

Our check-in time wasn't until 4 in the afternoon, but we drove up the mountain, hoping we could at least drop off our bag before seeing the sites around Banff.

We actually wondered how they would feel about a couple of grimy riff-raffs pulling up on a Harley.

The Valet couldn’t have been nicer, informing us that not only could we leave whatever we needed to, but we could go ahead and check in at the front desk, with the possibility of our room being ready.

I have to admit, I felt a little out of place in my leathers as I walked into the reception area.

But was greeted by a wonderful staff that assured me that checking in was not a problem and while our room was not quite prepared, they’d put it on the top of the list and call us when it was ready.

We left our bag and went back into town for a late breakfast,

and had barely sat down to eat when the hotel called to tell us we could get into our room anytime we wanted.

We drove back up the mountain and returned to the hotel.

We were escorted to our room. The Valet dropped our bag and gear off and opened the curtains so we could see our view.

I have to admit we were speechless.

After cleaning up, we decided to check out the hotel.

They had lots of historical photos and stories throughout the hotel – many of them reminded us of something straight out of The Shining…

We stopped at the Concierge to see what kind of activities were available that day. From the massive list they presented us, there was one thing that stuck out.

A TRAIL RIDE around the property.

I rode a lot when I was younger,

 and Sean is somewhat familiar with horses,

so it seemed the perfect thing to do.

The ride took us around the grounds of the hotel,

through its creeks and forests and around the golf course.

An hour later we ended up back at the stables and left our mounts for their next ride.

We spent more time exploring the hotel,

and got ready for dinner in one of the hotels many restaurants.

Dinner was excellent, of course. During appetizers, Sean saw someone he thought he recognized from movies or TV, but couldn’t quite place the face. We spent a few minutes trying to unauspicially take a photo so we could research the name later.

It was late but we didn’t want to end our time in such a wonderful place so after dinner, we headed to one of the many lounges for a night cap.

One part of the lounge hosted solo act, another part, a 4-piece ensemble.

Eventually we made our way back to the room, took one more look at the view,

and headed to bed.