kept getting closer and closer subsequently making us more and more anxious to get there. We finally got to the base of the mountains and we rounded the first mountain unveiling the true beauty of the Canadian Rockies... a factory. At first we thought there was a fire or something, but it turned out to just be smoke from some kind of factory. They even had a scenic turnout that showcased a beautiful lake which perfectly reflected the mountains in the background and the factory. Now I don't want to put anyone off from the Canadian Rockies and how beautiful it is. In reality, this factory wasn't even in the park and was the only thing that we saw of the sort. I just found it really funny that the first image you see on your way in entering the park is a factory. Anyway, after we got into Banff we headed straight for the city to figure out what we could do in town. We had originally planned on staying 2 nights in Banff, maybe more, depending on what there was to do. We pulled in to the town and found out straight away that it was a ritzy tourist town, not at all the type of place that either Katie or I had envisioned. We had thought it would be something like Glacier and other National Parks that we had been to where nature is the main attraction, with a few nice things built up around it. Again, not to take anything away from the scenery, because it was beautiful, but this part of the National Park was all about the high end town, directly influenced by the Banff Springs Hotel, which was almost as beautiful as the nature that surrounds it. After we made our way around the city we 
decided that we were not going to be staying there for the night, at least anywhere near the city. We decided that we would find a camping site along the way to Lake Louise or sleep in the van if nothing was available, either way, we weren't going to worry about that until later. We made a list of the things we wanted to do in Banff then set off to do them. First 
on the list was to ride the Gondola to the top of Mt. Sulphur. We had to wait a little bit in line, it seems we came right behind about 5 tour busses. Once we got to the top the view was gorgeous and we quickly forgot about the wait. We took our time and explored the mile-long boardwalk before heading back down. At the bottom we were forced to shuffle through the gift shop and Katie was snared in by
some maple leaf shape, maple syrup flavored lollipops. Just outside of the parking lot we ran into our first elk of the trip right beside the road! Next stop was planned to be the Banff Springs Hotel for a closer look. However, after we drove around the city and through a few scenic parkways, we had had plenty amazing views of the hotel. Also, we both decided that we would feel awkward walking into a hotel that charged $500 a night, so what did we decide to do??? Eat dinner! and at one of the fanciest, most expensive places either of us had ever been. Now, I know that this does not coincide with our budget spending, but when in Rome, do as the Romans do... Anyway, we had heard of this place from our friend Adam back in Calgary. It is called The Grizzly House and its a fondue restaurant! He told us tales of how it used to be a swingers joint
back in the day and that every table had a phone at it. Also, each table was equipped with a seating chart so that you could scope out the room and make your calls to see if anyone was interested. He also highlighted the fact that he had rattlesnake, shark, ostrich, and a number of other animals for dinner by choosing the exotic platter. Needless to say we were intrigued by the atmosphere and once we gazed quickly at the menu we were in. They have a dinner that includes 4 courses: a starter salad, cheese fondue with bread to dip, your choice of meat entree, and chocolate fondue for desert. How could anyone pass that up??? We went in to inquire about a table at 7 p.m. on a Saturday. I'm sure you can see the problem already. Peak dinner hours at a ritzy resort community at a well reputed restaurant. Well your assumptions would be correct, we were told the place was booked full until after 9:30p.m. This posed a problem since we were not planning on staying in Banff and we wanted to make our way toward Lake Louise that night in hopes of finding a campsite. We decided to have a beer and wait around to see if something opened up outside, which the host told us might only take an hour. Before we could even finish our beers, the host came back and told us that a spot had opened up inside if we wanted a table. Yes please! We were seated and having already had time to browse the menu ordered immediately. We both got the meal I described above, you can only order it with 2 or more people, however, each person did get to pick there own mean platter. I chose the hunter dinner which consisted of venison, bison, and wild boar, while Katie got the original dinner, beef and
chicken... how original! The salad was great, especially the house dressing, and so was the cheese fondue. However, when we got our meat, the real fun began! They serve the meat to you raw and bring a hot stone to your table for cooking which they change out every 5 to 10 minutes. This was really cool to cook the meat the way you wanted while you were still sitting at the dinner table. The
chocolate fondue was a great dessert and we even had to sit around a bit to finish off the bottle of wine we ordered as well. The dinner aside, I am sure that the question that is plaguing everyones minds is whether or not Katie and I got any phone calls. The answer is no, or should I say, we don't know... Even before we had gotten our salads, Katie tried to make a phone call to someone who was obviously having a great time calling others around the restaurant. She had a joke lined up and everything, but when she picked up the phone, it didn't work. She tried a few times, but still no success. We really can't complain much because the phone being broken is probably the whole reason we got the table in the first place, but still it was a disappointment to us and to all the other tables who I'm sure were trying fervently to contact us. We left The Grizzly House, much satisfied with our choices and made our way down to an open camp perfectly about half way between Banff and Lake Louise, almost as if we had planned it.
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