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So we arrived in Jasper after a VERY long journey and made our way to the hostel which was slightly out of town. We arrived at the hostel to find it situated at the base of Whistlers mountain. Unfortunately the smoke from the British Columbia fires spoilt the view but we could just about see the top and it was huge!!! So we had long overdue and refreshing showers and then just chilled out for a bit and cooked dinner. After dinner we went and sat near the camp fire in the woods next to the hostel and made friends with some international students studying/working in a nearby town called Canmore. They were brazilian, german, japanese and swiss and also a dutch guy over in canada for a year. Some weird canadian old bikers also came and sat with us for a while and shared some of their conservative views which was a bit awkward but quite funny too. Next day we realised that a car is pretty essential around Jasper as all the sights are quite a few miles apart but luckily the friends we met the night before offered us a lift in their car. We drove to Maligne Lake via Medicine Lake and saw a black bear on the way! It was just by the side of the road and was so cute! Very exciting moment. We walked round Maligne Lake which was really beautiful and had lunch then made our way back to Jasper and saw a female elk on the way, another exciting moment! We all had dinner together that evening and the boys played basketball while me and the german girl Jana chatted, then we all played pictionary and charades. Next day we all drove to Edith Cavell mountain and saw another elk en route! We walked to Cavell Meadows which is the summit of the mountain where you see Angel glacier which was absolutely mind blowing. We have never seen anything like it, amazing! There was snow at the top of the mountain too which was a strange sight for the middle of August! On our way down the mountain however a rain and hail storm commenced, and we got absolutely drenched! We all cooked dinner together and spent the evening chatting and playing more pictionary. Next morning our new friends left to return to Canmore and me and James had to figure out how to get down the Icefield Parkway to Banff! The greyhound took a stupid route so that wasnt an option. Then I rang car rental places and two were sold out and one quoted $90 base rate plus 75c every 1/2 kilometer and the other quoted $450 for the day, so forget that option too! The people at the hostel said everyone just hitchhikes there as tourists are constantly driving that route so pick other tourists up. We were quite dubious of this but with no other option we gave it a go down to town and it worked! A nice english couple picked us up and dropped us in town as they were headed the other direction to Banff. So then we fashioned together a sign and walked to the main road and waited, and waited, and waited until success!!!!! We only actually waited about 45 minutes before a really nice girl called Charity and her mum Thea picked us up! They were so nice and before we had even got in the car they were offering us food! We had a great trip with them and saw some absolutely amazing sights en route which they stopped for us to take pictures. The journey was made even better by the homemade cheese biscuits (scones) which Thea had made, sooooo good! Plus they dropped us off outside our hostel front door which was an added bonus! For our first hitchhike experience, I don't think it could have been better!
So now we had arrived in Banff. Amazing place and the hostel had the most amazing views, all you could see was mountains from our hostel window! The hostel was great, really nice facilities and a really nice and cheap bar too! That evening we just did our laundry and chilled out in the hostel bar. Next morning we took the bus to Fairmount Banff Springs which I presumed were some natural springs but actually its a huge posh hotel but it was still good as you could wander round and the view from the back of the hotel was amazing. There was also a trail down to Bow Falls which was really beautiful and from there we walked back into town. A couple of days earlier a mosquito had bitten me on the forehead (embarrassing enough) but it decided to swell up quite badly so when we returned to town we went to the pharmacy and I got some tablets to make the swelling go down. After lunch James went back to the hostel for a little sleep and I looked round the shops. That evening we just chilled in the bar again and my face was getting bigger by then! Next morning the swelling had gone to my eyes! I looked like an avatar according to James, it was really embarrassing! We were a bit worried it would get worse round my eyes so we went to the hospital but it was going to cost $550 plus a doctors fee just to see a doctor so back to the pharmacy we went and they said it would go down, it just needed time! We then climbed Tunnel Mountain which had spectacular views at the top of the rockies and of Banff town. After lunch we headed up to Banff hot springs which is natural hot water from springs but put in a man made pool. We knew they would be warm but didnt realise they would be so HOT! It was already a very hot day so that made it even hotter! The temperature of the water was 39 degrees! Amazing views though and it was really nice, just a bit too hot! That evening they had a band playing in the hostel so we watched them. Next day was James' birthday!!! He opened his presents which I had sneakily bought him in town and then we were picked up to go whitewater rafting in the kicking horse river. It was sooooo much fun! Jana the girl form Jasper came with us too which was nice and Willem a guy we met in Jasper came aswell! I was a bit apprehensive about falling in but I didnt! The best thing was we did the rapids once and then they drive you back to the top to do it all again, so the second time you are all a bit more confident and know what to do so you can really go for it! A massive lunch was included too which was nice. We were pretty tired after the day so we had some drinks in the hostel bar and James had a go in the pool competition, then we ordered a big McDonalds and watched some tv! Next day we had a nice lie in and James watched some films while I walked to town and back which was a bit of a hike! After dinner we walked to the Hoodoos which are natural eroded bits of rock and one has eroded and looks just like a man walking which was quite weird. It was karaoke night in the hostel and we spent the evening watching people with Willam who had arrived in Banff that day.
Next morning we checked out and made our way to the greyhound to go to Canmore for Jana's leaving party she had invited us to. We got to our hostel, had some lunch, chilled out and made our way to the party. We ate some dinner with her host family and friends who were really nice and a couple of the other friends we made in Jasper were there too which was nice. After dinner we went into Canmore town and went to the Drake Inn for drinks and watched a band playing. The next day it rained all day which was a shame as we couldnt really so much in Canmore. We looked round the town then just chilled out in the hostel before catching our greyhound to Vancouver that evening.
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