Tag Archives: Banff Canada

Cultural travel, Historic Places, Museums and Exhibits, National Parks, Places of History

Pioneering Spirit Still Inspires Visitors to Banff, Canada

July 9, 2023 krubin723

*Banff, Canada’s first municipality set within a national park, has lured pioneers, adventurers, entrepreneurs and free spirits © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

The spirits of the founders, pioneers and entrepreneurs are everywhere in Banff, which, for a small town within an immense national park (Canada’s most visited) continue to inspire the 4.5 million who come each year with their rich heritage, cultural legacy, and heady exhilaration of the Rocky Mountains.

We find their presence ever-present – at the Mount Royal Hotel, one of the oldest in Banff; at the Cave & Basin historic site (the hot springs that started it all); at the Whyte Museum and the Moore House; at a museum that tells the story of Banff National Park (Canada’s first national park and one of the oldest in the world); atop the Banff Gondola, the old Trading Post (which I remember visiting decades ago), the Open-Top Sightseeing tour in custom-designed vintage automobile, and most spectacularly, the Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum.

I love that all around the Sky Bistro on the summit of Sulphur Mountain are poster-sized photos of Banff’s pioneers and founders, many who are already familiar from our Open-Top sightseeing tour, the Whyte Museum, and the historic markers about town: There are the Brewster brothers, Norman Luxton, and the colorful park warden, Bill Peyto, who toted a live lynx into a bar. There are the indomitable, liberated women like Pearl Brewster, who manifested the frontier, mountaineering spirit; Caroline Hinman, who came from New Jersey to organize Off the Beaten Track pack trips; and Lizzie Rummel, who, born to a German aristocratic family, came to the Rockies in 1914 and ran back country lodges.

Jim Brewster, who with his brother, Bill, as boys, started a guide service for guests of the Banff Springs Hotel, later expanded to a massive sightseeing and hospitality company © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Cave and Basin

The visit to Cave and Basin is like going back to the origin story for Banff – it is the very reason Banff developed and why Canada’s first national park was established here, though this area had been a special place for First Nations peoples for 10,000 years. Modern Banff was born here, at Cave & Basin historic site.

“… like some fantastic dream from a tale of the Arabian Nights,” is how William McCardell described the mist-filled cave on the slopes of Sulphur Mountain when he, his brother Tom, and their partner Frank McCabe, three railway workers who stayed behind, first spotted the venting steam in the fall of 1883.

*Ranger Amar Athwal relates the origin story of Cave & Basin, Canada’s first national site which became Banff National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

They immediately saw the profit potential, fenced it off, built a small log cabin at the entrance (they called it “the hotel”) and put in a claim for a land grant. But the Canadian government, in financial straits from building the transcontinental railroad, also saw the potential (the popularity of thermal springs in Arkansas and Yellowstone was already known). The government paid them off with $900 and, in 1885, set aside 10 square miles around the thermal springs. In 1887, Prime Minister John A. McDonald declared the land protected for all Canadians and named George Stewart, park superintendent.

Canadian Pacific’s visionary executive director, William Cornelius Van Horne, built and opened the Banff Springs Hotel in 1888 with 250 rooms, and invited writers and artists to come to promote the destination.

At the Cave and Basin (the cave has an interior thermal pool and the basin has an outdoor thermal pool), people paid 5c to enjoy bathing, one sex at a time – ladies in the cave when men were in the basin, and visa versa.

A 30-minute guided tour takes us into the cave (surprisingly small) and the basin (where we get to see the tiny, endangered Banff Springs snail that only exists here), and tour the 1914 Bathing Pavilion.

Our guide, Ranger Amar Athwal, tells us that 500 generations of indigenous people gathered here at the hot springs before the first Europeans ever arrived; one of the oldest artifacts found in the area is a bison skull from 8500 years ago, bearing wounds inflicted by humans.

The Europeans first came in a quest to find a route to Asia and then to trap beaver (nearly to extinction, before silkworms were used to make hats). And then the transcontinental railroad came through, to unite the fledgling country.

*The cave of thermal springs which has drawn visitors for thousands of years © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The natural springs, mysteriously hot even in winter and supporting plants and life that did not exist anywhere else, were regarded as a spiritual place of healing, and where different tribes gathered to hold ceremonies in peace here. (When the park was created, the native communities were pushed out.)

The natural springs are a unique ecosystem, Athwal tells us. The water flows year-round despite the fact that temps can go as low as minus 41 degrees in winter in Banff. Here, the water stays 92-100 F so plants grow here, animals like the garter snake live here, and the Basin harbors a tiny snail that is unique to these Banff thermal springs (which we get to see).

*The Basin creates a unique ecosystem, harboring a unique species of Banff Springs snail © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The smell comes from the bacteria that takes in the sulphur particles and gives off gas – in high concentrations, it would be fatal. The waters smell differently, even within this place, depending upon what chemicals the bacteria is feeding on.

The waters were regarded as healing by the indigenous peoples as well as the settlers – entrepreneurs would sell bottles of the water, like snake oil.

Germans, Austrians, Hungarians and Ukrainians who were recruited as mountain guides and to build the railway with a promise of land, were interred here when World War I broke out, fearing “enemies within,” from 1914 to 1920. They were used as labor and built this gorgeous bath house and outdoor pool. Only recently did Canada issue an official apology and provide funding to create a memorial exhibit here, which opened in 2013.

*Entrepreneurs capitalized on Banff’s thermal springs© Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

You can also stroll the thermal water boardwalks (the best bird watching in Banff National Park) and hike trails around the Cave and Basin (https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/ab/caveandbasin).

Whyte Museum

The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies is a historical museum, art gallery, and archives that celebrates the lively history, heritage and people of the Rocky Mountains.

The museum was founded in 1968 by Peter and Catherine Whyte who were artists and philanthropists. Peter Whyte’s father, Dave, came out with the railroad and started a grocery store. Peter grew up here and built a compound with their home and other cabins.

*One of the original Brewster open-top vehicles is on view at th e Whyte Museum © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The Whyte Museum offers four galleries, including a heritage Gallery. It is a marvelous display, where we see an actual open-top vehicle the Brewsters designed, fantastic photos (including them driving the King and Queen of England in 1939), so that you feel you are literally walking through history.

But my favorite part of visiting the Whyte Museum is the visit to the Moore House, which is on the museum’s property.

*Pearl Brewster Moore’s 1907 cottage is now part of the Whyte Museum © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The cottage belonged to Pearl Brewster Moore, who was Jim and Tom Brewster’s sister (born 1889, she was the only girl among seven children). The cottage dates from 1907 when she married Philip Moore, a Princeton graduate from New Jersey who came to Banff as a guide), and contains the couple’s own furnishings, so is a window into their lives and the times – their sheet music on the piano, their books, a stunning Chippendale dining set from Philip’s New Jersey family.

*Philip Moore’s family Chippendale dining room set © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*The Moore’s furnishings and artifacts are fascinating insight into their lives and times © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

“She had 6 brothers – that shaped who she was: a horsewoman, she hunted, played hockey,” our guide tells us. “Pearl led trail rides. Her parents sent her to two finishing schools – she was sent home from both. When Pearl passed away in 1973, the obituary called her ‘one of the best horsewomen,’ and she was remembered for her forthright opinions she was not afraid to express.”

*Pearl Brewster and Philip Moore were made honorary members of the Stoney Nakota tribe* *© Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*Indigenous artifacts that were presented to Pearl Brewster Moore, who would judge beadwork competitions © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

You get to see the Moores’ many indigenous artifacts. The couple had close ties with the Stoney Nakota and were made honorary members of the tribe. Pearl regularly judged their beadwork competitions. And I note a book on Indian sign language in the book case (Philip majored in history and English at Princeton).

They had one child, Edmee, born 1908, who sadly pre-deceased Pearl. Her husband, Philip died in 1971. That same year, Pearl bequeathed the house and contents to the Whyte Museum and had it moved from its original location on Fox Street (there is a hotel there now) to the Whyte Museum grounds where she lived until her death just two years later, in 1973.

*The Whyte Museum is a treasure trove of history, heritage, and culture © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The Whyte Museum also houses important archives, especially of mountaineering (it holds the Alpine Club of Canada’s archive that spans 50 meters of shelves), the Banff National Park history, Crag & Canyon newspapers (Norman Luxton’s newspaper) going back to 1900. You can actually consult the card catalog with typed entries (who remembers those?), as well as digital catalogs (www.whyte.org).

*A glimpse into the archives housed at the Whyte Museum © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We pick up sandwiches from the café at the Elk & Avenue hotel, and set out to picnic at Lake Minnewanka (the name means “Spirit Water”). There is still snow and the lake is still frozen enough for us to walk on (someone has started to build an igloo and another couple is posing for wedding photos). It is a delightful place that is especially popular in summer – hiking trails, boating and scenic cruises from the marina (also operated by Pursuit Collection which has the snack shop).

Lake Minnewanka, still frozen over, becomes a summer destination for lake cruises, boat rentals, hiking, excursions started by Norman Luxton and now part of Pursuit Collection © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Blackfoot Nations Luxton Museum

I go off on my own to explore, and come to the Blackfoot Nations Luxton Museum, next to the Trading Post which Luxton started.

Visiting the Blackfoot Nation Luxton Museum fills in that 10,000-year gap before the railroad workers discovered the hot springs.

*Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum houses Norman Luxton’s fabulous collection in a log re-creation of a Hudson Bay trading post © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

This is an astonishingly excellent museum that takes a bit of patience and focus to really appreciate. But once you spend a little time, you are overwhelmed by what is on view. It has the feeling of visiting a private collection (it was the collection of Norman Luxton), even with a comfy sofa where you can sit to watch a series of fascinating videos.

There is a feeling of informality and personal engagement. The notes that are provided actually give a more direct and different perspective than other indigenous museums I have visited.

*The Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum is dedicated to the appreciation, interpretation, demonstration and display of the cultures, traditions, and values of the First Nations of North America* *© Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

You see realistic manikins in indigenous dress, surrounded by artifacts in settings staged to put you in the scene –a meeting in a teepee, a gathering around a fire.

There are fabulous historic photographs often placed adjacent to the artifact. So right beside a beaded leather baby carrier is a black-and-white photo of a woman with that carrier (with baby) on her back.

*The Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum exhibits often pair the artifacts with historic photos © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

You learn that horses, introduced in the 1700s “gave more time for war, religion, craftsmanship….[because they] saved time for hunting, traveling” (and probably was like a major new weapon for battle, like a tank, changing the battlefield.)

I sit myself in a comfortable sofa and watch a video about the residential schools that First Nations children were forced away from their family to attend, and a group’s activism to recover the heritage that had been stolen from them. It takes you into the vacant, dilapidated building, like a prison, that would have been their residential school.

“Their idea was to kill the Indian in the man, but both were killed…Treaties broken over and over – not just money, but trust,” that narrator says. “The schools were like jail. You would be punished if you couldn’t find a shoe. You became Christian for survival…the biggest defiance is who I am now.”

Several tribes – the Nahota, Blackfoot and Cree – and the Wildlife Conservation Society are featured in the video signing a Repatriation Treaty to bring back the buffalo.

The museum feels personal because it is founded on the personal collection of Norman Luxton, one of Banff’s pioneering founders, who, the more I learn about him, the more I admire him. He seems to have been a mix of P.T. Barnum, Wild Bill Hickok, William Hearst, and Thor Heyerdahl, and I can’t get enough of his story, especially as I explore Banff.

*Norman Luxton earned the nickname “Mr. Banff” for all he created © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

I love this man. When he was in his 20s, he sailed around the world in a 100-year old, 30-foot long dugout canoe with an eccentric sea captain, going as far as Tahiti, Samoa and Fiji. He was a newspaper man who took over and saved the Crag & Canyon, still published today, built Banff’s first all-season hotel, filling it with the latest technology (gramophone!); opened its first cinema (one of first to screen talkies and Technicolor, still operating today).

*The “Fiji Merman” which Norman Luxton used to draw tourists into his Trading Post © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Luxton promoted trade and economic development of the Indigenous peoples, opening the Trading Post (a combination curio shop featuring indigenous crafts and taxidermy shop), promoting it with a bear (“Teddy”) that tourists were encouraged to feed chocolate they purchased at the shop and, P.T. Barnum-like with a “Fiji Merman”.

Luxton, who earned the nickname, “Mr. Banff” for all he did to develop and promote Banff, began the Winter Carnival events in 1917 that helped turn Banff into a snow-sports destination and from 1909-1950, organized the Banff Indian Days, an annual weekend event that brought locals, tourists and First Nations peoples together. And finally, he turned his amazing collection of First Nations artifacts into a museum. (https://banff.ca/1135/Norman-K-Luxton)

*Norman Luxton’s Trading Post, still operating today, offering quality First Nations crafts © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Throughout his life, going back to when he was 21 and delivering treaty payments to tribes, Luxton displayed his respect for the indigenous people, and not only helped save their heritage, their culture but provided a proper platform and visibility, when indigenous art and culture was made illegal, invisible, with a goal of eradicating the culture – and the people – altogether.

The Luxton Museum of the Plains Indian opened in June 1953, now the Buffalo Nations Museum. Built of logs to resemble a Hudson’s Bay Trading Post, the museum allowed Luxton “to share and preserve his extensive collection of Indigenous artifacts and cultural items, providing a better understanding of and appreciation for local First Nations peoples and cultures for locals and visitors alike.” (see www.luxtonfoundation.org).

The Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum seeks to show how the people of this land lived and adapted to their surroundings and each other prior to contact with European culture, and how they continued to adapt after European influences © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

“The Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum is dedicated to the appreciation, interpretation, demonstration and display of the cultures, traditions, and values of the First Nations of North America and their trading partners. The museum seeks to show how the people of this land lived and adapted to their surroundings and each other prior to contact with European culture, and how they continued to adapt after European influences.” (https://www.buffalonationsmuseum.com/content/museum).

A Town That Cherishes its History

Befitting a town built on tourism, they really know how to cater to visitors – there are wonderful signs, markers, historic plaques (there are 48) and descriptions (there are 179 sites listed on its Inventory of Historic Resources including 25 Landmarks and Legends, which can be accessed on its Heritage Finder website, https://banff.ca/113/History-and-Heritage ) that immerse you in their stories.

*Dave White Block, 1894-1913 © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

One of Banff Avenue’s first merchants was David White who arrived in Banff in 1885 and became a railway section foreman. He stayed on and in 1894 opened a general store on this site. In 1908, a brick building replaced the “boomtown’ Park Store. Renovated in 1996, the Dave White Block is the oldest remaining commercial building on Banff Avenue.

There is a Hudson Bay Company store that is only now closing (incorporated 1670, and responsible for European settlement of these western territories).

*The Rocky Mountains almost flow into Banff’s streetscape © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

I stop at a marker in front of the Elk Lodge, which I learn began “life” as The Browne Residence in 1921, the home of American hunter and wildlife artist Belmore Browne born 1880 in New York City. In 1912, he accompanied one of the first parties to attempt Mt. Mckinley in Alaska and came within 125 feet of the summit, a North American climbing record. Browne arrived in Banff in 1921 and purchased a single room log cabin on this site, later adding an artist’s studio. It served as a summer studio and home from 1921 to 1946, from which he painted many of the illustrations for the Canadian Pacific Railway literature, in exchange for transport to the east coast. Margaret Aldhelm White purchased the property in 1947, added and transformed it into the Elkhorn Lodge, one of Banff’s oldest guest lodges still operating today. “This Lodge is a good example of the adaptation and reuse of older buildings.”

In fact, The Town of Banff was only incorporated as a municipality in 1990 – the first municipality in Canada to be incorporated inside a national park. (The only other national park community in Canada is the Municipality of Jasper, in Jasper National Park, incorporated in 2001.)

*The tranquility of Banff, enjoyed by locals and visitors alike © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

I delight in wandering Banff, which though very compact and walkable, has all these marvelous trails and paths – my favorite on both sides following the river (actual hiking trails were still too icy during our visit), and bring you to the Bow Falls.

*Bow Falls reached along a delightful riverside path. Marilyn Monroe was filmed going over the falls © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

People came out here, settled here to be adventurous, to test their mettle climbing mountains, riding horses, hunting, to be free of the constraints of urban “civilized” society. So many of the pioneers and founders and entrepreneurs we encounter – women included – came from New York, New Jersey, and Europe. Visitors today – the 4.5 million who come to Banff National Park in a year – seek the same sense of adventure.

You can find Pursuit Collection’s services and attractions at https://www.pursuitcollection.com/; to book Pursuit Collection’s Banff and Jasper experiences, https://www.banffjaspercollection.com/.

PURSUIT COLLECTION OFFERS FEAST FOR SENSES AND THE SOUL IN BANFF, CANADA

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© 2023 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected]. Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/KarenBRubin

Food & Wine, Hotels & Resorts

Pursuit Collection Offers Feast for Senses and the Soul in Banff, Canada

July 8, 2023 krubin723

*Dining at Sky Bistro atop the Sulphur Mountain summit, reached by the Banff Gondola – an incomparable view matched by an incomparable culinary experience © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

On our first evening in Banff to sample Pursuit Collection’s tourism and hospitality services, we dine at Farm & Fire, one of Banff’s newest restaurants. It is a delightful open, woody dining room within Elk & Avenue Hotel (originally the Banff International Hotel), also a Pursuit Collection property.

Farm & Fire was launched in June of 2020, with a menu designed by Chef Scott Hergott, who has been recognized for his award-winning culinary innovation at the Banff Gondola’s Sky Bistro (which we later get to enjoy). Farm & Fire specializes in wood-fired and slow-roasted selections, reflecting Hergott’s farm-to-table philosophy and his commitment to sustainability. Ingredients are sourced from local purveyors (a list of who to thank is posted) and you can look into the open kitchen to watch the artful preparations.

The open kitchen at Farm & Fire. “It is Canadian produce and ideas but the flavors are original – small plates with big flavors,” says Executive Chef Scott Hergott © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The bursts of flavor combinations are exciting and original – you can’t really pin down a specific cuisine – and the preparations and presentations are as pleasing to the eye as the palate. The selections are served as shared plates, family style, which creates a communal experience (amazing how much conversation happens over what to order and everyone’s reaction to sampling each).

I get my first taste of bannock and immediately become addicted. This is an indigenous fried bread with a delightful doughy texture, somewhere between a donut and a doughy roll, and delectable (not bland) flavor, that Farm & Fire serves with three different seasoned butters.

My next discovery is Chef Hergott’s Lion’s Mane Mushrooms that are indescribably delicious.

*Farm & Fire: small plates with big flavors, designed to create conversation and community © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We get to meet Chef Hergott, now the executive chef for Pursuit Collection, at a tasting lunch in the Mount Royal Hotel’s Cascade lounge, to preview the new seasonal menu for Brazen, Pursuit’s new restaurant at the historic hotel, built in 1908 and taken over by the Brewsters in 1912, the tourism enterprise that was acquired by Pursuit Collection in 2014.

Of Farm & Fire, Chef Hergott says, “It is Canadian produce and ideas but the flavors are original – small plates with big flavors.”

Each of Pursuit’s restaurants are chef-centric, he says, which means the chefs come up with their own recipes, as we will soon find out. Brazen (in a space that was once the saloon) is “out there” offering bold choices that pay homage to the mountaineers, adventurers and founders of Banff (the menu even features their photos and bios).

*Executive Chef Scott Hergott has us taste the new seasonal menu being unveiled at Brazen, the restaurant at The Mount Royal hotel © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The culinary concept behind Brazen, which opened in June 2022, is “eat who you are.” This is only the third menu being introduced at Brazen and we get to sample such items as Ramen Eggs (with Nori, sesame, wasabi peas); duck croquettes Dijonaise (truffle, Dijon Aioli, arugula and mushroom), bison (Tandoori roasted with watercress, red curry corn puree), Edible Earth (hummus with toasted rye crumb, Kalamata olive, roasted beet, pickled carrot, watercress); fried artichoke (dill, smoked tofu cream); ginger beef (certified Angus with blistered shishitos, onions, ginger syrup).

*The new seasonal menu being unveiled at Brazen, the restaurant at The Mount Royal hotel © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Small plates include pork belly (with carrot ginger puree, pickled mustard and sour maple) and salmon gravlax (strawberry gel, crème fraiche, cucumber, beet chips, dill). The smoked beef tartare is prepared with cognac, egg yoke, pickled onion and truffle oil and lit on fire as it is served “to add pizzazz” as we find out at dinner.

The desserts are incredible: Strawberry Fields is made with coconut cream, strawberry sorbet, mint oil, and strawberry rhubarb compote, then fashioned like a trompe d’oeil to look like cigarettes in an ash tray; crème brulee made with coffee, cookie crumble and white chocolate; and Pavlova made with white chocolate, whipped cream and blueberry. So culinary artistry that is also fun.

One of the surprising desserts at Brazen, Strawberry Fields, is made with coconut cream, strawberry sorbet, mint oil, and strawberry rhubarb compote, then fashioned like a trompe d’oeil to look like cigarettes in an ash tray © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

“There are no handcuffs on our chefs to develop recipes,” Chef Scott says. He challenges his chefs to try something they never had before, or, conversely, harken back to childhood. “We want the chefs to be intentional about their food creations, have a story, don’t just create a dish, always create with a twist.”

“Our secret advantage is that our staff comes from all over the world – 30 countries are represented. We listen to the flavors from their home.” He encourages his chefs to write a menu from their experience and their colleagues’ past. “Then it is about how they make it their own.”

About the Lions Mane mushrooms which I so enjoyed at Farm & Fire, he says, “Let the food do the work. No more than 5 points on plate.”

*Brazen, in the space that was once a saloon, is one of Banff’s newest restaurants © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

There are two special challenges Chef Scott faces: there are more than 60 restaurants within this tiny (walkable) town, and the strict sustainability rules of existing within a national park, especially in stocking the Sky Bistro atop Sulphur Mountain, reached by the Banff Gondola.

“The weight of a product is restricted in the park. We spent 60-70 hours looking at compostable cups. We look at sustainability when purchasing from suppliers. Food waste is composted. We recycle spent cooking oil for fuel. Everything that goes up the mountain has to come down. We have to keep track of the propane tanks.”

*Pursuit Collection operates the Banff Gondola, a major attraction that brings you to marvelous experiences atop Sulphur Mountain © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We get to experience Sky Bistro, quite literally “elevated dining” and not just for the spectacular view (from farm to summit,” Chef Scott says), along with the marvelous ride up the Banff Gondola and the whole series of experiences at the summit.

*Walking the boardwalks between the Banff Gondola and the Cosmic Ray Station atop Sulphur Mountain © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Rising up to 7,486 feet to the Sulphur Mountain summit, the Banff Gondola is Banff’s number one attraction for good reason. It’s not just the incomparable, breathtaking view of six stunning mountain ranges and the sweep of the Bow Valley from the summit, but the delightful eateries including the superb Sky Bistro, engaging exhibits, “Night Rising” (a creative sound-and-light happening), and for me, the chance to scamper down and up a half-mile long boardwalk along the peak to another peak to see the intriguingly named Cosmic Ray Station.

Completed by the National Research Council in 1956 in preparation for International Geophysical Year (1957-58), 66 countries and a dozen scientific disciplines cooperated on the project. There were 99 cosmic ray stations worldwide (nine in Canada) in operation during IGY. But because of Sulphur Mountain’s high elevation (7,486 ft), this one was the most important Canadian station. It was closed in 1978 and the building dismantled in 1981.

The Cosmic Ray station’s purpose was to study the Earth, its atmosphere and the edges of outer space. Cosmic ray research offered the chance to learn about supernovae, the origin of the stars, the relationship between energy and matter and the nature of our own solar system (I wouldn’t be surprised if it also monitored Soviet satellites.) Canada’s was important because Earth’s north magnet pole is in Canada, and the atmosphere is thinnest at higher elevations.

Back inside the state of the art building, there are fascinating exhibits to discover.

*Alpenglow along the mountain ranges that ring Banff © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Justifiably winning the title “best rooftop restaurant in all of Canada” and the accolade, “dining sanctuary in the sky”, Sky Bistro is the most perfect place to dine as the sun is setting. The views are spectacular from the walls of windows inside, but I dash out to the observation areas. It is such perfection that I would bet there are marriage proposals just about every evening, as there is this evening.

*Can’t resist the steak at Sky Bistro © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The culinary experience pairs the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains with a distinctly Canadian menu that features the flavors of Canada through regionally sourced meats, produce and ingredients. (Check out the menu, https://www.banffjaspercollection.com/dining/sky-bistro/our-menu/; also reserve in advance.)

*Dining at Sky Bistro atop the Sulphur Mountain summit, reached by the Banff Gondola © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*Sunset © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

At darkness, “Night Rise” takes over – a sound and light show that still is respectful of animals affected by light pollution as well as First Nations peoples who were the original inhabitants – so even the colors have to be appropriate, and it cuts off at a relatively early hour, 10 pm when the gondola closes. There are igloos and fire pits, and sensors that make color and sound based on your own movement.

*“Night Rise” is a nightly event atop Sulphur Mountain © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*The view of Banff from Sulphur Mountain’s summit © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Mount Royal Hotel

Each day and night it is so pleasant to return to the Mount Royal Hotel.

One of the oldest hotels in Banff, a gold plaque outside the Mount Royal hotel says, “established in 1908. Re-imagined in 2018. Always at the heart of this community.”

The hotel was acquired by the Brewsters in 1912. It is delightfully situated so it is walking distance to absolutely everything (including the convenient buses to ski areas and that take you to Lake Louise, 45 minutes away, where private cars are not allowed and there are no lodgings).

The hotel cherishes its history, but actually, what guests experience is brand new from 2018. In the hotel’s museum we learn about the hotel had to be rebuilt twice due to fire – the most recent on Christmas 2016.

*The historic Mount Royal Hotel © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The 133-room hotel – its five-stories grandfathered in a town that limits buildings to three – was gut renovated in just 18 months after the fire (no casualties and the guests were immediately accommodated at Pursuit Collection’s other hotel, the 164-room Elk & Avenue; the damage was mainly from the water that froze instantly in minus 20 degree temperature.) First responders, including the man who would become Pursuit’s Executive Chef, Scott Hergott, spent six hours dousing the fire. Scott even went back into the structure to recover a guest’s ring.

We wander through each of the four wings of the hotel: the 1960s wing which was rebuilt after a 1967 fire by WG Milne (see some of those dramatic photos in the 2^nd floor museum); a 1940s wing with works by Banff’s renowned cowboy artist Charlie Biel, who also did the relief outside the building.

The second floor has a delightful, roomy library, a small museum commemorating the Mount Royal’s history, and a place where coffee and tea are served in the morning. (You get an idea of what the Brewsters’ first livery transportation was like by the statuette in the lobby.)

*The Mount Royal Hotel’s two rooftop hot tubs offer stunning views © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The hotel’s 5^th floor offers a lovely, expansive Cascade Lounge (opens at 10 am and at 4 pm serves beer, wine and cocktails), while outside are two hot tubs with gorgeous views of the mountain peaks.

The exterior of the hotel pays homage to its history and heritage as well, and as you walk along Banff Avenue, the town’s first street (designed in 1886 by Superintendent George Stewart), you see many of the original structures.

Befitting a town built on tourism, they really know how to cater to visitors – there are wonderful signs, markers, historic plaques (there are 48) and descriptions (there are 179 sites listed on its Inventory of Historic Resources including 25 Landmarks and Legends) that immerse you in the experience (https://banff.ca/113/History-and-Heritage).

The historic markers not only show respect and preserve the accomplishment of those who came before, but are welcoming and inviting to visitors, getting us to linger longer and appreciate more – mosey into this café, that ice cream shop, this teahouse or that gallery.

They make it easy and pleasant to get around. There is a free skiers bus and in summer, they turn the main street (Banff Avenue) into a pedestrian mall.

*View of Banff from my window in the historic Mount Royal Hotel © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Pursuit Collection, part of Viad Corp., is an attractions and hospitality company that offers world-class attractions, distinctive lodges and engaging tours in national parks and renowned global travel destinations, including a growing collection of FlyOver flight ride attractions in Vancouver, Reykjavik, Las Vegas with new ones expected to open in 2024 in Chicago and Toronto (pursuitcollection.com). To book Pursuit Collection’s Banff and Jasper experiences, https://www.banffjaspercollection.com/.

Next: Pioneering Spirit Continues to Inspire Visitors to Banff, Canada

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Pursuit Collection Celebrates a Century of Tourism Enterprise in Banff

July 3, 2023 krubin723

Natalie Wuthrich takes us on an Open Top sightseeing tour of Banff, Canada, in vehicles recreated from the original, one of the many tourism ventures begun by the Brewsters and carried on by Pursuit Collection © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

It wasn’t mining or farming that brought settlers to Banff. It was tourism. Banff was built for tourism. Even before the railroad (built to cajole the western territory to join Canada instead of the United States), even before three railway workers discovered the hot springs that pinpointed Banff as a destination and Canada’s first national park, and before Canadian Pacific Railroad built its world-famous, grand Banff Springs Hotel, this was a gathering place for indigenous peoples for centuries if not millennia.

Travelers, adventurers, pioneers, artists have come under the spell of this place – its majestic scenery, the heady feeling of pure crisp air at altitude – and so have entrepreneurs and innovators.

Banff has attracted adventurers, sportsmen, artists, writers for 150 years. The city, wholly contained within Canada’s first national park, accommodates locals and visitors alike with scenic walking paths and hiking trails © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Two clever young entrepreneurs, the Brewster brothers, were among those visionaries responsible for building Banff – turning a fledgling guide service when they were just teenagers into Banff’s first tour company, then added hotels and bus operations.

Flash forward 100 years, and the long list of tourism enterprises they launched are under the Pursuit Collection umbrella, now part of a U.S.-based company, that stretches well beyond Banff, to Jasper and Watertown; to Glacier National Park in Montana, to Alaska and even to Iceland, including some that the clever brothers never could have imagined – Sky Lagoon, a new geothermal hot pool in Reykjavik, Iceland, and Flyover virtual reality experiences (where you get to sightsee an entire country in a matter of minutes) in Vancouver, Las Vegas, Iceland and soon Chicago and Toronto. And just opened, the Railrider Mountain Coaster – a 3,375-foot mountain coaster at the Golden Skybridge in Golden, B.C. (the first of its kind in Western Canada it is the fastest and largest mountain coaster in Canada).

I get an actual flyover experience as I jet from Toronto across Canada’s vast plains, still blanketed in white snow, to Calgary, Alberta, at the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, to sample many of the Pursuit Collection services that make Banff such a delightful, year-round visitor experience.

I am following an endless stream of visitors to Banff, lured by the spectacular majesty Canada’s Rocky Mountains that 150 years ago competed with the Alps for mountaineers.

My introduction to what the Brewster boys accomplished is the Brewster Express bus service from Calgary International Airport to the Mount Royal Hotel (also Pursuit Collection) in Banff. The service is so efficient – both the agent at the Brewster desk and the driver have my name on a list, and I board a comfortable coach to enjoy the scenic ride that takes 90-120 minutes. “Welcome to Calgary,” the driver rings out cheerily, “the sunniest place in Canada.” We set off after he gives us a safety talk.

I check-in to the Mount Royal Hotel, founded in 1908 as the Banff Hotel, making it one of Banff’s oldest hotels, which the Brewsters acquired in 1912. In fact, the Cascade Hotel, an older hotel, is incorporated into the today’s building with four wings, each representing a different era, that spans the entire block.

*The historic Mount Royal Hotel is walking distance to everything in Banff © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The Mount Royal Hotel is perfectly situated, walking distance to everything. The view from my window onto the charming streetscape with the mountain peaks behind takes my breath away. The service is wonderfully friendly, hospitable, with every creature comfort provided – the rooms are even equipped with ear plugs and white noise machine (the hotel is right on the main street which has a lively nightlife).

I arrive before meeting my group of three other travel writers and our Pursuit Collection host, early enough in the afternoon to wander about the small, picturesque village, almost entirely ringed by mountain peaks that seem to flow right into the town.

*View of Banff from the Sulphur Mountain Summit, reached by the Banff Gondola © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The entire town of Banff is set within the national park– Canada’s first and since 1984 also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the boundaries of the park expanded out from the hot springs (now a national historic site) to 2,564 square miles (96 percent wilderness), the town’s boundaries are fixed and buildings are limited to three stories high (except for the Mount Royal, with four stories, which is grandfathered). Probably 95 percent of the town’s population of 8,000-9,000 works in tourism (you have to work in Banff in order to buy a house but do not own the land). So it is so interesting to also have stores and services that are for local, everyday use – the high school is right on Banff Avenue (the main street), a hardware store, a grocery store.

From a summer retreat – people have been coming on the Canadian Pacific Railroad since 1888 – and beginning in the 1930s when the Brewsters developed Sunshine Mountain into a ski center, Banff has become a year-round destination and today, an iconic ski destination with three ski areas within the national park.

Much of how tourism developed here is due to the Canadian Pacific Railroad, which not only created the means for bringing tourists but built the grand Banff Springs Hotel, opening its doors in 1888.

But so much more is due to the work of other pioneers and entrepreneurs: the Brewster brothers, who from a young age (10 and 12), realized that the tourists wanted to be guided for sightseeing, and exploring the wilderness.

Beginning in 1892, the clever lads hired out as guides, becoming the exclusive outfitter for CP Railroad’s guests, then created a sightseeing service which grew into a fleet of 70 horse-drawn “Tally Ho” carriages; then, as automobiles became popular in the 1920s and 1930s, they introduced specially designed open-top touring vehicles (replicas are now used in a new incarnation of the open-top sightseeing tour).

The Brewsters hosted major celebrities – there is a marvelous photo we see later at the Whyte Museum of the Brewsters driving King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in their horse-drawn carriage on the royals’ visit to Banff during their 1939 tour of Canada.

Brewster, which celebrated its 100^th year, was acquired by Viad, a Phoenix-based investment company, which in 2014, put the various tourism services and experiences under one umbrella, rebranded as Pursuit Collection. This includes the Brewster bus service, Open-Top Sightseeing (in Banff, Jasper and Watertown), the Mount Royal Hotel, Elk & Avenue Hotel, the Banff Gondola (most popular attraction in Banff for good reason), and restaurants including the Sky Bistro (atop the gondola), Farm & Fire, and Brazen, and the Lake Minnewanka marina, cruises and snack shop, plus its Columbia ice field glacier tours (summer). Its tourism operations span Montana, Alaska and now Iceland. (You can book all the elements and packages on the website; res agents can give ideas, counsel, and there are sample itineraries, www.pursuitcollection.com)

*One of the Brewster’s specially designed “open-top” touring vehicles of 100 years ago, on view at Banff’s Whyte Museum © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We get a preview of this season’s Open Top Sightseeing tour in the new, custom built vehicles to explore the people, places and moments that have made Banff. The vintage-inspired automobiles have the look and feel of the 1930s—including a fully-open roof (but with modern comforts like USB charging ports) and a guide dressed in period costume.

Our guide for this preview is Natalie Wuthrich, Open Top Touring’s manager, who tells us that they re-created the open top vehicle from Brewster’s original mold, put on top of a Ford 550 base, then stretched (actually putting two chassis together) so they accommodate 19. She adds that each of the three vehicles has its own personality and quirks (like the windshield wiper goes on by itself). We also get a safety talk before she pulls away from the hotel (three emergency exits!).

The 90-minute tours are offered eight times a day in Banff, and four times in Jasper and Watertown. (The vehicles are available for private charter, wedding, corporate transfer, shuttles for shopping loops.)

She plays music to accompany the mood for the story she is telling. We set out to Billie Holiday’s “A Fine Romance.”

We pass Tanglewood House – one of first of Banff’s buildings, which was originally used as a trading post and post office. Today’s owner is a celebrity of sorts – he makes coffee.

She points to a yellow house styled after houses that were literally transported to Banff in the 1930s from 15 miles away in Bancoff, a coal mining town. When the mine shut, they moved 38 houses using trolleys, in 40 days. Originally sold for $50/room ($250 in today’s money), the homes are now worth $1.5 million each – a reflection of how scarce living space is. In order to purchase a house in Banff, which is within the National Park, you need to reside in Banff and work, own a business, or be a spouse of someone who does, and you only lease the land it’s on because the land belongs to the nation.

We pass by the lovely Banff Center for Arts & Creativity, founded in 1933 to promote visual and performing arts, which offers a hotel, fitness center, artist residencies, studios, and hosts the Banff Mountain Film Festival.

Driving passed Tunnel Mountain, we learn there is actually no tunnel in Tunnel Mountain.

“The railway needed to get to Banff, but a mountain was in the way. The engineer planned to blow a tunnel through mountain so that passengers would pop out at Banff Springs Hotel for a ‘wow’ reveal – but it was too dangerous and expensive, so, instead, the railroad used the natural lay of land and followed the river.” But the name stuck, she says, possibly as an insult. (There is a petition to rename Tunnel Mountain to its indigenous name, Sacred Buffalo Mountain, because it has the shape of a sleeping buffalo.)

Tunnel Mountain is a popular hike right from downtown Banff, with the reward of a 360-degree view from the top.

*Canadian Pacific’s Banff Springs Hotel was a critical foundation for tourism to Banff © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We come to the “Castle in the Rockies” – the Banff Springs Hotel. “It was the vision of Sir William Cornelius Van Horne, the general manager of the Canadian Pacific Railroad who was responsible for completing the transcontinental line (in 1885). He built a coast to coast train, but where would the people stay?” in order to experience this magnificent place. (Van Horne designed the hotel and initially, was built backwards, with the better views going to the staff; the originally burned down and was rebuilt in 1914.)

Guests came on the train and stayed at the hotel. Bill and Jim Brewster – their father was a dairy farmer who supplied Banff Springs Hotel – realized the guests needed something else to do, so they started guiding back packers, pack horses, then Tally Ho’s, the horsedrawn carriage. When automobiles became popular in 1920s and 1930s, they devised 12-passenger open-top automobiles, ultimately building a fleet of 60 vehicles.

The Brewsters hosted major celebrities – there is a marvelous photo we see later at the Whyte Museum of the Brewsters driving King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in their horse-drawn carriage on the royals’ visit to Banff during their 1939 tour of Canada.

The music now is “Stompin at the Savoy,” by the “King of Swing” Benny Goodman, who stayed at the hotel in 1933. As a condition of coming, Natalie relates, he required they build a landing strip so he could pilot his own plane there because he refused to take the train. The landing strip still exists, mainly for emergency and is popular with foraging animals.

We stop to take in the breathtaking view of Mount Rundell, Sulphur Mountain and Tunnel Mountain.

Pursuit Collection’s Open Top sightseeing tour re-creates the Brewster’s sightseeing tour first by Tally Ho horse-drawn carriages and then by specially designed automobile © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We drive up to Norquay – one of three ski areas within Banff National Park. One of the oldest ski hills, its 1948 double chair lift still runs (Marilyn Monroe was photographed here during filming of “River of No Return” in 1953). Among the ski jumpers who came for the 1988 Olympics in Calgary who practiced here was “Eddie the Eagle” who didn’t have the money for the lift ticket, Natalie relates as she serves us hot chocolate.

Natalie regales us with stories of the colorful characters who populated and built Banff.

*A toast of hot chocolate on Pursuit Collection’s Open Top sightseeing tour© Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Bill Peyto, who was an early park warden (1913-1937), was a recluse and a trapper who collected animals for the zoo. Opened in 1907, the zoo showcased cougars, elk, monkeys, and a polar bear known as “Buddy” was closed in 1937 over concerns over animal cruelty, and is now Banff’s Central Park. On this day, he trapped a lynx, sedated it, and decided to get a drink in the Alberta Bar (where Brazen restaurant is today in the Mount Royal Hotel), with the sedated lynx still wrapped around his neck, until it wasn’t.

We pass the Trading Post, which I recall visiting decades ago. It was established by another of Banff’s important founders, Norman Luxton, who came to Banff in 1902 and earned the nickname “Mr. Banff” for all the ventures he launched. The more I learn about Luxton, the more I admire the man. He seems to have been a mix of P.T. Barnum, Wild Bill Hickok, William Hearst, and Thor Heyerdahl, and I can’t get enough of his story, especially as I explore Banff.

Luxton was a real promoter, possibly picking up a few tips from P.T.Barnum, the famous circus promoter. Natalie relates how Luxton got a black bear orphan cub, ‘Teddy,” which he put outside his Trading Post, as “a sure drawing card for eastern city-slickers looking for a piece of the Wild West.” People, who came from all over the world to see Teddy, would buy salty caramel chocolate treats at the trading post to feed the bear, until a boy, as a prank, laced chocolate with chili peppers that so agitated the bear, the park superintendent had the bear removed (he lived with a hotel keeper in Golden) and banned keeping any wild animal as a pet.

Later, when I visit the Trading Post, I see Luxton’s “Merman” from Fiji– a real homage to Barnum who first exhibited his in 1842- which Luxton probably used in place of the bear as a lure to visitors to the store. Luxton’s ventures also included a newspaper, a theater, a hotel, a museum showcasing First Nations (still operating, a must-see) and boat tours – most still in operation today.

Luxton began the Winter Carnival events in 1917 that helped turn Banff into a snow-sports destination and from 1909-1950, organized the Banff Indian Days, an annual weekend event that brought locals, tourists and First Nations peoples together in Banff.

Pursuit Collection’s website makes it easy to plan a three-day itinerary out of Banff. A Pursuit Pass provides savings up to 40% when you book Banff, Jasper and Golden’s attractions together, including the Banff Gondola, Columbia Icefield Adventure, Golden Skybridge, Open Top Touring, Lake Minnewanka Cruise and Maligne Lake Cruise.

The Columbia Icefield Adventure (which hadn’t yet started for the season when we visit) features the defining geological heart of Jasper National Park. It includes an Ice Explorer Tour on the Athabasca Glacier (a 10,000-year old sheet of ice you can walk on), admission to the glass-floored Skywalk to walk at the cliff’s edge, and return transportation from the Glacier Discovery Centre.

Pursuit Collection has just opened its newest attraction, the Railrider Mountain Coaster – a 3,375-foot mountain coaster at the Golden Skybridge in Golden, B.C., 90 minutes from Banff. The coaster is the first of its kind in Western Canada and is the fastest and largest mountain coaster in Canada.

The Railrider Mountain Coaster races through an old growth forest between Canada’s two highest suspension bridges. It features an up-track that takes riders 1,180 feet up the canyon, before they descend 2,195 feet, reaching speeds of up to 40 kilometers per hour. Riders then coast under the lush canopy, around a 360-degree loop, through a 50-foot tunnel and finally shoot out onto a cantilever that extends over the majestic Columbia Valley. The coaster features state-of-the-art technology that allows riders to choose their own level of adventure (www.goldenskybridge.com).

Next: Pursuit Collection Offers Feast for Senses and the Soul in Banff

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Going Places, Far & Near

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Pioneering Spirit Still Inspires Visitors to Banff, Canada

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