Cave and Basin

The Cave and Basin, in Banff, Alberta, Canada is the birthplace of Canada's National Parks. In the Autumn of 1883, three railway workers, working on the Canadian Pacific Railway, discovered a cave and thermal pool in the Canadian Rockies.

The three men saw an opportunity to make some money and set out to find out how to get rights to develop the area. Over the next two years, surveyors came to have a look and eventually the Federal Government bought the land. The Rocky Mountain National Park was founded and people started coming west to visit the thermal spas. The Rocky Mountain National Park, later known as the Banff National Park, is the first and oldest National Park in Canada; the third in the world after Yellowstone National Park in the USA, and the Royal National Park in Australia.

The cave and thermal pool that was discovered in the Canadian Rockies eventually became known as the Cave and Basin. It is located within walking distance of Banff town centre or the Banff Springs Hotel. This attraction was closed down for renovations, but recently opened again in the Spring of 2013.

The Cave

The hole where the railway workers entered the cave

One of the main renovations to the Cave and Basin is that the former thermal swimming pool was bricked over to create a courtyard with a movie screen at one end. The decision to close the pool was made in part to the fact that people from all over the world were coming to Calgary for the Calgary Winter Olympic Games in 1988. As a result, a lot of hotels in Banff, Alberta built their own pools. Also the hot springs in Banff are hotter than the thermal pool at the Cave and Basin. So the pool was closed for good in 1994. Just outside of the courtyard is the Basin, a small thermal pool that is home to a rare and endangered snail. You are not allowed to touch the water, but our guide was nice enough to fill a bucket so that we could feel the temperature of the water. Entrance fees to the Cave and Basin are: Adult: $3.90; Senior: $3.40; Youth: $1.90

The Basin

The Courtyard

If you get the chance to visit Banff, Alberta, Canada, be sure to visit the Cave and Basin, National Historic Site. It is very interesting.

~Angie

Misadventures In Transit

After a year of traveling in the South Pacific, in April 2011, I was ready to come home. I had just over a week of travel still ahead of me when I left for the airport in Auckland, New Zealand on April 1, 2011. The fun was just about to begin...

I had rebooked my trip home back in January, changing my dates with Air Pacific over the phone. They sent an email with an itinerary showing the dates and flights of my trip. I thought I was good to go.

I arrived at the Auckland International Airport at around 11:45AM. I got in line to check in and the wait began. Finally I got up to the ticket counter. The girl was checking my piece of paper and a puzzled frown formed on her forehead. She called her supervisor over. She too looked puzzled. Finally the supervisor said to me that I just had an itinerary, not a ticket number. I needed a ticket number in order to get on every flight on my journey home! My itinerary was: Auckland, New Zealand to Nadi, Fiji that day. Then after eight days, Nadi, Fiji to Los Angeles, USA. After another two days, Los Angeles to Calgary, Canada.

The panic began to start. I had no ticket! I was on the phone with Air Pacific for an hour trying to get this trip booked. I had noticed that my credit card was not charged, but I figured if they did not ask for my money, that was their problem.

At this point in my trip I was using my credit card full time - I had very little cash. My heart was in my throat when the supervisor walked away with my only means of paying for anything for my entire trip home! She was going to call Air Pacific to get a ticket number from them. She told me to wait to the side of the line up for check in. Meanwhile the girl at the counter was about to check my luggage through to Los Angeles! I told her no! I am staying for a week in Fiji first and need my luggage there. Stress was starting to build now.

After waiting for about thirty minutes the supervisor came back and told me to meet her at the gate. She still did not have a ticket number for me. I checked my luggage and went through security.

I did meet her at the gate and the plane was boarding. No ticket number yet. She was on the phone with Air Pacific and they were calling the final boarding. It was just me and the captain's girlfriend left to board. Finally she got the ticket number from Air Pacific. She wrote it on my itinerary and I boarded the plane to Nadi.

I had a great week in Fiji and eight days later it was time to go to Los Angeles. I went through security and they announced the first boarding call for the flight. Then six names were called to go to Security for a screening. I was one of the people called. It was not so bad - just a pat down and they checked my carry-on luggage. I was one of the first to board the plane. It is a bit disconcerting, though, to be singled out for an extra security check!

Once in Los Angeles I ran into more problems - this time with the bank. I arrived in Los Angeles at 12:30PM, I got to my hostel in Santa Monica at 2:30PM. I had a travellers cheque that I needed to cash. I was told to go to Western Union. They were closed. I asked a girl on the 3rd Street Promenade where I could go to get a travellers cheque cashed. She told me Bank of America or Wells Fargo. They were a few blocks over and across the street from each other. They both closed at 4PM. Wells Fargo was on my side of the street. It was now 3:45PM.

I went to Wells Fargo. They did not know what they were doing. The guy I dealt with obviously had no idea what a travellers cheque was! Finally he called his supervisor over. She told me they could not cash it because it was in Canadian Dollars! Hello - it's a travellers cheque! Of course it's in Canadian Dollars! I was too late to go to Bank of America. So frustrating!

Two days later on April 11, 2011, I arrived home. My flight arrived twenty minutes early and I breezed through customs to find my family was not there to greet me! I had been gone a year and no one showed up. My brother-in-law walked by me fifteen minutes later and twenty minutes after that my mom and sister showed up.

What an adventure. Welcome home!

~Angie