Day 5 & 6: Banff NP and Wedding Day

Banff NP.  This morning we broke down camp, ate breakfast and got warmed up at the ritziest McDonald’s you’ve ever seen, complete with a stone fireplace.  We also went for a walk to the top of Bow Falls before returning to Banff to complete our marriage license.  Banff is an upscale tourist haven.  We stopped in the Banff NP visitor center and got some ideas for potential wedding locations.  Weather today was cool and cloudy.  We checked into the Bear and Bison Inn around 3:00 and were pleased to find that we got room #2.  After we checked in, we found that our parents had arrived in Canmore, and so we met them at their hotel.  Of course by that time, the clouds had blocked out most of the spectacular scenery.  We decided on dinner at a Greek place in Canmore, which was excellent.  After dinner we checked out several potential wedding locations, but once again, we couldn’t really see much because of the clouds.  After leaving our parents to catch up on their jet lag, we enjoyed chocolate covered strawberries and a bottle of wine the inn had left out for us.  Wildlife sightings today included lots of elk.

Day 6: May 16, 2003, our wedding day.  We woke up to sunshine and only occasional clouds and a thin layer of snow on the ground.  Breakfast that morning consisted of blueberry poundcake with apricot jam, red grape and yogurt granola cocktails, and blueberry banana pancakes with an orange walnut syrup.  Lonny, the inn keeper made
Bryan nervous with his marriage smalltalk. We were then both treated to an in-room massage, afterwhich the earth could have opened and we wouldn’t have noticed. 
Bryan then left to go change at the Windtower where our parents were staying, and my parents came over to help me get ready.  The inn supplied a hairdresser for me, who did a great job, eh!  We decided to get married at a wooded site along the Bow river with a railroad bridge and mountains in the background.  The day was cool and windy with occasional snow falling.  The wedding went off beautifully.  After the wedding and the pictures, we planted a tree in the Bear and Bison Inn property, and enjoyed a delectable chocolate cake that Lonny had prepared.  After opening gifts, we drove around for more photo ops.  Dinner was atSinclairs
Restaurant in Canmore and was excellent.  Filet for Carissa and Buffalo ribeye for
Bryan.