Calgary

Thursday, July 2, 2026

We had always wanted to see the Canadian Rockies, Banff, and Lake Louise, but had never had the time. For the July 4th weekend, I checked to see whether flights from San Francisco to Calgary were available at a reasonable price (and luckily, they were). With Inna's and ChatGPT's help, we came up with a detailed plan to see as much as we could in 6-7 days.

I had ordered a Nikon P1100 SuperZoom (to prepare for wildlife encounters) and the GoPro Hero 13 Black for recording canoeing & kayaking. Since we were flying out of San Francisco International Airport, I had also pre-booked an UberX (booking two days in advance turned out to be cheaper) for a 06:00 pickup, as our United Airlines flight #2830 departed at 08:40 on a short 3-hour flight to Calgary aboard a Boeing 737.

Among the camera gear I brought, the Nikon P1100 SuperZoom proved unhelpful, as little wildlife was encountered that required its extra reach. In addition, the GoPro Hero 13 Black, which I intended to use for canoeing, did not get used at all. Inna and I used iPhones to record our canoeing videos.

Our UA #2830 departed on time, and we landed in Calgary at 12:15 (+1 hour time difference from San Francisco). We had to spend about 20 minutes going through Canadian passport control, so we decided to stop by the airport for lunch to avoid wasting time elsewhere.

We decided to eat at Yakima Social Kitchen & Bar at the Marriott Hotel because it had many positive reviews. After sitting down, we ordered the following from the lunch menu:

• Boris: Ahi Tuna Poke
• Inna: Ahi Tuna Poke
• Alex: BC Coho Salmon
• Drinks: Coffee

We ordered at around 13:00, and the coffee arrived promptly. However, it took 30 minutes for the BC Coho Salmon and an additional 5 minutes for the Ahi Tuna Poke Bowls to arrive. I was hoping for faster service (since the Tuna Poke does not require cooking and the Coho Salmon cooks quickly).  

While drinking coffee, we watched the FIFA World Cup, Spain playing Austria and winning (3-0).

After I paid for lunch (fortunately, one Canadian dollar buys $0.70 of a U.S. dollar, so the price was more affordable when looked at in USD), we walked to the nearby Alamo Car Rental to pick up my compact SUV rental (I reserved it through Costco Travel for the lowest price).

We drove out in a grey Hyundai Kona, license plate 0-GEO88. I have not recently driven the latest Hyundais, but I was impressed by the large Navigation screen and excellent Apple CarPlay integration. The Kona handled reasonably well, though the acceleration was sluggish and braking was mushy and uninspiring.

Our first stop was Wal-Mart, where we picked up supplies for our upcoming hikes:

• Self-Inflatable Twin Bed with attachable battery-operated pump (for Alex)
• RXBAR Energy Bars
• Honey Cinnamon Peanut Butter
• Chocolate Sea Salt
• 8 Type C Batteries (for inflating the Twin Bed)
• 24oz Thermos (for storing Hot Coffee)
• Portable Igloo Cooler (for storing sandwiches)
• Bug Repellant
• Baby Wipes

We were also hoping to purchase Bear Spray (for the unlikely event of a Bear encounter), but Calgary's Walmart was out of stock.

From Walmart, we started our 90-minute drive to Banff.

Links

• Yakima Social Kitchen & Bar