Cave and Basin: A smelly little cave

@mickeybeaves, @allisonfrija and I went to explore a cave in the Banff National Park today. When we parked in the mostly full lot we realized this was a more touristy type of attraction but since the cave only cost 2$ a person we decided to check it out. After we paid we walked uphill to another building which lead us into the cave. Our expectation was that we would have a decent walk down underneath the earth to get to the opening which held the hot spring water which we were not allowed to touch.

After walking abound halfway down a short cave like hallway we realized we were approaching the mineral water already because a rotten egg, sulphur, smell crept into our nostrils. As we approached the blue waters the cave was crowded with people and we realized that the “cave” lead nowhere beyond that point. We sat on a bench near the water and watched the gas bubbles come from the bottom of the spring and with every new bubble came a more intense egg smell.

We were pretty disappointed as we realized our expectations were way too high for this small cave like smelly hole. We took some time to read some of the histories of the mineral waters and the cultures that discovered and utilized the healing waters. After we made our way around the property getting whiffs of the smelly water both under and above ground we headed back to the car feeling indifferent about the experience. It was too touristy and not as interesting as advertised but still glad we had an opportunity to learn about the ancient healing waters.