The first time I visited Banff National Park was in 1996 during one hell of an incredible family road trip. My father drove myself and two screaming little sisters across the US and Canada for something like 6 weeks with a broken air conditioner during the heat of summer.
How anyone survived or how he maintained his sanity is beyond me. I do not have access to photographic evidence of anyone's sanity (or insanity) haha
But survive we did, I returned to Banff's breathtaking national park to ascend some of the peaks during my military service in June of 2010, again with family in August of 2015, and one more time with my darling wife in September of 2018.
The town of Banff is picturesque and very much has the feel of a vacationer's mountain town dream. But the park is far larger and contains some amazing and accessible wilderness which really blows the cityscape out of the water.
During my most recent visit, @Holly B and I hiked from the shores of Lake Louise up to another smaller lake, Lake Agnes, resting among some of the peaks at an altitude of 7000ft. There's a hidden tea house perched on this little piece of paradise.
During some of the rest of our trip, we stopped to look for elk and found them at the Fairmont Banff Springs. We also enjoyed the brilliant blues of Peyto Lake's giant fox all in a single afternoon.
I'm still LOL about your cross country family vacation. I had a similar experience one summer traveling with my family. Might be a topic for another blog!
Regarding Banff, your post also brought back memories of my only trip there a few years ago. Was staying in Calgary on business and took a side trip. It was just one day but it was the town and park is a spectacle one never forgets. Did you make it to the Chateau in Lake Louise?