It was chilly last night – probably in the mid 30s. When we woke up this morning it was snowing. Although it was cold enough to snow, it wasn’t cold enough for the snow to stick - thank goodness. As the sun continued to rise, the snow would be mixed with rain and then only rain. Our plan this morning was to head over to Lake Louise about 35 miles back to the West. We actually drove by it yesterday on our way to Banff. We had planned to stop on our way there, but because of our late start yesterday and uncertainty as to where we were camping, we had to pass it by. No problem, the drive was nice. There was some rain interspersed with sunshine and we could see rain and snow falling higher up in the mountains. As we got to Lake Louise, the signs said that there was no parking available in the village and we were directed to a overflow parking area. They had free shuttles (school buses) to take us into the village and out to the lake. It all worked pretty well except that grown adults don’t seem to fit in school buses as well as children do. Fortunately, It wasn’t a very long ride.
By the time we got to Lake Louise, the sun was out. There were white puffy clouds but no threat of rain. When we got off the bus, it was a short walk and then “wham” the gorgeous view of the lake and the Fairmont Hotel smack you right in the face. It is amazing. I was here about 50+ years ago when I was about 5 years old but I remembered that view of the lake and the hotel. My first reaction was that, I always thought the lake was larger than it actually is. The lake is only about 1.5 miles in length and about 1.5 miles at its widest point. But it is stunningly beautiful. The water is that emerald green that you get from glacial moraine lakes. The coloring comes from the minerals and glacial melt that feed the lake. At one end of the lake sits the hotel. It has changed over the years with the original having burned down. The Farimont group operates the hotel and it is top class. At the other end of the lake stands a wall of mountains. However, you quickly realize that what you thought was a mountain is the face of a glacier that still stands over 250’ thick with ice. This valley still gets enormous amounts of snow falling in it for over 8 months of the year.
Elisa and I take a 3 mile round-trip hike that hugs one side of the lake. It is partly paved and very easy to navigate. The views are spectacular. There are no motorized boats allowed on the lake. However there are a number of people out there in canoes. Although this is a lake, it is clear from watching the paddlers that it is much easier going in one direction than it is in the other. When we get back to where we started our hike, we decide to go up and take a look at the hotel - it is lovely. We stop at one restaurant to see if we can get a bite to eat. This restaurant has huge windows that look out over the lake. There is also a large outdoor patio with heaters where we see people dining. We check in to try to get a table for 2, but we are informed that this restaurant is only open to hotel guests, but there is open seating at the other 2 restaurants on the lower level of the hotel – the ones with no view. Oh well, I guess if I was paying all that money to stay in the hotel, I wouldn’t want to have to wait for a table at the “nice” restaurant. Since I’m not really eating anything, we really only wanted a place where we could get something light. We step into a little bistro called the Alpine Social Club and I have a little salad and cup of onion soup and Elisa has the appetizer portion of bbq spare ribs and a cup of the seafood chowder. The food is great.
After our light lunch we head back up to the shuttle that takes us back out to the overflow parking lot. We head back out to Banff. Along the TC1, we periodically see some interesting overpasses that don't carry any vehicle traffic. They have trees and vegetation on them. They are crossings for migrating animals. We see these every couple of miles. Our first stop is back to the motorhome so that Elisa can change into more comfortable walking shoes. She wore a different pair this morning when she thought we might have some rain but with the skies clear, she wanted to be able to walk in comfort. Our first stop back in Banff was to a lookout point where we could walk out to see the Hoodoos. This is a rock formation that is often found in areas with glacial activity. We made the quick trek up and took some photos, but we left pretty quickly when 3 tour buses stopped and disgorged their passengers.
After seeing the Hoodoos, we headed into Banff Village. We stopped at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies. It was founded by husband and wife team - Peter and Catharine Whyte. Peter was born and raised in the Banff area and was the son of a dry goods merchant and worker for the Canadian Pacific Railroad. Catharine came from a well to do family. The two met and married while in school on the East coast and then moved to Banff. They would go on to operate a ski lodge, but both found their passion in art. The would go on to create countless orginal art pieces of the Banff area. They would go on to donate the land and many of the artifacts now found in this museum. The museum was an interesting mixture of historical artifacts to the area and art museum. They had exhibits that celebrated some of the early settlers in the area. They had one display that was dedicated to many of the women that helped settle the area. It was very interesting. After that, we strolled along Banff Avenue where there are countless shops. We spent a fair bit of time inside the Spirit of Christmas store, where Elisa picked up a couple of new ornaments for our tree.
By then, it was going on 6:00 pm and we were feeling a little tuckered out. We got in over 5 miles of walking today so we were both feeling a little tuckered out.
We are settling in for the night and tomorrow we will begin to head back down the other side of the Canadian Rockies. We will turn south and spend the night in Fort Steele, a small frontier town near the US border. Then we will head back into the USA.
So more later.