Leisurely Trip to Lake Louise

Once the gondola returned us to the base of Sulphur Mountain, we had to get moving to make the most of our one day in Banff.  We were hoping to see a lot of wildlife. But knowing how lucky you have to be to actually see a bear, we took photos of all of the fake ones along the way.

this guy greeted us in the Starbucks

The plan was to head to Lake Louise and stop at anything interesting along the way.  That line of thinking basically got us to the base of Sulphur Mountain, at Bow Falls.  This is near the Banff Springs Hotel if you are ever looking for it.

Bow Falls

The only wildlife I saw was this little guy, attached to a guy in a Saskatchewan T-shirt.  Siobhan thought I should have been paying attention to the handler, but all I noticed was the dog.

It would have never worked out...chances of his owner being a cat person are slim

But in going back to those falls, you can take a little pathway up and look down them.

If you do you will note that the water is a sort of stark blue green.  This color is usually a hint that the source of the water is a glacier....and it's a bit chilly!

See that icy blue color by the rock?

But, being Canadian, life goes on despite the chill, and we do this in it.

Whitewater rafters going by

One last shot of this pretty area before hitting the road again

We exited Banff and headed down the #1 Highway to Lake Louise.  It's a beautiful spot, and the Bow River winds its way there as well.

Once you get to Lake Louise, you are greeted with a stunning vista...and an unfortunate mass of people, as indicated by all the cars at the bottom of the photo.  The road was lined up for about a mile on either side as the parking lots were full.  We managed to catch a spot relatively close,  which was good because I was limping even worse than the day before after our walk through Banff the day before.  Plus that little trek around Sulphur Mountain earlier in the day

And once again, water sports on Lake Louise.

We really weren't liking how crowded Lake Louise was.  I am used to appreciating the mountains in relative solitude, and perhaps it was all the years in Bermuda, but neither of us were digging the fact that you had to almost wait around for a lake front spot to open in order to get a picture without some one's head in it.  I figured Moraine Lake would be a little quieter, and so we headed down the road that way.  We were once again mt with far more people than I expected to see

The photo above is taken standing on the shore of Moraine Lake and looking back to the parking lot.  The picture below is overlooking Moraine Lake.  There are a lot more of those logs jammed up, hundreds, which would make a beautiful picture, except there were about 50 people jostling to get on top of them an take selfies.  I pity the facebook friends of the narcissist in the yoga gear, because I was sick of looking at her poses and it looked like she had done a couple hundred before I arrived, and she was still at it when I left.  These are the photos I will have to live with....better to be a little less panoramic but people free.

The people in the canoe are allowed, they actually add to the photo in this case.  There is a great looking dining room overlooking the lake.  I had hoped to enjoy a fabulous late lunch there before carrying on, but the dining room does not open until evening.  The little cafeteria attached had lots of beverages but very little food left, so we decided to grab something down the long windy road.  But that is the start of another story, and so will leave that for another day.