Anxious to see Lake Louise...

July 3, 2009

We made a concerted effort to get up early this morning so we could be at Lake Louise before the throngs of tourists…

We were up (some of us under protest) at 6:30am, had bacon & eggs for breakfast and were on the road by 7:30am. Darryl drove all day today as I was very, VERY tired – not sure if it’s all the fresh mountain air or the fact that I’m only getting 5-6 hrs sleep each night or that I haven’t taken my thyroid medication in a week or perhaps a combination of all three?!

We arrived at Lake Louise around 8:30am and it was already PACKED with tourists. It is a stunning spot – there’s no arguing that. There were lots of critters – very friendly critters – around too. Darryl no sooner sat down on a bench overlooking the lake and had a chipmunk up on his backpack…which was still on his back!

Lots of Clarks Nutcrackers looking for handouts. Landing on car roofs as people parked and proclaiming loudly “FEED ME!!” Had we known how common, and how annoying, they are here, we wouldn’t have been so excited about getting photos of them a few days ago!

Lake Louise got too crowded, too fast, so we left and made our way to nearby Moraine Lake and we were much happier there – although not as big as Lake Louise and lacking the impressive chalet hotel on the bank, it is no less spectacular and in fact, we much preferred it. There were fewer tourists and a lovely café over looking the water where we had a morning snack in the company of a very forward Clarks Nutcracker before leaving for our next destination.

We detoured through the town of Lake Louise and didn’t find much there – we stopped at a strip mall and went through the Bow River Trading Company and a Candy Shoppe then made tracks for the Icefields Parkway.

Our first stop was Herbert Lake, which was right beside the highway and a good introduction for us to the emerald green glacier lakes in Banff Park – we stopped at several over the course of the day, each one seemingly more spectacular than the last.

At 12:30pm, we stopped at Bow Lake and saw our first glacier, the Crow Foot Glacier – even from a great distance, you can appreciate how massive they are. A short way down the parkway brought us to the Bow Glacier and then Waterfowl Lake.

Peyto Lake was a bit of a hike for us, 1000 ft uphill, but it too, was worth the effort although the viewing platform was overflowing with people and getting a clear shot of the lake for a panorama was difficult to say the least.

Darryl took up the challenge of the hike to Mistaya Canyon while I took a siesta in the sun in the car as my knee isn’t holding up to all the walking that well and after the hike in and out of Peyto Lake, I needed a rest. 45 minutes later a very sweaty Darryl returned to inform me that I should be glad I didn’t go with him as he even found the hike difficult, but worth it. He informed me that there is quite a canyon formed by the Mistaya River in addition to the lake and he took some spectacular photos. The mist from the fast flowing falls created a rainbow just above the rocks when the sun is shining just right. The other nice thing about that is that he has photos of something I don’t – so that makes it a little more special for him too.

Darryl was disappointed that we didn’t see any animals on our trip today – with the exception of the chipmunk and various birds. He was desperately hoping to see a moose, but would have settled for an elk, bear, or even a deer, but alas, likely due to the heat or perhaps that most animals have young now, none were down near the roads or glacial lakes.

At 3:30pm, we turned around to head back for Golden at Rampart Creek just north of Saskatchewan Crossing. We hustled it back as we had Very Important Dinner Plans with Aunt Helen. We had arranged to go out for supper at the Golden Rim Inn in hopes of watching mountain sheep from the windows while we dined. Well, there were no sheep, but the view made up for it and the food was excellent (and far too much!!).

After dinner, I also found a place on the main street of Golden where I can hop on a wireless internet connection to do the office work I haven’t been able to do the last couple of days, however, we are scheduled to leave Golden tomorrow and make our way to Canmore for Saturday night where we are supposed to have free high-speed internet in our hotel room, so I’ll play catch up there. I heard from a little bird that Lori got the new listings up on the website today, which helps me out a great deal. I still have some work to do, but it’s at least well started!

My mom reports from home that there is a chance of a half-nice day tomorrow. She must be ecstatic. I hadn’t had any news from her since yesterday morning, so I sent her an email asking if no news was good news or if perhaps she had built an ark and drifted off with the dogs and cats in search of higher ground. She has had to put up with rain solid since we left, which I know she didn’t sign up for when she agreed to house/dog/cat sit for us. I hope she gets some nice weather to enjoy the gazebo and the lounge chair!! She seems to be taking a real shine to Toby, which shouldn’t surprise me. Anyone who spends any length of time with him falls head over heels in love with him and his nutty antics.

- Paula