O Canada: Banff National Park

On our second full day in Calgary, we attended church in the morning and after lunch at my parents' apartment the nine of us headed northwest for Banff National Park. On our drive from Washington to Calgary we took the road through Banff, causing a slightly longer journey since we came into Calgary from the opposite side from where my parents live--oh well; the scenery was amazing & we were happy to return.

Look at that ridge line! I mean, I seriously kept thinking, "No one would believe it if I drew these mountains. No one draws mountains like this." The peaks were so jagged and bare. And this wasn't the only set of mountains like this. We marvelled again and again. 

We made a few stops along our way, one for a visit with a little black bear.

 

The first real stop was at Lake Louise. It was AMAZING.

 

My brother Pete really wanted to go to Lake Louise, and I'm glad he made it a must-see for his trip so that we could all go.  My family went on a trip to Canada in 1984 (??) and visited Lake Louise. I would have only been about 5 1/2, so don't really remember much of the trip. I basically just remember that I went to Canada, and that the Oreos were different. Pete's five years older than me and remembers more of the trip, but for me, everything about Banff was new.

I don't know if these photos can give a true representation, but the color of the water at Lake Louise was so remarkable. It's been described as emerald--I would have called it aqua--and comes from the tiny rock particles in the melt-water that comes into the lake from the glaciers above it. The silt floats in the water, making it appear cloudy; sometimes it's called glacial milk.

 

Here's Maggie dipping her feet in the lake:

 

 

Pete and Dad across a little inlet:

 

 And Dad's photo of us:

 

The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, a luxury resort, sits on the eastern shore of the lake. It was built in the early 1900s by the Canadian Pacific Railway. The best story we learned while there was that on the occasion of a fire in 1924 where a whole wing burned down, they were able to save all the guests and their luggage and to serve dinner on time that night. A wing of the hotel was lost in that fire and there have obviously been additions and upgrades since then, but a 1913 wing still stands.

 

It's a pretty majestic site . . . although not quite to compare with the natural views.

 

There is a path through the woods that goes around the lake that we walked along for a bit before turning back around so we could have a picnic dinner and see more of Banff.



  

Moraine Lake was another amazing sight. Glacial "rock flour" floats in this lake as well, but the water here was brighter blue than Lake Louise. I couldn't decide which I preferred. They were both so remarkable and beautiful.

 

Moraine Lake was much less crowded. I'm sure it had a bit to do with the time of day as it was near the end of the day when we were there, but I think Lake Louise is better known (well, and there is that giant hotel there, too).

 

Pete told me that when we visited Moraine Lake in 1984 that a huge slab of rock fell off this cliff and came crashing down into the lake as we were standing on the shore where this picture was taken.

 

Gorgeous! 

 

Our last discovery before getting in the cars to return to Calgary was this pika. I'd never seen these little guys before and at first we thought they were chipmunks scurrying around, since we did see those, too.

 

He seemed to be making a little nest or gathering food. We weren't sure, but we saw him stash grass under the same rock a couple of times. He was a cute little fellow, but eventually he caught on to his audience and hid away.