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| Didn't mean to scare you, Elk! |
With a dense fog and cool temp- eratures to start Thursday, August 9th, we got up very early and left the campground. Our goal was to beat the crowds to
Lake Louise for an available campsite, a slightly rare commodity during these busy summer days. We drove south along the Icefields Parkway, following the same route as yesterday, but saw lots of wildlife out during the early morning. In the span of 30 minutes or so, we saw half a dozen female elks, 3 white-tailed deer, and a grizzly bear. A short time later, the sun peeking out from above the mountain tops and the fog began to dissipate.
We continued until we passed the Columbia Icefield and the Athabasca Glacier again, under crystal clear blue skies. Further down the road, we saw one beautiful mountain scene after another with pools of water below them. Since we pulled into the
Village of Lake Louise just as last night's campers were required to leave, we secured a campsite with no problem at the town's spacious Lake Louise Trailer Campground. Nice.
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| Lake Louise |
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| Victoria Glacier |
The first order of business was to locate the visitor center, naturally. We peppered the helpful clerk with questions about activities near the lake before heading up to the famed
Chateau Lake Louise. After parking a good three quarters of a mile from the lake and hotel, we joined the throngs of tourists headed that way. The first thing to strike the eyes is the iridescent teal blue color of the water. As the glaciers melt and carry sediment down the mountains, the water eventually reaches the lake where the flour settles to the bottom. The rock dust that doesn't settle to the bottom of the lake remains suspended and absorbs all the wavelengths of color except the beautiful blue-green our eyes see. We ate our picnic lunch on a bench in the sunshine with the beauty of
Lake Louise all around us.
The
Chateau Lake Louise was originally built in 1891 as a chalet, a small one-story home with lodging for the few travelers who made it to the area by snowshoe or dog team. By 1894, after the chalet had burned the year before, a larger one-story chalet was built, which was enlarged in 1896. A short 10 years later the chalet had become an enormous hotel with two large wings and mountain guides imported from Switzerland to lead increasing numbers of tourists on their first forays into mountaineering. Today, the building is still a sprawling
hotel with tourists from all corners of the world mingling along the boardwalk around the lake, where one is as likely to hear English as any other language.
While admiring the
Victoria Glacier at the opposite end of the lake, we watched canoers paddling through the water. We walked the short path along the lake's edge before returning to the hotel for a different view. Expensive shops with exorbitant prices line the hallway of huge windows facing the lake. We heard a harpist strumming songs in the midst of a court where we saw diners having lunch at windows overlooking the water. We wandered upstairs and took pictures from the windows there.
With a lack of air condi-tioning and a fairly warm day, we found ourselves scanning the lake edge for a toe dipping spot. After Ken accidentally set sail to his shoe and very nearly capsized it, we settled back down and eased our feet into the chilly
water. The meltwater of any glacier is extremely cold and this was no exception. Still, it was very refreshing and we sat there on the rocks reading the newspaper in the sun.
A restful 30 minutes later, with Ken's shoe mostly dry, we hiked up the hillside along the Lake Agnes Trail for a steep mile before turning around. We made our way back down the mountain and toward the car, but noticed that the parking lot seemed to be oozing vehicles as they were squished into every available inch of space along the entrance, exit, and the walkways. Good thing we came so much earlier in the day. We relinquished the parking space to one in a line of cars snaking their way up to the parking lot, and drove back to the
Village of Lake Louise.
The 'Village' is actually a single L-shaped shopping center consisting of a post office, a bookstore, a grocery, a liquor store and some assorted gift shops. Beyond the police station, two gas stations and a couple of hotels, there is no 'village'. We walked through the cute little shops anyway, found their prices in line with those at the gift shops at Chateau Lake Louise, and, not surprisingly, returned the RV empty-handed.
We settled in for a nice dinner and happy hour before taking an evening stroll around the pretty campground and then enjoying a bowl of ice cream at our sun-filled picnic table under the trees. What a beautiful day!
With a dense fog and cool temp- eratures to start Thursday, August 9th, we got up very early and left the campground. Our goal was to beat the crowds to Lake Louise for an available campsite, a slightly rare commodity during these busy summer days. We drove south along the Icefields Parkway, following the same route as yesterday, but saw lots of wildlife out during the early morning. In the span of 30 minutes or so, we saw half a dozen female elks, 3 white-tailed deer, and a grizzly bear. A short time later, the sun peeking out from above the mountain tops and the fog began to dissipate.
We continued until we passed the Columbia Icefield and the Athabasca Glacier again, under crystal clear blue skies. Further down the road, we saw one beautiful mountain scene after another with pools of water below them. Since we pulled into the Village of Lake Louise just as last night's campers were required to leave, we secured a campsite with no problem at the town's spacious Lake Louise Trailer Campground. Nice.
The Chateau Lake Louise was originally built in 1891 as a chalet, a small one-story home with lodging for the few travelers who made it to the area by snowshoe or dog team. By 1894, after the chalet had burned the year before, a larger one-story chalet was built, which was enlarged in 1896. A short 10 years later the chalet had become an enormous hotel with two large wings and mountain guides imported from Switzerland to lead increasing numbers of tourists on their first forays into mountaineering. Today, the building is still a sprawling hotel with tourists from all corners of the world mingling along the boardwalk around the lake, where one is as likely to hear English as any other language.
While admiring the Victoria Glacier at the opposite end of the lake, we watched canoers paddling through the water. We walked the short path along the lake's edge before returning to the hotel for a different view. Expensive shops with exorbitant prices line the hallway of huge windows facing the lake. We heard a harpist strumming songs in the midst of a court where we saw diners having lunch at windows overlooking the water. We wandered upstairs and took pictures from the windows there.
With a lack of air condi-tioning and a fairly warm day, we found ourselves scanning the lake edge for a toe dipping spot. After Ken accidentally set sail to his shoe and very nearly capsized it, we settled back down and eased our feet into the chilly water. The meltwater of any glacier is extremely cold and this was no exception. Still, it was very refreshing and we sat there on the rocks reading the newspaper in the sun.
A restful 30 minutes later, with Ken's shoe mostly dry, we hiked up the hillside along the Lake Agnes Trail for a steep mile before turning around. We made our way back down the mountain and toward the car, but noticed that the parking lot seemed to be oozing vehicles as they were squished into every available inch of space along the entrance, exit, and the walkways. Good thing we came so much earlier in the day. We relinquished the parking space to one in a line of cars snaking their way up to the parking lot, and drove back to the Village of Lake Louise.
The 'Village' is actually a single L-shaped shopping center consisting of a post office, a bookstore, a grocery, a liquor store and some assorted gift shops. Beyond the police station, two gas stations and a couple of hotels, there is no 'village'. We walked through the cute little shops anyway, found their prices in line with those at the gift shops at Chateau Lake Louise, and, not surprisingly, returned the RV empty-handed.
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