August 22, 2017 - Lake Louise

We finally ended up in Lake Louise where Grammie's parents went about 40 years ago.  I guess you could say it has been on the bucket list for years.
Lake Louise is located about 40 minutes above the city of Banff and the area is engulfed by the Canadian Rockies.  There is beauty in the mountains everywhere. We actually got to Lake Louise the day before, but hit the lake before sunup today for more pictures.

 There are canoes available to rent by the half, or full hour.  They are Old Town canoes.  If you bought one and rented it out, you could easily have it paid off in one day.  There are probably a dozen canoes out on the lake at any time.  This morning there were at least 6 out on the pond by sunup.  There is usually a line to rent one.

A look up the Lake from the front of the Fairmont Chateau.  The glacier Victoria can be seen in the background.

 Sunrise in the mountains just before 7.

 Victoria glacier

 The front of the Fairmont Chateau is well adorned with flowers.

  The outlet of the lake even has it's own beauty.

 The GOPRO man.

 The lake has a green coloration.  The glaciers have ground the rock into what is known as rock flour.  This powder is washed into the lake.  The light is absorbed into the lake except the turquoise and blue colors, which are reflected back to our eyes.

 It is unbelievable how many people show up at the lake to take pictures.  Tom had a great time helping couples with a picture instead of them taking their partners picture and then switching places.

One woman was happy with the pic that Tom took and was a little fussy taking our picture.

The Fairmont Chateau

The Deer Lodge where we stayed  is just up the street from Lake Louise.

This town is small but it is quite busy during the season.  There are traffic people at the intersections and parking lots to keep traffic moving.  The parking lots are usually full by 10 am so getting up early like we did is the best move.

We left Lake Louise and headed for Golden where we stayed the night.  While on the way, we made 3 stops to see some more beautiful places.

The first of the places was Emerald Lake.  As with other glacier fed lakes, the water is very pretty.

 There are cabins along the lake to rent and is as beautiful as Lake Louise.

 A walk around lake would get you closer to the wildflowers.  With temperatures in the high 80's, an ice cream bar was what was needed more.

 Lake Moraine is another pretty area.  It is about 8 miles off the main road and the parking lot was like the others.  A couple of drives around and you might fine a space.

The Takakkaw Falls was another great view and the short hike in got you close enough to catch some of the mist from the falls.

 In one spot near the top, the water hit some rock and was pushed back up.

 Takakkaw Falls

 This spot was called the Natural Bridge.  One could walk over the water without having to jump over.  The path was from the upper right, down to front center, then back up towards the water...

...and then looking from the other side, towards the tree.  Eventually, the water will erode the rock away.

Thanks for keeping an eye out for Grammie, she enjoyed the day.