Lake Louise is likely one of the most famous lake in the Canadian Rockies. Odds are, if you have ever seen a photograph of a lake in the Rockies, it was a photograph of Lake Louise.
So, naturally, when we were planning our
Great Canadian Road Trip we added a stop at the lake.
The lake was named The Lake Of The Fishes by the Stoney Nakota First Nations people back in the day. It is a brilliant turquoise lake surrounded by towering mountains.
The day we arrived happened to be a civic holiday weekend, so the place was absolutely packed with damned dirty tourists. So we had to wade thru crowds to get to the shore line. When we did, we got the amazing view that has made Lake Louise famous.
Spread along the shoreline are two virtual caches, and an earth cache. On the northern shore is a flat hard-packed trail, that is about a mile and a half in length. So we walked this trail to the far side of the lake.
When we got there we were standing at the base of one of the mountains that line the lake. Some rock climbers were living up to their name.
From the back end of the lake one gets a great view of the Fairmont Chateau.
When we got back to the Chateau side of the lake, we put our feet into the water. It is at this point that my mother-in-law would point out that the water is full of sediment called rock flour that is so fine it gets deep into your skin and can take a week to wash out (however I never noticed any issues)
We ate lunch at one of the many restaurants at the Chateau. After words, we continued on our way, Our goal was to spend the night in Calgary, but before we got there we still had some very pretty mountains to drive thru.
Just as we pulled into Calgary we stopped for a geocache. When we got out of the car and looked behind us (we were headed east), we saw this spectacular sky.
That proved to be a wonderful end to a great day of exploring the Rockies.
We are finally heading back east, but there are a few more stops to be made, including a pilgrimage to the beloved fictional Canadian town of Dog River, Saskatchewan.
Stay tuned - it is going to be an action packed visit to a place where there is not a lot going on. Trust me.
