6a. Tuesday, Lake Louise

A memorable trip: 

YVR Preparation: I packed my stuff!
Thursday, May 31st 1.  Getting There Off to YVR!
Friday, June 1st #2. Vancouver and kidlets!
Saturday, June 2nd #3. YVR's Queen Elizabeth Park
Sunday, June 3rd #4. YVR, splashing,  sushi
Monday , June 4th #5.: YVR=>YYC, lunch in Canmore, drive to Deer Lodge, Lake Louise

Tuesday, June 5th

We were staying overnight in Deer Lodge, in Lake Louise, in Banff National Park.

When we'd arrived the night before, it was only10˚  C. (Our rental car had an amazing GPS, with a huge screen.) By morning it was -1˚  C. and hailing. It did warm up.


Banff Park is part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site. It consists of seven contiguous parks in both Alberta and B.C. Who knew? I'm doing research on all this and finding it very interesting.


Banff Park is amazing. The parking lots were full, and cars were hustled over to the "over flow parking" by park employees. There were tons of busses, campers, as well as many cars.


Lake Louise itself deserves it's own blog post!  Here is the signage for Lake Louise... Tons of tourists, busses, campers.


We packed up in Deer Lodge, and loaded the car. As we were a 10-minute walk from the park, at Deer Lodge, we checked out,  left the car and walked on over. This is the famous Fairmont Lake Louise Hotel.

Here we are! It was chilly...

Down at the lake itself, there was much signage explaining the park history.  Over 4' of snow annually. First Nations have been here for 10,000 years. Yet, they named it Lake Louise in honour of the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. The first chalet was built on the shore in 1890.


Can you see the swallows flitting? Nah, me either! But they were there. I had to leave my big zoom lens at home, as well as my tripod. There just wasn't room in my suitcase, what with rain gear and warm clothes.


As we stood there, in awe, there were questions I had. Lake Louise drains into Louise Creek. It is the Victoria Glacier high above.


JB tells me it has retreated quite a bit since he was here last. He hiked here, I didn't think I could walk that far, I was cramping as it was. There is a teahouse along the path, not visible to us on the shoreline.


The glaciers were active 2 million years ago. Victoria Glacier once filled this valley. About 10,000 years ago the glaciers retreated, debris dammed the valley, and the lake was formed.
Mounts Victoria and Lefroy are part of the Continental Divide, the backbone of North America.
The upper Victoria Glacier is 7 km away, and 80m thick. When a chunk of ice breaks off, it takes 20 seconds for the sound to reach us here.


Lots of people having fun!

One can rent canoes.

Quite the hotel: Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise

It's a little above our pension income!

The hotel was burned out twice. Once in the late 1800s, and again in 1924. They finally created a water reserve, just in case. (This is from the signage!)

A postcard, showing the hotel c. 1909.

Above Image courtesy of Peel's Prairie Provinces,
a digital initiative of the University of Alberta Libraries.
And in 1924

Lots of busses, lots of tourists. The shops were well beyond our means, with huge jade sculptures, as well as brass, fetching $2500 – $25,000 dollars. 

The people from the bus tours were invited to peek into the restaurant by staff, which wasn't open. We sidled in, and used the washrooms!

Critters 

Swallows... I could have stood there for hours, perhaps with a tripod, and gotten a better photo, but there you go! They were numerous. You'll just have to trust me!


Just as we were walking back to our car...  Snowshoe Hares. Well, two possibilities Jackrabbit Hare or snowshoe. 'Snowshoe' seems to fit, here. They were hilarious.

Snowshoe hare from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

This little guy was in a tree, along the path on the edge of the lake. Another person was trying to photograph him! I circled the tree twice. My blog buddy, Red, identified him for me. There are too many birds, and he is a fabulous Albertan birder!

Bird Lake Louise from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Then, on the road as we were leaving, two cars were stopped. We found out why! If it is the same as Algonquin Park, there is salt in the gravel on the side of the road. If you watch until the end, you'll see two more cars pass, and they didn't budge. It's a good sign of respect for wild life.
Dall sheep from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Next is 6 b., Tuesday afternoon, we had lunch in Canmore (again!), and then visited Johnson's Canyon. That is for tomorrow's post!