22 July 2013
We left Whitefish and headed up to British Columbia, on our way to Lake Louise.
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| The US-Canadian border in Montana--slightly less traffic than at Detroit |
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| Yoho National Park in British Columbia |
Between Banff and Lake Louise they have built several bridges to let animals cross the parkway.
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| Don't drive on this bridge |
We arrived in
Lake Louise in late afternoon. The big splurge on this trip was booking two nights at the
Chateau Lake Louise. When we arrived at 4:00 PM to check in, the clerk told us that our room wasn't ready because a light bulb had burned out in one of the lamps and they couldn't release the room until all maintenance was done. Having just driven for 6 hours, I told him that even if the room didn't meet their standards, it met mine, and he called in an emergency repair for the light bulb, but wouldn't let us have the room until it was done. To apologize for the delay, he gave us vouchers for two glasses of wine ($13 each!) at the bar.
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| Arriving at Chateau Lake Louise |
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| Lobby of the Chateau Lake Louise |
The room was worth the wait. It was in a corner with windows on two walls. One window had a partial view of Lake Louise, and the other had a mountain view.
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| Partial view of Lake Louise from our room |
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| View from our room of mountains and the new addition to Chateau Lake Louise |
As luck would have it, by the time we got to our room, a thunderstorm started rolling in, the first time we actually saw rain during the trip. This impacted the view somewhat, but still nothing to sneeze at.
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| Lake Louise with clouds rolling in. |
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| Another view after the storm |
23 July 2013
Today we headed for Banff, about an hour south of Lake Louise. We took the Bow Valley Parkway, so we could see Moose Meadows. We took the same route during our trip in 1990. See if you can tell which picture below is which:
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| On the way to Banff |
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| Central Banff |
Banff contains my (and Boris Badenov's) favorite intersection in the world.
About a mile away from central Banff is the
Banff Springs Hotel, to which we paid a visit.
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| Bow River, near the Banff Springs Hotel |
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| Banff Springs Hotel |
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| Tame wildlife near the hotel |
We left Banff and returned to Lake Louise. Just outside of Lake Louise is the Lake Louise Gondola, which are basically the ski lifts at the Lake Louise Ski Resort. We took the gondola to the top for a view of the area.
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| In the center is Lake Louise |
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| Close(r)-up of Lake Louise from the gondola. |
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| Lake Louise Ski Resort |
We then returned to Chateau Lake Louise for some more views and dinner.
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| Poppies after dark |
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| The view from dinner. Expensive but worth it. |
24 July 2013
Today we left Lake Louise and headed up the
Icefields Parkway to Jasper. Before we left Lake Louise we took a few more pictures.
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| Lake Louise in the morning |
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| Moonrise over the glaciers at Lake Louise |
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| A reflection on Lake Louise |
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| That was then |
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| This is now |
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| Farewell to Lake Louise |
Next:
Moraine Lake, Icefields Parkway, and Jasper
