Last Monday, my partner and I took visiting family members on a day trip by road, into the Canadian Rockies. We were headed to the towns of Banff and Lake Louise, nestled in the Rockies, and well-known tourist destinations in their own right. Both are located within Banff National Park, the oldest national park in Canada.
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WARNING: A photo-heavy diary follows.
Grab a coffee (Tim Hortons preferred) and an orange croissant for the road, buckle up, and join us as we head westbound on the Trans-Canada highway.
A little warm-up before we actually get on the road. From this 1981 episode of the The Tonight Show, Johnny Carson is clearly impressed by Poncho, the singing parrot. Springtime in the Rockies begins at about the 3:15 mark.
Note: The photos below are hosted on flickr. Higher-resolution versions of each are available by clicking on the image, or right clicking and opening in a new browser tab.
The following shot was taken about six weeks ago, from a hilltop in the city of Calgary (elevation 3,428 ft), about 5 minutes from our home. At that time, everything was kind of brown and dull looking. Those gleaming white mountain tops in the background are almost 2 hours drive away.
A few weeks later, last Monday to be exact, we are heading west on the Trans-Canada highway out of Calgary. Traffic was light, the morning temperature was cool-ish (short sleeves could be worn), and a bit of colour had returned to the landscape.
As we approach the base of the mountains, we drive past the communities of Exshaw and Lac des Arcs (elevation 4330 ft). Looking back toward the east from which we came, the view includes some of the foothills that lead up to the mountains.
From the same position but looking more westerly, we are getting much closer to the real thing:
The next stop on this day was Lake Louise (elevation 5,200 ft). It's actually about a 45 minute drive past Banff; our plan was to have lunch in Lake Louise, then backtrack to Banff for afternoon tea.
The obligatory money shot at Lake Louise follows. Our waitress at lunch told us that the lake had only "unfrozen" the day before, so we were lucky to be able to see water. Indeed, there are still remnants of ice in the distance, and snow reaching down to ground level. There were still patches of snow in some shady spots where we walked. Keep in mind this is only one week ago from now.
Pulling back a little, we see the lake's outlet into Lake Louise Creek. Eventually this water will join up with the Bow River, flow eastward past Banff, and eventually through downtown Calgary and beyond.
And pulling back a little more.
This being springtime, there are signs of post-winter life appearing everywhere.
This little creature was hopping about rather quickly. I was lucky to get him at a very brief moment of standing still.
If you decide to head down the hiking trails to other locations in the park, beware. There are bears and other wild animals in their natural habitat. Don't mess with them!
I like this collection of rocks lining a pathway leading from the lake up to the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise hotel, which is really only steps away.
The view looking back to the lake from the hotel patio.
The Chateau itself is quite close to both the lake, and the nearby mountains. It has been built and burned and rebuilt and added to over the years. It originally was only a summertime resort, closed during winters (at least they didn't name it the Overlook). The hotel was finally winterized in 1982, and is now popular year-round as the area is known for snow skiing in winter.
We had a nice lunch in one of the hotel's restaurants, which has a stunning view of the lake. We chose to eat indoors, though a patio is right there and quite a few of the outdoor tables were occupied. I shot this right after the party at the windowside table had left, and the table service had been reset for the next guests. The empty table might indicate that the restaurant wasn't busy; it actually was.
After lunch, we drove back to Banff (elevation 4,600 ft), and stopped in the downtown area for a bit of walking about.
Looking the opposite direction from the same spot, the scene is just gorgeous. In fact, it's gorgeous no matter where you look.
A t-shirt hanging in a store window illustrates the "Evolution of a Canadian".
Leaving downtown, we drove over to the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. This landmark hotel opened on this day, June 1, way back in 1888. It is one of those grand old hotels built to service a major railway line. Everywhere you look, at or near the hotel, is a stunning view.
Above, a portion of the main hotel is pictured. Below, and just across a traffic circle, is a more recently built addition, comprising a convention center and other facilities.
The back side of the hotel building has a number of terrace levels. Bars and restaurants inside look out onto the terraces, which have outdoor seating not being used on this occasion.
I wasn't carrying a macro lens on this excursion, so I did my best to capture some of the planted flowers around the hotel. I got lucky as this little flyer quickly buzzed past my field of view at just the right moment.
One of the terrace levels has an outdoor pool. Though by this time in the afternoon it was comfortably warm, I was still surprised to see a number of sunbathers taking advantage of the upturn in the weather.
The mountain view directly behind the hotel. There's even a golf course nestled in the woods.
Leaving the hotel, we followed a short road down toward Bow Falls, which you can hear from the hotel terraces but can't see because of the thick trees. Along the way, is a labelled horse crossing. Indeed, horses were crossing.
And finally, our last stop before getting back on the highway toward Calgary, the Bow Falls, just a stone's throw from the hotel. It's not a huge waterfall, but is a popular photo spot and you have to wait your turn to get a clear shot at it.