One Year Away

Penny and Joseph

Banff National Park is one of 5 parks in this part of Western Canada.  It alone is bigger than Prince Edward Island.  So, needless to say we are only going to be seeing a small bit of it.

Today we did the obligatory drive up to Lake Louise, about 50 km from the town of Banff.  The drive takes you through some incredible mountain scenery that is so foreign to eyes accustomed to Toronto’s flat-as-a-pancake geography.  Every bend in the highway up to Lake Louise gave us an "oooh ahhh" moment.

When we arrived at Lake Louise we took the classic Lake Louise photo.  Then we broke off from the hordes of tourists and joined a smaller horde heading up the mountainside to Agnes Lake.  The climb was 4.5 km each way.  Along the way we passed a couple of small alpine lakes and waterfalls.    We ended our climb at the Little Beehive lookout.  At this point we were pretty tired and hungry so we sat down for a snack and Penny had a short nap on a bench.  The views down to Lake Louise and the Chateau Fairmont were worth the hike though.

After getting back down from the lookout we headed for a quick look at Moraine Lake, about 11 km from where we were.  Getting there took us through some roads that you probably saw in a sports car commercial; winding, hilly…  It would’ve been more fun if we weren’t stuck behind an RV the whole way.

At the foot of Moraine Lake there is a massive rock pile nearby whose origin is a mystery to geologists.  It might have been deposited by retreating glaciers or fallen from the side of one of the mountains that ring the lake.  Climbing to the top of the rock pile gives a very familiar view as it is on the back of all the old $20 bills.

On the highway back to Banff there was a type of structure we’d never seen before; a wildlife overpass.  Interesting.

For the next three days we’ll be out of touch completely.  We’ll be in the back country playing cowboy in what they call a "wilderness tenting ride".  True city-slickers!