After disembarking from our cruise yesterday morning, we flew from Vancouver to Calgary.
We rented a truck and drove on the TransCanada Highway, past Banff, to Lake Louise. The scenery along the way, from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains covered with farms and rolls of hay, and then along the Bow River once we were in the mountains, was beautiful! We arrived at our hotel, Deer Lodge, by 6 p.m., dumped our stuff in the room, and walked directly to Lake Louise, just a few moments away. We arrived just after the sun had set and it was breathtaking!
We got up this morning, had coffee, and hit the road. Our first destination of the day was Moraine Lake, about 6 miles from Lake Louise. Moraine Lake was on the Canadian $20 bill for many years. The water was the most beautiful shade of blue/turquoise we have ever seen. We learned that the color comes from glacial silt. The glaciers at the head of the valley which are the source of the lake's water, grind up limestone into a fine glacial silt known as
"rockflour". This flows into the lake and makes it look blue.
After walking at Moraine Lake for a couple of hours, we stopped at a bakery in the village of Lake Louise with freshly baked goodies. We drove up the Yoho Valley, along the Yoho River, which looked like milky blue glass. At the end of the road, we came to Takakkaw Falls,
one of the highest in Canada. Again, just beautiful!
We drove past the village of Field and up to Emerald Lake, another "one of the most beautiful in Canada." We walked part way around the lake and had a picnic. The temperature was in the
low 70's. The day was just about perfect.
Banff National Park and Yoho National Parks are two of the most naturally beautiful places we've ever visited. Canada declared them National Parks in the early 1900's, and they are pristine.
There is very little development. The natural beauty is stunning.
