We
woke up this morning to a little fresh snow on the sunny mountain top beyond
the condos here.
The
mission today is a trip up to Lake Louise.
It’s supposed to be the scenic spot of this area.
So
we shuttled down to the train station once again on the city shuttle to catch
the park shuttle.
The
view of the mountains west of the train station was equally snowy this morning.
This
is an active train depot with several trains passing daily as well as a depot
for Greyhound.
I
noticed the commercial logo here is the shape of a bear paw. It's what you notice when waiting for shuttles.
We
debated whether to take the shuttle of just drive the RV up to Lake
Louise. We opted for the $10 shuttle
ticket.
It
was a 30 mile ride that got up to the Chateau Lake Louise. Opting for the ride up there was absolutely
the correct decision. You can’t believe
the mass of humanity and traffic that converges on that spot daily. It’s incredible and really spoils the experience.
We
wander the 100 yards down to the shore to see what is so special.
There’s
no question it is a scenic spot with the milky/aqua colored water.
There
was quite a flock of canoes and kayaks on the lake. It’s well used.
There’s
a trail that leads to the other end of the lake and is a bit elevated, but we
chose to skip that hike today and just enjoy the view from here…
…with
several hundred of our closest friends.
It
reminded me of the crowds gathering around the lagoon at EPCOT waiting for the
laser show.
A
helicopter flew over with a bag dangling below.
I thought it was probably for firefighting.
Closer
inspection of the photo shows it was a mesh bag with some kind of supplies as
it flies next to a mountain top.
So
we saw the lake. Next on our agenda was
to catch the resort shuttle to the Lake Louise Ski Resort for lunch and a ride
on the ski lift.
It
would be what I would envision for a ski lodge.
We
purchased our lift tickets and headed out to the lift.
We
had a choice of the traditional lift chair, like this…
…or
an enclosed gondola car, like this.
We,
actually it was me, chose the open seat for the better view and “outdoor”
experience.
Once
at the top, we walk under the lift to the observation platform.
These
are the views we had from the platform.
Lake Louise is the lake in the scene with higher mountain tops right and
left and lower mountains that are cloud covered behind the lake.
It
is a lot hazier now than earlier in the day but the views are still
breathtaking.
We’re
thoroughly chilled now so hop on the open chair for the ride back down the
hill.
The
good news is the wind is now in our face.
Kathy commented that she thought the wind chill was like 20°. I was thinking more like negative 20°…Celsius!
Well,
a little frost bite was worth the view as we approach the lodge again.
I
had never been on a chair lift. That was
pretty neat. The air clarity could have
been a lot better but it is what it is.
So
here’s my take on Lake Louise. There’s a
lot of hype for a pretty simple attraction.
Its way over commercialized and the crowds are insane. You can’t really drive there unless you get
there about dawn. They say all the
parking is full by 7:00 am and you have to park in overflow parking several
miles away and shuttle in.
The
better scenery is the drive through the mountain range between Banff and Lake
Louise. That is truly impressive. Hopefully, we can get a few shots of that as
we drive west from here on Monday. The
mountains are massive.
Tomorrow
we’re staying in Banff all day and just shuttle around the town to the various
points of interest.
No comments:
Post a Comment