We started the day at 9:15am after a nice sleep in. We had free time until 3:15pm when we would be travelling to Banff. We followed the crowd across the little bridge to look at Lake Louise with its amazing turquoise reflection.
Above is the view from our room. Below is our first view of the lake.
Above is the view from our room. Below is our first view of the lake.
It is not possible to walk right around the lake because of slips on one side, so we decided to walk 2.7 km to Mirror Lake. That did not sound far but it was all uphill, not one flat section. We ascended 300 meters at a fairly steady incline and were glad for the chance to build up some fitness. We were able to look down on Lake Louise for a lot of the way.
The Mirror Lake was quite small in comparison and the reflection was disturbed by water rushing in and making waves but it was an isolated, small and beautiful world of its own and we enjoyed just sitting.
A spectacular tower of rock jutted up from the bank.
A group of horse riders called in for a look.
Many people were ascending as we walked back down and we commented that the temperature was just right for today's hike; maximum predicted C6.
We checked out at noon and waited in the crowded lobby area. The Fairmont Chateau is a huge building and there were hundreds of people in the lobby section.
We shared an eight seat wagon with another couple from New Mexico to get to Banff at 4:30pm. They live in Alberquerque and when I showed them Catherine and John's latest blog posts they recognised the area. Our driver was Aine (pronounced Onya) who comes from Dublin and she talked almost nonstop with interesting stories about Banff National Park.
After settling in to our rooms (we have a spare queen bed with its own TV) at the Aspen Lodge we wandered through town where there are more than 30 souvenir shops. We found a former Methodist Church (now United) where the opportunity shop was open for Friday night shopping. Malcolm bought warm gloves for a dollar and Lyn bought a multicoloured beanie for the same price. We also bought a nightie for a dollar to replace one left behind. We liked the position of this campsite in the middle of the town.
The bridge over the Bow river was made out of river stones and featured Indian faces.
The bridge over the Bow river was made out of river stones and featured Indian faces.
Today was Jasper's turn to host the Cycle Tour of Alberta, so we missed seeing that by a day or two. They were setting up road blocks while we were there. A British rider from the Australian team Orica-Greenedge was well placed we read in the paper.
In the evening we booked ourselves into the Scotsman Motel in Victoria from Sept 9 to 14. On Sept 15 we will have an apartment at Rosedale Condominiums in Vancouver before embarking on the Volendam for Alaska on Sept 16.
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