Lake Louise sits below a glacier which feeds it, which in turn feeds into the Bow River. It is no doubt quite spectacular, but we gave up trying to reach it when we encountered a non moving traffic jam about half way up! I can't say we weren't warned, the guy in the Tourist Information said don't go up between ten and five.
The village itself is basically a small shopping mall with a few houses around it, a little disappointing as they had no Subway! And crowded; parking was at a premium, there are so many RVs ( Motor Caravans to us!) there was an overspill park for them out of town. But at least it was free, that was unexpected.
Lake Louise is the centre of the skiing in the winter, but there seems to be very little accommodation here. We had to stay 15 miles south of the town, and we were lucky to get a place.
I went up to the top of the ski runs in a gondola, which runs up the mountain opposite the lake and village. The views were spectacular all the way, I was disappointed that Anne could not be with us but she has a fear of heights. I came down however on a chair lift, it was not as cold up there as I had expected.
However I was greatly compensated by the sight of a grizzly bear just below as I travelled up, he was massive. He appeared to be eating the grass and shrubs but occasionally lifted his head to give me a good shot. He was still there when I came down, still grazing, but disappeared into the forest shortly afterwards.
We were staying in a cabin on the Bow Valley Parkway, just a little way from the river and the railway line which runs alongside it. We had a lovely little cabin with a log fire, in the most beautiful of surroundings.
The cabins nestled underneath Castle Mountain, a spectacular series of ridges which towered over the valley a little less than halfway between Lake Louise and Banff. The parkway itself was the original road, since superseded by a freeway, and which was first built by internees during the first world war.
Just north of Louise is a spectacular railway line which does two 360 degree turns through tunnels over 1 km long each, the plan above may give you some idea how it works. We stood and watched as a goods train over a mile long, with no less than four engines, came down.
Look closely at this picture, you can see the engine emerging from the lower end of the tunnel as part of the train enters the upper part to the left above. Although you can't see it, and indeed it was obscured from us with the trees, just below us was the back end of the train as it snaked along to another bend about 300 yards from us to our right.
We spent a little time in Yoho National Park, just to the west of Lake Louise, where we visited the Takakkawa Falls, the third highest falls in North America. To get up there we had to negotiate a double hairpin bend, where on the middle pitch buses and RVs had to reverse up, and down, as there was no room to turn the middle corner.
There was a major surprise awaiting us on our way home to our cabin that evening- another Grizzly bear, a huge male. He was grazing just by the roadside as we were passing, I say passing but really there was so much traffic viewing him we couldn't get past for a while. But he hung about for us and we got some superb shots. These animals can be very aggressive, and have been known to kill humans, but there were still people getting out of their vehicles to get a better picture. Foolhardy to say the least.
Wolves are common round this area, although it was normal to kill off the dangerous predators in the middle of the last century that policy was reversed in the eighties when it was found that natural oder of things was changing due to the culling. So it was decided to leave things to nature, and the park has returned to what it should be. Wolves, like bears, and indeed any of the large animals here, can be a problem, but if they are left alone rarely attack people.
We visited the warm sulphur springs, which first put Banff on the map in the 1860s, shortly afterwards the railway came here bringing with it the rich tourists to take the waters. This photo shows one of the springs which fed the baths, nowadays the baths are closed but you can still see and smell the waters.
We came across a harmless garden snake taking the sum in the gardens there, about 18 inches long.
A few more views:
One of the hairpins up to the Takakkaw Falls
The railway runs alongside the Bow River for much of the way.
Anne didn't like this bit!
A street scene in Banff.
The Johnston Canyon Lower Falls.
Our little cabin in the woods.
A groundhog stands guard outside our cabin while his family grazes behind him.
Yet another spectacular view.
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