Lake Louise

YESTERDAY:

• drove up to Banff!
  • about 1.5 hours away
  • picked up sandwiches at a cute cafe
• went to Bow Lake first
  • lovely lunch by the lake
  • got attacked by a bunch of flies
• drop by Lake Peyto next
  • apparently Peyto was an explorer
  • did a fun hike over a mountain to look back at Bow Lake
  • mistook the incline of 250m for 60m
• head back to Banff to check into hotel
  • they included a free local bus pass for 3 days
• found a restaurant serving a tomahawk bison steak!
  • got seated right away
  • sirloin steak was better than the bison
• wandered around downtown looking at gift shops
• bit of work
• got to sleep around 1 am

TODAY:

• woke up around 8 am
• head out to see a waterfall recommended by the waitress from dinner yesterday
  • Takakkaw Falls
  • beautiful waterfall and the sun came out briefly
• drove to Lake Louise
  • lunch at the resort cafeteria
  • BLT wasn’t too bad
  • vegan brownie was way too sweet
• took a bus over the actual Lake Louise
  • cheapest bus tickets are released a few days in advance and sell out immediately
  • luckily, Alisa bought us a few tickets earlier
• did a short hike to look down on the lake from a scenic outlook
• took a connector bus over to Lake Moraine
  • sun came out just as we got to the top of a rock pile
  • beautiful views and vibrant colors
• head back to car parked at the resort
• dropped by Johnston Canyon on the way back
  • catwalks and a cave where you can see a waterfall up close!
• got back to Banff after sunset
• found an Indian restaurant for dinner
  • only had to wait 20 mins to get a table
  • staff was very patient with my a1 milk protein allergy
  • tried a new Indian dish called a moilee
• walked around picking up more souvenirs
• decided to walk back to the hotel

LEARNINGS:

• moilee is pretty tasty!
• melt from glaciers pours a ‘glacial flour’ into the lakes
  • this absorbs lots of wavelengths leaving a vibrant blue behind