Beauty Everywhere

This gorgeous waterfall doesn't even get a sign mentioning that it's there on the side of the Icefields Parkway. I guess there's just so many amazing things to see that they can't label them all. We had fun being discoverers and "finding" this waterfall for ourselves.

 

 

Paradise Bungalows

After sunrise, we came back to our lodging and packed up for another full day of fun. It was too bad that this was one of the best places we stayed the whole trip because in fact, we stayed here the shortest amount of time of all our lodging. We arrived close to midnight on Saturday and left Sunday morning, only sleeping 4 or 5 hours between arrival and sunrise photo time. Oh just so much to see and do on this trip!! We all ended up lingering at checkout time in the lobby. It was so quaint and the staff were so nice. You could tell we really didn't want to leave.

We got in so late, we didn't take photos of the room before we crashed into bed. This hotel room had two rooms! You entered into a room with two twin beds, walked through a dressing room type area that had a sink with a long counter on one side, a closet, and a separate room with the shower and toilet. The vanity/sink area doubled as a kitchen. China, glassware, and metal cutlery were all available in addition to the microwave, refrigerator, and coffee maker. When you walked through the dressing area, you came into another room, this one with one queen bed, a nice sitting area, and a back door that opens to a balcony. I went out on the balcony at night it was really cool (temperature wise) but I have no idea what the view was. In the morning, I forgot to go look out the balcony and see the view by day. Forgive the unmade beds in these photos, but I took the pics this morning instead of last night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peyto Lake

Words cannot describe and pictures cannot capture how incredibly beautiful this place is. The color blue is like none I've ever seen before. These panoramic photos barely begin to show the vastness and intensity.

 
"The Peyto Glacier once filled this valley. Now it is merely a tongue of the larger Wapta Icefield. Yet you can see proof of the glacier's former presence. Past glacial advances gouged out the U-shape of the valley and the bowl of the lake. This glacier is one of the best studied glaciers in the Canadian Rockies. The recent discovery of 3000-year-old wood fragments covered by the ice indicates that much of what is now glacier was once forest. But advances and retreats are part of a glacier's life. The glacier has receded about two kilometers in the last century.

 
Why is the lake blue? The junction of the stream, the lake and the delta is the clue. Water leaving the glacier is muddy with rocks, gravel and silt. As the stream slows down most of that rubble is left behind to become delta. Silt flows into the icy water where most of it sinks to the bottom. Fine particles of rock ground to the texture of baking flour remain suspended in the water. This "rock flour" scatters the blue-green rays of light, giving the lake its special color.

Lake Louise

This is one of the most photographed locations in all of Canada. For decades, I've had "Banff and Lake Louise" on my bucket list without really knowing much more than everyone says they're incredible and you have to go. Sure enough...Lake Louise is incredible.

Looks like I'm not the only one with it on their bucket list. This is the first day/place where we've really been overrun with a bunch of tourists. By going this early in June, we've missed the beginning of the tourist season. It was iffy to do it this early... one friend told me she was here exactly a year ago and there was snow and cold the entire time she was here. But we got height of tourist season weather without the tourists...until today.

We thought the selfie stick was dead, but turns out, it works again! Oh we are so relieved!

There are 3 glaciers in these photos (and here's the sign that explains it all): Upper Victoria Glacier (top of the middle mountain), Lower Victoria Glacier (the snow pile at the bottom of the middle mountain), and Plain of Six Glaciers, just to the right of Lower Victoria Glacier. At this point in the year, they're snow patches...the snow melts on the rock sooner than it does on the glacier. Eventually, it will melt and you will see the ice of the glacier. It's a gray-ish color because of the rock and sediment it picks up when it's moving.

Two birds of a feather:

The lobby of the Chateau Lake Louise.

This is a part of Chateau Lake Louise. "Luggage Land" sounds like an amusement park LOL.

I got a cool email from my mom:

I'm enjoying the blog and so glad you are all enjoying this special trip. I got to thinking, June 8. Daddy and I spent his 50th birthday at Lake Louise in 1980. And here you are spending his 85th anniversary right there in the same lovely place.

How awesome is that??!!!

My Morning With Photographers at Sunrise

It was a very short night. We got in late last night (close to midnight) and now we're up before sunrise to go take photos. First light is 5:03am and sunrise is at 5:38am. Mary sleeps in but Karen, Rodney, and I are in the Tahoe and on our way. Moraine Lake is only 15 minutes away from our bungalow.

First light:

Karen and Rodney climbed all the way to the top of "the rockpile" but I stopped at the bench about halfway up. Then I noticed this photographer, so I went to see what angle he had on the lake.

I like this view! Pretty soon, his wife comes along. She's a wildlife photographer. We chat chat chatted away, it was so fun! Since the two of them have different specialties, they support each other in their work. She likes when he photographs because she doesn't have to be quiet. Nancy and I are now Facebook friends. :-)

This is the beginning of the trail that goes up the rockpile. It was steps most of the way.

Sunrise at Morain Lake

Think of this as manual time lapse photography. Photos will never capture the sheer awe and beauty of this place at this time of day, but here's a hint of what it's like as you look west and the sun is rising behind you, shining on the mountains. This is Moraine Lake, just down the road from Lake Louise.

Photographer Priorities

Suitcases or tripods. Hmmmmm. Yes, packing a car is very different when camera gear is involved.