The Beauty of Banff

Lake Louise Campground, Banff, Canada

Sleeping in a parking lot must not have been too bad since we slept in until 9:30! It was close to 11 by the time we were exploring Banff. One of our first stops was the very illustrious Banff Springs Hotel. Dang! I had no idea this 125 year old "lodge" was such an iconic landmark. We took a self-guided tour and learned that it was styled in the spirit of a Scottish baronial castle. The thick limestone blocks were quarried from nearby Mount Rundle and hundreds of Italian stone cutters and Scottish masons were employed to complete the project. We also enjoyed seeing the early pictures of the lodge in various time periods and the upper crust "summering" here. In the 1920's it cost them a $50,000 letter of credit to stay here for 3 or 4 months.
We had hoped to explore Banff on bike, but unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate so we were relegated to hoofing it. We walked to Bow Falls in a light drizzle and had the path to ourselves. Very romantic.
We took a peak at the nearby hot springs but decided to keep heading north and check out some other campgrounds on our way to Lake Louise. While we didn't get clear blue skies and forever views we did get some mystical cloud formations on mountain tops. We took the lesser traveled parkway rather than the main highway to Lake Louise and stopped periodically to read about historical points along the way. We haven't seen any wildlife yet (bears, moose, elk or wolves) but we did learn some interesting things. Did you know that Canada had interment camps during WWI? Over 8,500 mainly poor immigrants (mostly from the Austrian-Hungarian Empire) were interned in 24 camps throughout Canada. In this area they were forced to do hard labor and this highway is a tribute to their endeavors. Kinda made me a little sad.
We eventually arrived at Lake Louise and even though it was still drizzling, it didn't put a damper on our enjoyment of it. The turquoise blue waters still shone through and there were some hardy souls canoeing the lake. Their red canoes against the azure water in the mist looked amazing. We walked through the massive and very French Lake Louise Chateau. The architect certainly took advantage of the great views when he built this hotel. I particularly liked the "high tea" area where the bistro overlooked the lake.
Once we left the village of Banff the campground situation improved immensely. We have the added advantage that this is still considered off season so we have an abundance of campgrounds to pick from. Tonight we decided on a tent camp ground close to the village of Lake Louise. There are only a handful of people here and we've got a nice roaring fire going. (Thanks Ned.) Time to pop a nice bottle of Ravenswood Old Vine Zinfandel and snuggle in with my honey.