Banff Vacation - Part 5

We FINALLY made it to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake the day before it was time to head home.  The entire system in place for visiting these two lakes is a massive, convoluted mess and almost ruined the experience. But we finally got to see the two main lakes everyone goes to Banff National Park to see. We still managed to get their with the first wave of buses, so at least we weren't completely surrounded by throngs of people and were able to get some really great pictures.  

I have to say, I am partial to Moraine Lake, mostly because the rockpile hike affords a better view. Lake Louise doesn't really have any such hike on the front end of the lake, and most pictures are at water level.  

Moraine Lake:

Lake Louise:

As you can see, both lakes have the opaque blue glacier waters. They are both gorgeous in their own way.

All of the super early mornings finally caught up with this one!

Banff is one of those very few places I have been where I feel small. I feel like an insignificant ant-sized human standing at the base of those towering mountains. There are jaw-dropping views around every corner, and even though we didn't see nearly the amount of wildlife we thought we would, we were still happy with what we did see. It was an amazingly fun trip, aside from the kids bickering, fear of height episodes, etc. I hope the kids remember all the times they said "OMG this is awesome!!" and that it's a trip they carry with them forever.  It was a really long roadtrip (over 2,200 miles total) and I have to say, I'd do it all the same way again.

We stopped on the way back at the lake cabin where I spend a few childhood summers.  Lake Chatcolet is exactly as I remember it, minus the dock configuration, and the cabin looks exactly the same!  Hopefully we can get back up there and rent it out for old time's sake!

Banff Vacation - Part 4

The next day, we got up early and made our way to Lake Minnewanka where we rented a boat for a bit to explore the lake. The boat was nothing fancy - just something to troll around the lake. It was quite chilly out on the water - this was really the only overcast, cloudy day we had the entire time we were there. 

  

  

  

After the boat adventure, we decided to hit up Gap Lake and Grotto Pond, which were known to be great fishing spots. The fishing rules are quite complicated in and around Banff, so we were very careful to go to the right spots and use the right poles/bait/etc. And not a single bite!

 After dinner, we decided to take the full Kananaski Wildlife Drive, which encompasses one paved road, another dirt road, lots of miles, and even more eager watching out the windows to spot some wildlife. 

We FINALLY saw a bear - it seemed to be about a year old, which meant rolling up the windows quickly in case mama bear happened to be nearby. We didn't get the best look at it as it made its way into the dense forest..  The mountains and trees up there are so different than here in Idaho. The forest is THICK. As in, a few paces in and you lose virtually all daylight. It was a constant question as to how the big elk with their antlers navigated through the trees.