Lake Louise

What a mixed bag Lake Louise was!

This is a most gobsmacking area, both for the quality of the views and also the ahem breadth of cuisines available in the area. At the same time as I struggled to find food to eat in the local mini-market, there is a hotel with fine dining room and pub that has European trained chefs, including pastry chefs, just around the corner. And I don't mean the Fairmont hotel at Lake Louise either! (Hint for coeliacs - BYO food!)

The village is small and has a shopping plaza with a very nice book shop. Not what one expects but it was a good shop. Wish we had bought something there. The national park place was interesting but dull at the same time. (Just like my notes accompanying these pictures!) Since we were whacked by the time we looked at the national park place, we just sat down and watched a kids' doco on how the Rockies formed. We enjoyed it. We watched all bar the credits at the end (and probably would've watched the credits but we got a subtle hint that they were closing - oh! People! You watched all of it????). The host of the doco was a complete whacko but we learned stuff. Like how to tell if rock is shale/mudstone (wet it and rub it). Sandstone feels rough against your teeth (!!!). Limestone dissolves in acid (not many of us carry vinegar around but maybe someone has a little sachet left over from some fish and chips! Not that I found fish and chips there. Gosh I miss fish and chips, not that I could have them Back 'Ome either....). The park ranger said we are about the first people to watch the whole thing. Well why not? It is amusing and educational, even for big Know-It-Alls like us!


Here's some shots taken walking up to the Lake from the village. It is only about 4km. We can eat 4km of walking normally, but this was in quite sub-zero temps (about -15C, I think almost subzero F as well) up a steep hill on ice and snow.


Along the way we met another AUSTRALIAN. How on earth do we do it? We are halfway around the world from home and we meet Aussies. Like doooods, we want to meet other people!


Even worse, he was from the same suburb of Melbourne where I spent the first 25 years of my life (Ringwood). He says it has gone downhill since I was there. He and Nathan had a good chat.




Crikey! The picnic ground is CLOSED? Y'kidding me! Whyeverso?


Aren't these chalets cute in the snow - it is dripping off them just like icing on gingerbread houses!


Nathan demonstrates how cold it was - our breath was forming hoar frost! It was driving me insane cos I could keep my face covered (so it didn't freeze) or I could see (my glasses kept fogging up if I breathed with my face covered). I chose to not see as well as I could. Mostly. After all, the scenery is on a grand scale and not being able to focus on it was not really impairing my ability to see it.


These were the best icicles we saw on the whole trip. Imagine one of them breaking off! Be like a spear through someone's head....


It might have been so cold that the hoar frost was building but the creek was still bounding along with some open water here and there.

Finally we came in sight of the World Famous Lake Louise Fairmont hotel. Have you ever heard of World Famous sites (or burgers/food) that you've never heard of before you came across them at their World Famous site? Well this one I reckon really is World Famous! This is one of the few World Famous sites that I've ever heard of!


Next - Lake Louise itself.