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| Deer from our living room window. |
Yes, today is (was) Thanksgiving (in Canada). So, we ran around telling random people happy
thanksgiving. All of us seemed to wake
up early, but moved slowly. So, we lounged
in the living room sipping coffee and wondering why the gas fireplace didn’t
work. As the sun came up, we found a
white wonderland about us. Theresa
noticed a couple of deer outside our balcony a little ways off.
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| Us at Lake Moraine |
We headed out first to Lake Louise Village to visit the information center and then on to Lake Moraine, since this was the last
day that particular road would be open until spring, and lake Louise. As we drove through the blowing snow, and the
-6°C (21°F), at least one or two of us wondered what we were in for! Then we passed the car laying on its side in
the median. But we got there safely, and stopped off for
a warm snack and come coffee after the visitor's center. I found a
car with the windows partly open and a giant dog head sticking out, so I went
to say hi. There were two huge but
friendly dogs in there, with warm heads (good to pet with cold hands!). We left for the mountain drive to Lake Moraine, bundled up to head for a few little treks around the lake. It was as cold as it looks in the
pictures!
We headed off to Lake Louise, which is the highest elevated
community in all of Canada (at 5018 feet), and also the most photographed scene
in Canada. It was slightly better
lighting, though still rather dull and grey.
But the grey and snow gave the place a quiet serene feeling. We enjoyed it.
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| Lake Louise |
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| Lake Louise |
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| Lake Louise (and Bill) |
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| Lake Louise |
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| Fairmont Hotel |
After walking around the lake, we went to the Fairmont Lake Louise Hotel for lunch, as their
dining room has huge windows overlooking the lake. As we sat inside thawing out, the sun came
out a little and gave the whole place a bright cheerful look. I had a Bison grilled cheese sandwich (which
was really more like a meat sandwich than grilled cheese) and we shared
some Poutine (a Canadian treat of French fries, topped with cheese curds and
then gravy…a real health dish).
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| Takkakaw Falls |
After lunch,
we meandered West a little farther, and into British Columbia to see Takkakaw
Falls, a group of 3-4 waterfalls coming off a glacier. We could not see the glacier, but we hiked up
to the falls to get a closer look.
I got ambitious, and climbed pretty far up the mountain to
get as close to the falls as I could. I
got far enough to see the pool that it collects in before spilling over and
trickling down the rest of the mountain.
I’d say I even got within a stone’s throw, but after throwing several
stones and not seeing where they landed, I concluded you won’t know if I’m
lying. So, yeah. They made it!!
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| Ce and Charles by the Falls |
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| Pool at the base of the main water fall. |
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| Theresa is way down there, in a white coat...look closely! |
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| Bill is way up there...see the blue coat? |
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| Random typical scene...except with daylight and blue sky! |
We started driving home and made a few scenic stops along
the way. There was a memorial to the “Internment
Camps” where the Canadians sent off German and Eastern European immigrants believed
to be dangerous in WWI, and a spot where someone named George wrote his name
with white rocks on the hillside, and the Spiral Tunnels where the trains
crossing the terrain go in and out of the mountain while twisting down
gradually. We even found a spot
overlooking the Bow River, and watched a train come by passing beneath us and
by the river.
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| Bow River |
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| Elk |
Charles spotted an elk, and we backed up to get a better
look. He (the elk) was not especially
happy at our arrival, and didn’t stay for pictures. (I got a quick one, though.)
We headed back to Canmore (our “home”) and found the Grizzly
Paw Brewery Pub for a good meal and a good beer! I had an Elk burger, in honor of our
unwilling friend, and a flight of beer samples.
Theresa had some leaves. And we
shared a soup that was awesome. I’m not
sure what it was, except hot and hearty!!
Finally heading home, we made one last stop, and picked up
some pumpkin pie (it is Thanksgiving, after all!). Ce made hot chocolate, Theresa and I had pie,
and then everyone went to bed (leaving me to tell you the story). So, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!
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