During our stay at Lake Louise, we took a few driving excursions. One day we drove to the city of Banff to see what was there. It rained off and on that day, but we still managed to see some pretty sights. Rather than driving the main highway to Banff, we took the alternate Bow Valley Parkway. Castle Mountain dominated the view during the drive. We had picked up a map in town and used our guidebook for suggestions on what may be interesting to visit.

We first headed to the Cave and Basin National Historic Site. Hiking through caves certainly sounded like an interesting prospect. We should have noted the title more carefully. There was just one cave and no hike. The visitor center was built around the cave and you had to pay admission to walk inside a rocky hallway to a small pool of water that stank of sulfur. There were a couple outdoor pools of hot springs to see. However we couldn’t even feel how warm they were because there were teeny, tiny, endangered snails living in the pools. We strolled on some bridges to a wildlife viewpoint to make the most of our $3.00, but we were less than thrilled by the wild tadpoles in the shallow waters.

Since each of the hotels we were staying at on our trip were Fairmont hotels, we were curious to see the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel. Its setting is spectacular, nestled in the hills with its own fantastic view. We learned the Fairmont hotels in this region were part of the hotels built along with the Canadian Pacific Railway in the late 1800’s. The Canadian National Parks in this area were also established around that time. 

Next we headed over to Bow Falls and the Bow River. There we saw two elk relaxing by the side of the road. The falls were quite pretty as well as the setting of the river.

Banff is an interesting tourist town with many hotels, restaurants, and shops. I took advantage of the shopping to find a second pair of jeans for the trip. The chilly days were more than we had expected and our shorts and T-shirts weren’t quite enough. Driving to and from Banff is pretty with many mountain views. During our drive back to Lake Louise we saw something scurry across the road. Dan had the better view and thinks it was a lynx, although it could also have been a bobcat. Too quick for a photo.

Another day we drove from Lake Louise to see Takakkaw Falls and Emerald Lake. Along the way we stopped at a site marked “Natural Bridge.”

Nearby Lake Louise is a road leading to Moraine Lake. I had seen a few pictures on postcards and travel books. Even though it was a somewhat rainy day when we went into Banff, I asked Dan to try the side road before reaching our hotel. We were the only ones there. Although we did not get the crystal clear coloring I had been hoping for, the misty weather gave the scene its own beauty.

Later in our trip we passed back through Lake Louise on our way to Calgary. The weather that day was exceptional. Since we were so close and I knew Moraine Lake was so beautiful, I asked Dan to detour a bit so we could check out the lake once more. We knew that day, July 1, was Canada Day, but we did not know that there were some events planned at Moraine Lake. Traffic leaving the lake was heavy as we approached it. We managed to find parking and take a few minutes to appreciate the view.

Moraine Lake is in the Valley of the Ten Peaks. On the road leading to the lake we stopped to capture a picture. We are not exactly sure how the peaks are numbered, but I think there are ten in this shot.

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