Tour de Alberta (Part 6): Worth The Hype

We've been to Banff countless times. When we lived in Calgary, we were a mere 1.5 hours from the National Park. It was an easy day trip, and we loved it. Johnston Canyon, Lake Minnewanka, Tunnel  Mountain, Cave and Basin, several different museums, ice cream at COWS... we'd done it all.
But we'd never actually gone past Banff, to Lake Louise.

So, after stopping in Banff to play a bit and eat at our favorite cajun restaurant,

and stay one hockey stick or ski pole away from others,

we finally kept going, on to Lake Louise Campground (protected by electric fence from bears).

Because Lake Louise is traditionally packed, we got up, ate breakfast, got dressed, and headed straight for the lake. We were there by 8:30 AM, and had no trouble finding parking. Having the US border closed does have its perks, I suppose.

I wondered, before going, if Lake Louise was one of those tourist-y places, popular just because it is accessible, not actually because it is anything that special.
When I got my first glimpse of the lake, I decided that was not correct.

Lake Louise is popular for good reason.

It was absolutely amazing.

We explored the shoreline and the rocks closest to the parking lot and the chateau a bit, and then walked 2 km along the shoreline.

The views were incredible the whole way.

We heard an avalanche in the distance, saw people in their kayaks,

and were mesmerized by the mountains, glaciers, and lake.

Then we walked 2 km back (stopping to eat some cookies along the way), still in awe.

We spent about 3 hours at Lake Louise and honestly could have spent more,

but we decided to head to town for lunch and playing and then back to our campsite for a lazy afternoon,

in preparation for our next excursion after dinner: Moraine Lake.

This is another traditionally packed area, and while we saw plenty of people, since we went relatively late in the day it was easy to see and do what we wanted. We explored the shoreline a bit and then decided to hike Rock Pile Trail.

When I first heard the name of this hike, I thought it would have a small pile of rocks. I didn't realize the entire hike was on a giant rock pile, legacy left over from an avalanche long ago. Short and steep, the steps led us to the perfect Moraine Lake view, very similar to the view on old $20 bills.

But much more colorful. Another place we'd never been, and very much worth checking out.

That night, after we'd gotten everyone snuggled in their beds and asleep (99 Bottles of Pop later), Kyler and I awoke to the sound of thunder. This wasn't our first thunderstorm this trip, but it was the most impressive sounding. Each peal of thunder rolled around, echoing off the mountains for a good thirty seconds before dying away. We only heard 4 or 5, but they were magical.

Lake Louise, especially sans international tourists (sorry,  amily!) was quite possibly my favorite stop of the whole trip. I know it was Kyler's favorite. Calista and Craig's favorite places were still to come, though, in our final leg of the trip.