I’ve mentioned it before, but this was my third visit to the Canadian Rockies. I’d previously been here in 2010 and 2012, both at about the same time in August, but I had never before experienced the crowds of the summer of 2016. Maybe it’s because the American dollar is so strong and we are traveling north of the border to take advantage of it, and Canadians are in turn staying home. Despite the crowds even in the late afternoon, Lake Louise was lovely, but it’s never been my favorite lake of the Rockies (even though I named my teardrop after it!).
What I was most looking forward to on the entire trip was Moraine Lake, a smaller lake about 12 km from Louise. And I was not disappointed. I immediately rushed to the top of the rockpile and gazed in wonder at my favorite place on earth. (Well, okay, it’s tied for my favorite place on earth with the Slea Head near Dingle, Ireland).
Moraine Lake though – it’s magical. It’s really like no other place on earth. The water is the most perfect shade of turquoise blue (I tried my best to replicate the color of the lake on my teardrop camper!). The mountain peaks that wrap around it are majestic. It’s truly an emotional experience to see it in person. I enjoyed the view for as long as I could, then hiked back down to the parking lot to return to the campsite.
Monday was to be an incredibly rainy and cold day, so we made the most of it. We went back to Moraine Lake to see the color subdued by the fog and mist, and had drinks at a fancy hotel pub in the Chateau Lake Louise. It’s here I had one of my favorite beers of the trip (so far!), a Jerkface 9000 by Parallel 49 brewing out of Surrey, BC which is near Vancouver. I was familiar with Parallel 49 brewing and excited to try another brew, and this one I liked even more than their Tricycle, the best Radler I’ve ever tasted!
We had dinner at the Post Hotel Pub – I had a fantastic Quinoa veggie burger and a couple of pints of Alberta craft beer.
We packed up for Banff the next day, and stopped at the Lake Louise Gondola – I’d purchased a groupon and even though the weather was a bit overcast and cool (it had
snowed on the mountain peaks the night before!) we wanted to see, and it was worth the chilly ride up the ski lift. It was a cool perspective of the Lake! You can’t see Moraine Lake – it’s in a valley to the left of Louise.
Teardrops & Ales 