OH MY GOD !
DAY 6
(part 1)
We left
Banff early heading north through an alpine valley with tall trees and soaring
mountains above. The air was crisp with
a brilliant blue sky above and a crystal clear day. As we caught glimpses of the mountains with
snow covered peaks silhouetted against the sky we began to think that this was,
as advertised, one of the top 10 drives in the world.
What road looked like about 3 miles from Banff
Very
shortly, we started seeing the most amazing Alpine mountains with sharp peaks,
and solid granite walls that one can imagine.
Picture the movies and documentaries you have seen of the Swiss and
Italian Alps, the soaring videos of the Himalayas, any movies with pictures of
the Matterhorn. Now
picture all of these rising on both sides from the floor of the valley on the
road that you are driving on. Just no good way to describe it.
Beginning to see pattern on both sides of road.
We started taking pictures of the mountains thinking that surely this one view was one of the most amazing and beautiful that we could possibly find. Then we drove around the corner and quick stop, get the camera out, look at that, wow what a beautiful sight. This went on for over 100 miles. Yes that is right 100 miles of the most incredible scenery you can imagine. We are not exaggerating. Every little curve in the road opened up a new and stunning landscape with snow capped peaks, glaciers, ice fields and canyons filled with snow and streams.
We arrived
in Lake Louise mid morning with trepidation about being able to actually drive
in to the Lake. We had heard that the road in was narrow, winding and not able
to accommodate RV’S. Not to be denied,
we started the drive up and over a small mountain and down to Lake Louise and
Chateau Lake Louise. Common sense should
have told us that a hotel of the size and scale of Chateau Lake Louise would
require the ability to accommodate buses and large trucks to supply the hotel!
We took a
short walk about the end of the lake closest to the Chateau, finding part of
the lake that was not frozen. The water
is so clear that what appeared to be very shallow water was actually from 10-15
feet deep. We took as many pictures as
possible and then decided to take a short tour of the Chateau.
We walked
up from the lake to the rear of the Chateau.
There is an expansive deck along the entire rear of the hotel with
incredible 180 degree views of the lake, the mountains and Lake Louise Glacier. Once entering the hotel, we discovered that
the rear of the hotel was a lobby, with virtually walls of windows bringing the
vistas indoors. During inclement or
particularly cold weather, this appears a perfect place to relax, read a book,
people watch, have a hot toddy and just enjoy yourself.
Walking
around the Chateau’s first floor, we noticed that the Chandeliers were very
unique. Each chandelier has 4 carved
handmaidens as supports. These
handmaidens appeared to be hand carved and are unique to each fixture. The lobby is old school elegance with people
sitting, reading the paper, quietly talking and just people watching. Quite a place. The only thing missing was Bond, James Bond
in a tuxedo with a beautiful woman on his arm.
Beginning to see pattern on both sides of road.
We started taking pictures of the mountains thinking that surely this one view was one of the most amazing and beautiful that we could possibly find. Then we drove around the corner and quick stop, get the camera out, look at that, wow what a beautiful sight. This went on for over 100 miles. Yes that is right 100 miles of the most incredible scenery you can imagine. We are not exaggerating. Every little curve in the road opened up a new and stunning landscape with snow capped peaks, glaciers, ice fields and canyons filled with snow and streams.
We arrived
in Lake Louise mid morning with trepidation about being able to actually drive
in to the Lake. We had heard that the road in was narrow, winding and not able
to accommodate RV’S. Not to be denied,
we started the drive up and over a small mountain and down to Lake Louise and
Chateau Lake Louise. Common sense should
have told us that a hotel of the size and scale of Chateau Lake Louise would
require the ability to accommodate buses and large trucks to supply the hotel!
We found a
very large parking lot with quite a few of our fellow adventurers already there
as well as busses and RVs that dwarfed in size our motor home. We quickly found a place to park and made the
short walk to the lake. ABSOLUTELY
BREATHTAKING.
Even the
great pictures taken by the world’s best photographers do not do this place
justice. The lake is still frozen solid
except for a few short feet along the shoreline. The mountains appear to go straight up from
the lake. The LAKE LOUIE glacier is
visible at the far end of the lake, adding extra drama to an already
overwhelming scene.
We took a
short walk about the end of the lake closest to the Chateau, finding part of
the lake that was not frozen. The water
is so clear that what appeared to be very shallow water was actually from 10-15
feet deep. We took as many pictures as
possible and then decided to take a short tour of the Chateau.
We walked
up from the lake to the rear of the Chateau.
There is an expansive deck along the entire rear of the hotel with
incredible 180 degree views of the lake, the mountains and Lake Louise Glacier. Once entering the hotel, we discovered that
the rear of the hotel was a lobby, with virtually walls of windows bringing the
vistas indoors. During inclement or
particularly cold weather, this appears a perfect place to relax, read a book,
people watch, have a hot toddy and just enjoy yourself.
Walking
around the Chateau’s first floor, we noticed that the Chandeliers were very
unique. Each chandelier has 4 carved
handmaidens as supports. These
handmaidens appeared to be hand carved and are unique to each fixture. The lobby is old school elegance with people
sitting, reading the paper, quietly talking and just people watching. Quite a place. The only thing missing was Bond, James Bond
in a tuxedo with a beautiful woman on his arm.
Note the carved figures holding the chandelier up
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