Trailer Travels – Day 4 – Lake Louise (July 12)

Today was the day we started to make our way into the Rockies. Lake Louise is only a couple of hours from where I grew up! I definitely got a lot of feelings of nostalgia while we were driving here – but things have also changed so much! Random things that I never remember seeing have popped up everywhere! New buildings, new roads. Very strange.

We did a lot of touristing. We went to the chateau Lake Louise, but the first time we went up there was literally nowhere to park, so off we went to Morainne Lake. It is gorgeous up there. The water was so blue, and there was still snow on the hillsides! We hiked the trail around the lake to a waterfall, which was so beautiful. When we came back to the lodge, we also climbed the rock pile. It’s this huge mass of rocks that they’ve carved a trail out of. So cool! It gave a stunning view of the land.

At the end of the lake, right by the waterfalls

I was so excited to see this! So cool!

Looking down the lake from the rock pile

Then we went back to the chateau, and found some parking. In comparison to Morainne Lake, it was a letdown. The lake isn’t nearly as gorgeous, and it’s so packed with tourists that you can’t really get a great view of the mountains, though for me, any view is a good view.

The view of Lake Louise from the chateau

Then it was off to the ski hill to go up the gondola. John loves gondolas; I have panic attacks in them. I was trying to be brave, but I have to say, I was very relieved when we got there at 5:15 and the last ride up was at 5. John was a bit disappointed, but maybe another day we’ll make it up one.

Back at camp, we tried out roller blading. John’s had roller blades for about a year now, but he doesn’t get to use them much because he doesn’t like to go by himself. While we were at WEM, we finally bought a pair for me. I haven’t been on roller blades since about grade 9 or 10, so I was a bit nervous. I did fairly well! No falling, which is key. It was nice that when I bought my blades I got the knee/elbow/wrist pads for free. I only used the wrist guards, but it was nice to have that security.

We also went to a presentation at the amphitheater at the campground. I walked there in my slippers because my feet were hurting so bad, and quickly learned what a mistake that was. Anyway, the presentation was pretty cool. For growing up in bear country, I knew nothing about bears. We never really worried about them though. No one went hiking, and if we did, it was while hunting and someone always had a gun at the ready. It was good to learn though, because now I can feel more comfortable hiking.

We called it an early night to prepare for day 5 – Banff.