3rd November, Lake Louise – Banff, AB

I couldn’t find my beanie so the first thing today was to buy a touk (Canadian for beanie). We went into a shop and an aussie served us. This is very common close to the snow fields in Alberta and British Columbia. We got chatting and he came from Yarram (50km from Foster), played for Foster Football Club and knew Boka. It’s a small world! With new beanie in hand we went back up to Lake Louise with one aim – to re-capture a photo that sits pride of place in the Wehrle house hold in Lesmurdie. It’s a great shot of Az, Renae and Lauren with an ice covered Lake Louise and snowy Mount Fairview.
Now they can have matching sets!! It’s hard to believe a few years ago they were standing in the same spot in awe of the mountains and blue from the cold.

We ended up walking along the edge of Lake Louise to the where the glacial fed stream runs into it. One tip – be careful while walking on the ice! The track was somewhat slippery in places. It snowed on us lightly for the entire walk and I am impressed with Tan’s “I’m okay in the cold now” outlook!
The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise is an uber expensive hotel with great views but it looks a bit out of place sitting on the lake edge. In a way it ruined the view looking back.

We did the drive along the quieter and slow paced route along the Bow Valley parkway. It was one of the roads where you are almost guaranteed to see wildlife. Even at slow speeds were saw only one squirrel. Damn...

On arrival in Banff, we went straight up Mount Norquay and people were already skiing! In Banff town and it was a busy Saturday afternoon, deep with tourists. Something I am not a big fan of. Banff Ave is great as it is set against the backdrop of the snow covered mountains.
We ended up eating at a Japanese restaurant with a Canadian Pacific sushi train. My first pick was a six out of ten with BBQ’ed eel sushi roll. We had a great cheap feed which was filling.
That afternoon we went out to the Cave and Basin area, the first inauguarated National Park with the fledgling country of Canada. We watched some squirrels play, walked around the hot springs and sucked in the sulphurous air. The Basin itself, didn't look too appealing, it may have in the early 1900's though.We did a 3km walk around the Marsh Loop which traverses along the banks of the blue Bow River. We had to piff some yonnies onto the frozen lakes as well. This too was highlighted as the place to see big wildlife. No such luck again.
For a change we had a quiet night in the hotel with a quick dip in the hot tub. No foam – the spa part wasn’t working!