Day 52 Banff National Park, Canada Lake Louise Overflow Campground

Captain’s Blog

Friday

July 24, 2009

We woke to another beautiful day with sunshine, clear skies and a cool breeze. We have been really lucky to have such great weather the entire trip – so far!

Our first stop today was the Spiral Tunnels built into the mountainside for the trains to run through. The tunnels were put in because the mountainside was too steep to build a track on the surface. The trains run through the spiral and disappear and reappear as it moves along the tracks and tunnels. Supposedly there was a train on the way but we waited thirty minutes with no train sighting and finally left.

While at the Spiral Tunnels we met Jewel’s twin sister. The woman with the white Schnauzer was surprised to see Jewel. She hadn’t seen another dog like hers until Jewel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was then on to Takkakaw Falls another beautiful waterfall in the area. The waterfalls here are spectacular and each is different with unusual flow patterns. That is why we stop to see them all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next we stopped by Emerald Lake – the water actually the color of Emeralds. We could not believe our eyes. Every lake here has been unimaginably beautiful but Emerald Lake topped them all. We decided to take the 5.7 Kilometer hike around the lake and were not disappointed. Although we didn’t see any wildlife as promised we did enjoy the walk, saw more varieties of wild flowers, great views and continued to be awed by the color of the lake. We stopped to dip our feet into the water. We tried to get Jewel to dip her feet too, but no way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

MORE BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS:

 

 

After lunch we continued our adventure with more views of the Canadian Rockies all around us. I cannot describe and pictures cannot capture the magnificence of this mountain range. We look at the mountains and they appear to be painted against the sky. When we review the pictures we both keep saying – they don’t look real.

We stopped at the Natural Bridge so called because there is a bridge like structure craved out of the rocks where a waterfall had once been. The water now flows beneath the “bridge” formation. The water flows with such tremendous force that it is expected that the portions of rock that make up the bridge will be worn down and will disappear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Along the rocky mountain range are snowcapped peaks and a variety of glaciers. One glacier called Crowfeet Glacier was so named because it resembled a crow’s foot with three toes. The third toe is melting away but two toes do remain.

 

 

Then it was back to the  overflow campground. When we arrived we were amazed at the number of campers in the lot from tent to MH. We’re thinking they need more campgrounds in the area or perhaps there are more campers on the road this year then usual.