Banff National Park and Lake Louise

Not far down the road from Icefields is the boundary of Jasper National Park and Banff National Park. Our plan was to stop at Lake Louise Campground and use it as a base to explore both Lake Louise and the town of Banff. We finally had electric hook-ups as the park doesn't have sites long enough for RVs in the non-electric area. The last time we had electric was the night of May 31 in White Horse, Yukon Territory.

It didn't take long to explore the village of Lake Louise. It is a very small town that has two small eateries, several gift shops, and a visitor center. After exploring those, we headed to the actual lake. Once again, there were too many people for me. Lake Louise is a popular tourist stop.Of course, it was still raining, but we bundled up and walked the trail beside the lake anyway.

 Even with the low hanging clouds, the lake was beautiful. The specks you see on the lake are red, family-sized canoes.

 Once we got to the end of the trail, it was really gorgeous.

 I can't say I like the picture looking back toward the parking area. The hotel (chateau) is just too commercialized for me.

The next day we decided to drive to Banff via the Bow Valley Parkway. It is the more scenic route to get from Lake Louise to Banff, or it would have been if the sky had been clearer.

 One of the first sights we came upon was a statue and plaque memorializing Canada's internment camp during World War I. Most of the internees were from Ukraine.

Most of the rest of the pullouts along the Bow Valley Parkway didn't have views because of the weather so we continued on to Banff. It is much larger than Lake Louise, but just as touristy. Bob and I opted to find Banff Springs Hotel and Golf Club. The hotel  looked much older than the one at Lake Louise. It was also more impressive. Bob took this photo from the golf course.

This is the 15th tee. To reach the fairway, you have to hit across the river. The  15th tee was the first tee before a new clubhouse was built.

This was the original clubhouse. It is now Waldhaus Restaurant on one side and Waldhaus Pub on the other. Bob and I ate lunch in the pub and sampled a couple of local beers.

Then we headed back to Lake Louise and our home away from home.After a rest, we drove to Moraine Lake to check it out. I liked the views at this lake as much or ore than at Lake Louise. It might be because there were fewer people.

 This is a photo of the south side of the lake.

 This photo looks back toward the parking area...you can't see the lodge hidden in the trees on the left.

 When you get to the end of the lake trail, water cascades down around the trees and into the lake.

Bob and I would have liked to hike to one of the tea houses at Lake Louise, but the weather didn't cooperate. We decided to leave Lake Louise after a three day stay. The only bad thing I can say about the Lake Louise Campground is.....TRAINS. ALL. NIGHT. LONG!

As usual, Bob checked the air in the tires before we took off, but one of them was completely flat and wouldn't hold air at all. We found a place in the village to have the tire checked. They scheduled us to bring the RV in at 1:30 that afternoon. The tech looked at it and said it was the valve stem extender letting air out. He replaced it and we were on our way late in the day. Bob wanted to drive all the way to Montana, but I said it was too late and it would be dark before we got close to the border. Just south of Calgary we got behind this tractor blocking both lanes of southbound traffic. There was a pickup truck behind the tractor and when the traffic backed up too far, the truck would signal the tractor driver to pull over to free one lane of traffic.

We decided to stop for the night in Lethbridge, Alberta, at the ABS Casino. It was a good decision as we were both tired. Unfortunately, the casino parking lot was crowded with other RVs! The only spot open was one next to a guy who ran his generator until after midnight! And it wasn't a quiet gennie, it was one of those loud commercial ones. UGH!

The next morning, Bob and I took our time and made our way to the border at Sweetgrass, Montana. After a wait of about 20 minutes, we were finally at the crossing. Since we were the only Americans in line, the customs agent asked a minimum number of questions and we were on our way in less than two minutes!

Next stop:  Great Falls, Montana!