I’m in Calgary, AB right now. And, I’m tired. I was on the road for 12 hours today. It was a very fun day though. Cold, in July!
I passed by Lake Louise, AB, Moraine Lake, AB and Peyto Lake, AB. All three lakes are beautiful. However, Peyto Lake, AB is just breathtaking.
Today, I covered ~ 680Km:
I’m glad that I had that early start yesterday evening, it allowed me to get ahead of the traffic, heading from BC to Alberta (there was traffic heading the opposite way as well); being the Canada Day long weekend. It also allowed me to get way out of the radar traps. The RCMP had a couple of speed traps, catching the Albertans as they made their way into BC, on this Canada Day morning; the first day of the long weekend. I’m sure there was even more radar traps catching Vancouverites leaving this morning.
So, my first day was to be quite eventful. I had pre-planned to visit some beautiful lakes that I had seen pictures of; on the web. The pictures looked so magnificent, that I had to see these lakes with my own eyes. And, of course take my own pictures. Oddly, even though it’s July, while checking the weather this morning before heading out , I saw that the temperature at the time; in my first stop: Lake Louise, AB was 0C! And that it was going to be 8C in the afternoon! So, I put on my heated jacket liner, and off I ride away. BRRRR!
I get to Lake Louise, AB, and it’s packed with tourists. Cold tourists. They were wearing scarfs, tuques and mittens, with red running noses! Yes, it’s July! I think I said that already! Luckily, I was so layered up, and with my motorcycle leather jacket, I was rather comfortably warm. Also, luckily with my motorcycle I was able to find a nice little spot very close to the lake; in the parking lot; where it was jammed-packed. Lake Louise, AB is kind of Whistler, BC (well the latter doesn’t have a lake as a main attraction) in that it’s also a ski resort/village.
There are shops, grocery stores, bars, hotels, well at least one hotel, the Fairmont. So the area is a very popular tourist attraction in the Summer, as well as in the Winter; for skiing. The lake is very beautiful. As you can see in the pictures, it’s still pretty cold in there, so there is still some snow on the mountains!
The lake has this light greenish baby blue colour. Quite beautiful, but not as beautiful as Moraine Lake, AB. Moraine Lake, ABÂ is about 14Km South of Lake Louise, AB. So, if you go to one you have got to go see the other. I strongly suggest to start with Lake Louise then head to Moraine Lake. As the latter is even more beautiful!
So, I take a last look into the surroundings, then I head back to the parking lot; heading towards Moraine Lake, AB. Again, this area is a very heavy attraction for tourists. If you’re in a car, you can try your luck in finding a spot in the parking lot. However, motorcycles can always find a little spot somewhere! I park my bike, and start walking towards Moraine Lake, AB. And, WOW! The water is simply breathtaking! It’s this deep greenish royal blue. This lake actually is one of wallpapers/backgrounds of Windows 7 Canada Themes. It’s also the background image for some BlackBerries. Anyways, the lake is really beautiful. It’s too bad it was cloudy that day, otherwise, the lake’s colour would have been even more brilliant!
It’s really too bad that it’s a cloudy day. Otherwise, the pictures would’ve come out nicer; I suppose. At this point, I return to the village center; for a lunch break. Odd thing happened. I get into this bistro type of place, I place my order (which most of the employees seem to be from Quebec, IE French-speaking. Something I had noticed in restaurants in Whistler as well) I get to the cash counter to pay; using my DEBIT card. Anyways, the transaction seems to freeze before I even enter my credentials. Then, the employee says “It went through”. I tell him that it can’t be, as I hadn’t yet selected my account type, nor had entered my PIN. But, he insists that it went through. Thinking that there is no such thing as a free lunch (or is there?), and worrying about bad karma, I tell the employee again that I didn’t pay yet, and I explain. And for the third time the employee still insists that I did pay!! So, I grab my food and head to a table, enjoying my free lunch! This day is great!
So, now the belly is full, the bladder is empty, and the post cards have been sent. It’s about 3-4PM, and I head towards Peyto Lake, AB. The last attraction for the day, before I head out to my destination of the day: Calgary, AB. Peyto lake is about 50Km North of Lake Louise. Now, Peyto Lake is inside Jasper National Park, AB. And Jasper is just North of Banff National Park, AB. There is an entrance fee to Jasper National Park, AB, which is ~$10. Since it was Canada Day, the entrance was free! Another freebie for the day!
Once you get to Peyto Lake, AB, one would see a parking lot, and just to the left of it, the road will continue up with a sign that says something like “Road restricted to bus tours, seniors and the disabled”. Now, I chose to ignore that sign and kept riding all the way to the top of the hill; where there’s another parking lot. Let me explain. There is a viewing point towards the top of this hill. If one parks their vehicle at the bottom of the hill’s parking lot (which is what the majority of the visitors are asked to do), one would have a short little hike (~20min) upwards towards the viewing point. Thus, all tourists’ buses (they don’t want the hiking trails to get overcrowded), the seniors and the disabled are asked to park at the top of the hill; to bypass the hike, and have a shorter/quicker access to the viewing point (~2min walk). So, if you are lazy like me, just keep going to the top.
Now, Peyto Lake is the most beautiful of all three lakes. I’m glad I had started with Lake Louise, then Moraine Lake, then Peyto Lake, as, they kept progressively getting prettier. I would have been disappointed had I finished with Lake Louise, as even though it’s beautiful, it’s quite dull compared to Peyto Lake. I shall let the pictures speak.
It’s strange that even though this seems to be the prettiest of all three lakes, it’s the one the least crowded. I suppose the ~100Km round trip; from Lake Louise discourages a lot of people and/or tour buses. Perhaps also the fact that one needs to pay to enter inside Jasper National Park, AB; to see Peyto Lake, AB.
So by now, I have visited all the planned sites on this day, and I head towards my final stop for the day: Calgary, AB. On the way, I had snapped a few shots of some of the Canadian Rockies.
And here I am at the end of my day in a motel, in Calgary, AB. I already had my dinner, and ready to hit the sack. Day 2 tomorrow, into Saskatchewan.
Today’s expenses were $54.31 for fuel, $32.81 for food, and $97.01 for lodging. The motel wasn’t that great, kind of old. If I’m ever stuck in this area it wouldn’t be my first choice, especially at that nightly rate.
