Mountains and Lakes

While driving to and from the glacier, we stop to admire the alpine lakes and tall snow covered peaks that feed them.

When we stopped at Lake Louise, the place was packed with shutterbugs. Everyone had cameras and was taking pictures like crazy. And with good reason. The lake and surrounding mountains were GORGEROUS . . . !

Picture postcard gorgeous.

If you have seen a picture of the lake before and wondered if it really looked like that, the answer is, “Yes.” The view was so perfect that my middle son said it looked like the pull down backdrops that photographers have for their portrait studio. So I had to take a few pictures of my children with the lake and mountains in the background.

The hotel here is the Chateau Lake Louise and is one of the hotels built in the mountains by the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1800’s. The lobby and interior screamed money. We ate lunch there and spent waaaaay too much. But it was fun!

The other lakes were Moraine Lake, then Peyto Lake. I was so pleased the colors of these lakes came through to the photos. The light turquoise color of the alpine lakes is caused by “rock flour.” The glaciers grind up the rock into a fine powder. The powder flows to the lakes during the spring melt and stays suspended in the water, giving the lake their color.

There is also a picture of a statue and plaque set near Castle Mountain Junction. During the First World War, the Canadian government sent suspected enemy sympathizers to work camps here. The workers built the first highway through the mountains. Most of the workers were of Ukrainian descent and the local Ukrainian group erected the monument. The actual work camp has been obliterated by the forest and the government does not publish its exact whereabouts, to discourage artifact seekers.