Thursday August 10 – Jasper to Lake Louise

Had an early morning walk after breakfast, and saw the moon reflected in the lake. Pretty.

Just before we were due to board our bus this morning we saw Eko!! Lesley was hoping we’d bump into Eko and Anna (met on our 2014 river cruise) given the number of Scenic tours criss-crossing each other. Anna was in their room as she was going on a different activity so we missed her. L Eko got lots of excited hugs and smiles! We will still catch up with them on the 30^th in Vancouver.

We set off on what should be a great day for scenery. We are entering the Columbian Icefields – lots of glaciers. We passed mountain after mountain, including imposing Edith Cavell Mountain, named after Nurse Edith Cavell who saved many lives from both sides during WWI and was executed by the Germans for doing this.

Many landmarks in the Rockies were named by Mary Schaffer, explorer of the Rockies. She found the Maligne (pron. Ma-leen) Lake by following a map drawn by a teenage native boy. She later plotted the shore of the lake. We also saw much evidence of avalanches.

We stopped at Athabasca Falls. So much water falling into a small ravine. This is glacial melt also was a milky colour from the glacial flour (the fine rock dust in the water).

We then stopped at Athabasca Glacier, where we went in a huge 280hp diesel bus which was driving in 6-wheel drive. We went down a 32° slope on our way onto the ice. It was chilly on the ice, and we were glad we only had 15 minutes there. The glacier is creeping forward several centimetres a day but receding by about 20m a year. There is not enough ice and snow during the winter to make up for it. It was left behind a moonscape of rocky moraines (high banks of rock and dirt pushed up by the glacier). It was this that the bus had to drive down before getting onto the ice. Trees there are old – on the left side they are about 300 years old, and on the right about 700 years old. They can only grow during the short summer months, don’t have very nutritious soil to grow in, and fires haven’t reached them.

On the way to Athabasca Glacier we passed this new attraction - a skywalk to view glaciers. As the glaciers recede this may be the only way to view them in future (not on them).

Athabasca Glacier

The walls either side of the glacier, and all of the area to the road, is where the glacier used to be around 100 years ago

glacial meltwaters, from a nearby glacier

on the bus, going down the steep descent

very barren scenery where the glacier used to be - rocks and fine rock dust pushed to the side by the glacier

melting glacier

buses in the middle of the glacier

We stopped for a comfort stop where most of us bought huge double scooped ice cream. We both shared one.

We stopped again at Bow Summit for photos. This is a spot that overlooks a lovely valley with soaring mountains over a turquoise lake. Soooo pretty!

met this park ranger who is carrying a bear spray, a bit weaker with a wider spray area than pepper spray

We arrived at Lake Louise, named after Queen Victoria’s fourth daughter who married the Canadian Governor General. She couldn’t escape mum completely, as Victoria Glacier looks down on her every day! We had a group photo taken, and as it turned out well we bought a copy.

the scene from ourroom

It is hot here, and some people are in the very cold water. Lots more are on the shore and many in canoes on the water. The water is a beautiful milky turquoise (from glacial silt), and the high mountains around and white glacier make it very pretty. Our room is on the 6^th floor and overlooks the lake. We have airconditioning too, where lots of other rooms don’t (just as we had in Jasper – Canadian airconditioning is an open window!).

Dinner was another three-course meal. Nice. Stuart is still coughing badly. We’ll have to go back to a chemist for something better. Lesley has facial neuralgia from infected sinuses, so will also need something extra. Her cold has been hanging around for 10 days now.