August 1, 2013 Lake Louise

Our second lake of the day was Lake Louise, which is closer to the Icefields Parkway and has more visitors than Moraine Lake.  The rain stopped, finally, and we set off on a nice flat lakeshore trail. (after all the rain, we opted to skip the muddy trail up to the teahouse)  At the far end of the lake, the creek with the glacier meltwater comes pouring down.  The glacier grinds rock into such fine particles that it's called "rock flour" and it makes the water look like pale cafe-au-lait.  The glacier is the Victoria Glacier, and it produces the lovely aqua color you see here.

The lake also boasts the Lake Louise Chateau, which began as a Canadian Pacific RR destination back in the 1800's.  (think glorified log cabin)  However, over the years and after a fire demolished the wooden building, the final product is what you see here.  The inside is quite ornate, but relatively modern.  

We really enjoyed our day at the lakes, in spite of the rain and chilly temps.  A fine way to finish our visit to these awe-inspiring Canadian Rockies.

Looking at the glacier-end of the lake.

You can see the tan glacial meltwater coming into the lake.
If you enlarge this picture, you can see two red canoes.

The central chandelier in the Chateau.

Victoria Glacier.

I wanted to sit and just look at it.

A man, and a glacier wearing a fog hat....

Looking at the Chateau end of the lake.

The Chateau.