We left Three Valley Chateau and drove to Revelstoke for breakfast on the go. "Coffee at Tim Horton's is not very good" said Peter.
Jonnie and I thought the hot chocolate was fine.
This is the car we hired, well we actually hired a small 4 seater, but got upgraded for not much extra to this 7 seater.
Plenty of room.
Again, we travelled through tunnels...
... and had magnificent views, especially for summer.
We are still travelling on the main tourist route - Trans Canada Hwy,
which runs along the Illecillewaet River to join the Columbia River. Driving through Glacier National Park, we stopped at the summit of Rogers Pass at a picnic area. It was named after Major A. B. Rogers who explored the area in 1881. He was looking for a route for the train line. Rogers Pass is known for its winter snowfalls and avalanches are common.
A monument now stands and tells the history of the exporation of the area. This is where the Trans Canadian Highway was first declared opened in 1962. This is also the site of Canada's worst avalanche disaster in 1910.
At the picnic stop are many information boards along with some guns that were used to knock down the avalanches.
Not far from the picnic area is the Rogers Pass Discovery Centre and is a replica of an historic railway snow shed.
Still travelling on the Trans Canada Highway to Lake Louise, we travelled from Bristish Columbia into Alberta.
We arrived at Lake Louise Village late afternoon and stopped at the tourist information centre, where we booked the next two nights accommodation in Banff. The centre is well presented with displays, information and friendly helpful staff. The car park was full and there were so many people walking around the small shopping centre where the tourist information centre is.
There are two cable cars on display outside the information centre for tourists to take photos ....like this.....
We drove to Banff (see next post), and went back to lake Louise the next afternoon. Here is the view as we were approaching The Fairmont Resort - couldn't afford to stay there, even at reduced standby rates.
Lake Louise is divided into two areas, the village, where the information centre is, and the ski area, where many of the hotels are located around Lake Louise. The village was originally called Laggan when the trains ran along the route.
This creek runs beside the hotel and comes from Lake Louise and flows into the Bow River.
Lake Louise is in Banff National Park and is 2.4 km long with an elevation of 1731m. It was named after Princess Louise, one of Queen Victoria's daughters in 1884, and the wife of the Canadian Governor General.
The Stoney peoples called it Ho-run-num-nay meaning "lake of the little
fishes". When the railway was being build, a workman named Tom Wilson named it Emerald Lake. It was know as Emerald Lake until 1884, when it was changed to Lake Louise.
The melting ice from Victoria Glacier runs into Lake Louise.
The few days we were in the area they were experiencing a heatwave. With average summer tempretures around the 31C, our days were 40C and 38C - heat wave!!
The water was cold, but people were swimming.
The Fairmont Chateau is on the banks of Lake Louise. It is a beautiful hotel, and a dream of ours would be to stay there. A dream would be to stay in all the Fairmont's (Victoria one is also historic and beautiful) - maybe if we win lotto!!
The site for the hotel was conceived by the railway and the end of the 19th century, and was gradually added to by the Canadian Pacific Railway to entice summer tourists to the area. With the increasing popularity of skiing, the hotel was converted to be able to accommodate guests during winter in 1982.
I can imagine how beautiful it would be in winter.
There were many tourists around when we were there,
as it was so hot, some were swimming, not many were walking around the lake. We only walked a short way, but in hindsight
(a wonderful thing), we should have.
Didn't see any bears.... or elk...... or moose ....
Love Canada
To travel is to possess
the world.
Burton Holmes
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