Our new friends Mujir and Avanti were really keen to go out of town since they just got a car. We instantly jumped at the idea. Always ready to go somewhere, see a new place or do something different. So we met on Friday over some really sad Chinese dinner to plan it out. We decided to go for the GlobalFest’09 on Saturday and to Lake Moraine/Louise on Sunday.
We planned to leave early so that we could cover both the lakes and also get back into town to get ready for yet another work week. We finally left at 7:00AM. Our first impression of the Rockies was that they were really rocky. It reminded me of one of my most favorite trips - to Uttaranchal. The towering Himalayas seemed just as or rockier. There were hardly any snow capped mountains on this fine summer day, making it look more barren than ever I suppose.
Our first halt was Lake Moraine. The cold hit us as we got of the cozy car. I was shivering to the bone despite having a pull-over and a bandana. So we decided to start with a packed breakfast from home and HOT coffee from the café there. Soon Avanti and I got busy making sandwiches and little did we notice a squirrel quietly sneaking behind us to steal one of the sandwiches.
Only when some of the other visitors squealed did we realize. We hastily tucked in our breakfast as the squirrel didn’t seem scared to take more. We then decided to take the walking trail around the lake. As we walked by, the weather seemed to get better and that’s when we realized the turquoise blue color of the lake. It was stunning. Apparently the rocks beneath the lake give the color effects. We soon heard a cascade/water falls nearby. We walked to the end of the trail to realize that the sound was of the white water river which fed the lake. The source was a glacier nearby. We walked on the wild side for a bit and for some photos before retracing our steps to the car.
Our second halt was Lake Louise. This was more “touristy” than Lake Moraine. There were thousands of visitors around. The lake was bigger than the one before. It was blue too – but a deep blue. The lake was surrounded by coniferous forests on 2 sides, glaciers on the 3rd side and we stood on the 4th. It was a spectacular view. We decided to return to this place every season as we are sure each season will bring in a different charm to the place. Hunger and huge crowds made us leave the place soon.
Our final destination was Banff Village. We basically went there just to eat. We found a quite French restaurant where we devoured our Fish n Chips, Veg Pizza (made on a bed of potato, not bread) and sandwiches gleefully. We did realize that Banff is a very picturesque place with lots of eateries and stores showing how important tourism is for the village economy. But we didn’t go around the village much as we had to head back home.
We reached back by 18:00, a day well spent in the Rockies. Hopefully the next time we visit, it would be for camping.
We planned to leave early so that we could cover both the lakes and also get back into town to get ready for yet another work week. We finally left at 7:00AM. Our first impression of the Rockies was that they were really rocky. It reminded me of one of my most favorite trips - to Uttaranchal. The towering Himalayas seemed just as or rockier. There were hardly any snow capped mountains on this fine summer day, making it look more barren than ever I suppose.
Our first halt was Lake Moraine. The cold hit us as we got of the cozy car. I was shivering to the bone despite having a pull-over and a bandana. So we decided to start with a packed breakfast from home and HOT coffee from the café there. Soon Avanti and I got busy making sandwiches and little did we notice a squirrel quietly sneaking behind us to steal one of the sandwiches.
Only when some of the other visitors squealed did we realize. We hastily tucked in our breakfast as the squirrel didn’t seem scared to take more. We then decided to take the walking trail around the lake. As we walked by, the weather seemed to get better and that’s when we realized the turquoise blue color of the lake. It was stunning. Apparently the rocks beneath the lake give the color effects. We soon heard a cascade/water falls nearby. We walked to the end of the trail to realize that the sound was of the white water river which fed the lake. The source was a glacier nearby. We walked on the wild side for a bit and for some photos before retracing our steps to the car.
Our second halt was Lake Louise. This was more “touristy” than Lake Moraine. There were thousands of visitors around. The lake was bigger than the one before. It was blue too – but a deep blue. The lake was surrounded by coniferous forests on 2 sides, glaciers on the 3rd side and we stood on the 4th. It was a spectacular view. We decided to return to this place every season as we are sure each season will bring in a different charm to the place. Hunger and huge crowds made us leave the place soon.Our final destination was Banff Village. We basically went there just to eat. We found a quite French restaurant where we devoured our Fish n Chips, Veg Pizza (made on a bed of potato, not bread) and sandwiches gleefully. We did realize that Banff is a very picturesque place with lots of eateries and stores showing how important tourism is for the village economy. But we didn’t go around the village much as we had to head back home.
We reached back by 18:00, a day well spent in the Rockies. Hopefully the next time we visit, it would be for camping.
Here is a link to our photo album: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/akshatakaranth/LakeMoraineAndLakeLouise#
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