banff bound

the campground in kamploops provided the necessary respite. we left early and made way for lake louise near banff, in alberta.

three years ago, i was in calgary (about an hour and half from banff). i was told to go to banff, and i was planning to. but i was there while the flames were in the stanley cup finals, and after calgary's OT win in game 5, i ended partying on "the red mile" (17th ave downtown). one shot led to another, and the following day i was in no condition to drive to banff. i vowed i would return, somehow, someway. today was the day i made good on that promise.

the first stop was lake louise. as we entered the banff region, the whitecap mountian views were stunning. but that served merely as a warmup to what was to follow.

numerous people had told me "you have to go to lake louise!". we did, and they were right. lake louise may well be the most beautiful place i've ever been. with a whitecap backdrop, the lake shimmers at you with its sparkling, perfectly clean, clear, teal glacial water. the most perfect water i've ever laid eyes on. wow.

lorena was as floored by the scenery as myself. we were so glad we went. we had packed a lunch, and it was perfect. we found a cozy spot on the right side of the lake and enjoyed a leisurely meal, basking in the beauty that surrounded us the entire time. after we ate, i rolled up my pants and ventured into the water. it was freezing. so cold! but lorena timed it, and i stayed in for a full 60 seconds. :)

we then wanted to hike up to a teahouse that overlooked the lake. it was only about a 1.5km hike, but it was getting late and we still had to drive about 35km to get to banff to set up our tent. we decided we would come back first thing the following morning.

the campground in banff was nice, but what would follow that night altered our plans. still, we managed (and by we, i mean lorena...she's the camper, not me) to get a fire going to cook dinner. we made medicocre spaghetti and enjoyed every bite of it before finally getting to bed...