Moraine Lake

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A sister Lake to Lake Louise is Moraine Lake.  It is up a steep road at a higher elevation than Lake Louise.  We opted this morning, since we got a late start, to get to the parking area and then have breakfast in the camper.  We were glad, once again, that we started early.  The parking lot was small and there were only a few spots left when we got there.

This lake is known for the high sharp peaks surrounding it and the stunning color.

There is a long level path, that goes along the lake to the end, where you can see the stream that comes into the lake. There are waterfalls and flowers along the way as well as the lake.

 At the bottom of the glacier, the water goes underground and then emerges in this stream. Nacho liked looking at this.

Japanese tourists heading into the stream.

The colors are truly unbelievable, and they even give you this color palette so make you believe what you are seeing.

There are colorful canoes to rent and they are visible all over the lake.  I think they add a certain beauty to the panorama.

This lake is famous for being the setting for a picture that appeared on the old Canadian twenty dollar bill.  

At one end of the lake is a moraine pile, and there are steps to take to the top to see that view made famous on the money.

When you look in the other direction, you can see the Bow Valley, which we will end up following for quite a way on our travels. 

 The benches at the top, and in fact around a lot of the areas, have deep seats.  I couldn't sit on them without either practically laying down, or sitting with my legs dangling, or sitting on the edge.  I asked John what was up with the weird benches, and said they must be designed by the same guy who designed airplane seats.  He "patiently" explained to me that they were designed for people with backpacks on!  My children call that a "such a Mom" moment.

It is always amazing to me that you can see the whole process of the glacier, then the stream, then the lake, and then the exiting stream that carries the glacier water into one of the water systems that ends up at the Bering Sea.  This is the stream at the end of the lake.

 Another beautiful experience!