The day we left Jasper we had perfect weather.  The sky was blue and the air was clear, no sign of the smoke from the wild fires in British Columbia.  During our drive on the Icefield Parkway, I took  what I think are the best pictures of my trip so far.  It’s quite easy to do when the scenery is so beautiful but I must say that no picture will ever do justice to such beauty.

Taken at Waterfowl Lake, in Banff National Park

Another view of Waterfowl Lake, along the Icefield Parkway

The first day of our visit, we went to Canmore AB, a little town about 20 minutes from Banff, but outside of Banff National Park.  My cousin Joe-Anne, who lives in Calgary, has a condo there, and we went to see her.  By pure luck, my cousin Andrée (Joe-Anne’s sister) and my aunt Thérese (her mother and my  mom’s sister) had arrived the day before from Montréal.  We met at her condo where we took this family picture

My aunt Thérèse, my cousin Andrée, Joe-Anne and me, in the condo's backyard

After going to lunch we went downtown Canmore for an ice cream.

A child's dream as far as school buses are concerned 😉

And that my friends, is  how I keep my round figure… 😉

We had a great time with the family, but Joe-Anne had to go back to Calgary, she was busy preparing a big party for her son’s graduation.  We still had a lot of things to do in Banff NP, so we parted and promised to meet again soon.

The next day, we took road 1A and we slowly drove to Lake Louise.  On the way we saw some wildlife

Big Horn Sheep

Deer

In Jonhston Canyon, I took a picture of Bear leaning against a very flexible tree!…

Just Kidding! 😉

We passed by Castle Cliffs, a landmark for travelers, it appeared on  maps as early as in 1858.  There was an attempt after World War II  to rename this mountain “Mount Eisenhower”, but there was an outcry from locals and travelers alike, the decision was then made to restore the original name, but the tower at the South-East end, popular with climbers,   was named “Eisenhower Peak”.

Castle Cliffs

We made it to Lake Louise around lunch time

View of Lake Louise from the dining room in Château Lake Louise

We had lunch in the dining room of  Château Lake Louise.

Château Lake Louise

They serve the most delicious sauce to eat with french fries, it is called “Black pepper Truffle Aioli” sauce.  Dude! we wanted to eat it with a spoon it was so good!  Everything else was also great, but that sauce… man!  It was as good as the view!

After lunch, we took a stroll along the edge of the lake, and someone graciously offered to take our picture

Just us... blocking a beautiful view

Stomachs full, we left Lake Louise and went to neary Lake Moraine.

Lake Moraine

Another view of Lake Moraine

The turquoise color of the glacier-fed lakes is due to the “rock flour” brought in by melting waters.  The heavy particles which turn the water milky in rivers, sink to the bottom, and leave the lighter particles suspended.  These  particles  absorb all light, except for blue and green which are reflected to us.  In the winter, there is less melt, the water is more blue, in the summer, more turquoise.

I finally proved one of my “theories” at Moraine Lake.  You see, I am convinced that modern kids do not feel pain or cold the way we did.  This is based on the fact that kids seem to enjoy piercing just about every sensitive part of their bodies, on top of that, they do not dress warmly when it is cold outside.  I do have a proof now! The water in Moraine Lake and other glacier-fed lakes in the Canadian Rockies never goes above 7 degree Celsius (about 40 F).  And what is that kid doing in that 40 degree water?

Yup! that's the proof, right there friends!

Swimming…. he was swimming… a recipe for hypothermia for any normal grown-up human being!

Finally, I have another bird for you to identify, you are doing a good job so far.

My mystery bird in Lake Louise

And, another “Only in Canada” shot

How about urinals with individual TV screens? Gotta entertain the boys...

Last picture courtesy of Bear or course….;)

P.S.  Chicken is part of this post also, you just have to look carefully if you want to find him this time.  After his scary encounter with the Bear Mountie, he decided to stay out of trouble for a little while.