Lovely Lakes

It was Monday, August 22nd, and we headed north on the Trans Canada Highway to Lake Louise. On the drive into Lake Louise Village, Sandy finally got her wish.......a real live bear was sitting by the roadway, calmly eating berries from the bush. He was no more than 20 feet from the side of our truck, and I handed the camera over to Sandy and told her to start taking pictures. There was no way I was going to hop out of the truck and approach him, no matter how cuddly he looked from this distance.

We arrived at the shoreline of Lake Louise before the onslaught of the tour buses hit the parking lots. The early bird gets the worm and the early person gets the shot of the lake without 500 people standing in front of them! This is one amazing and awesome lake! There were clouds out that day, and as the sun came out from behind them, it was if the whole lake became illuminated from the bottom! The lake would change colors within the span of minutes, ranging from a darker turquoise with bands of lighter coloration to a exceedingly brilliant turquoise-azure blue.
What a great place to spend our 47th wedding anniversary. God's creation before us, we sat down to view the wonderful lake and mountains made by Him eons ago.
We decided to do a walk around the lake, and part of the bunch decided to take a small break and sit down on one of the many benches. For those who are younger than us, now you know you that all the fun is not reserved for the younger kids! Don, Sandy and Sherry are doing the "See no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil" while Gary pretends he is not with the rest of them!
Here is another view of Lake Louise from the path that leads to the very back of the lake.
It's almost lunchtime as we leave here and head to Lake Morraine. Fields of beautiful wildflowers in assorted colors greet us as we head to the shore. I'm ecstatic as I jump out of the truck and make a leap for the hills to get some pictures. The rest of the group know that I'll catch up to them as soon as I'm done getting some flower pics.
Canoes in various bright colors await their turn to be taken out on to Lake Morraine. This lake is a bit darker turquoise, but is impressive in it's own way.
Jerry took a picture of Sandy and me putting our hands into the way. Brr. It was freezing! Within minutes, our hands had turned a bright red color! There was no way that we were going to take off our shoes and wade here like we did last year while in the Florida Keys!
"Hey! Don't leave me here alone! Come back, Jerry and Sandy! I need at least 3 more people before I can hike this trail! Okay, okay. I'll skip it today. Wait for me!"
On we went to Johnston Canyon. More steps, definitely less bears. I was fine with that. Gary and Sherry can be seen heading up the catwalk towards the lower falls. There are spectacular views all along the narrow limestone chasm. The water is so clear here that it looks like you are looking through glass that is tinted a light blue.
Here is a view of the lower falls. To the right, the path continues and goes through the rock wall to the side of the percussive water falls! It's amazing to be that close to the wall of water flowing down into the pool below.
Jerry and Sandy took time to pose before we headed back to the parking lot. It was an absolutely wonderful day! We were thankful to be able to spend our anniversary with friends and family. So many great memories!