Banff National Park, Alberta Canada

Follow 2 up to Calgary and turn left on Trans Canadian 1. The mountains are a constant companion on the drive north, they hover just to the west and keep drawing your eye. When you get into the city you lose them for a while and then TC 1 points you straight at them. You are on your way to Banff National Park and the town of Banff.
After we passed the gate, which sits across the interstate, we went to look around and reserve our campsite. Bypassing Banff, the road splits into the interstate and the Bow Valley Parkway, which parallels the interstate from just after Banff to just after Lake Louise. This is the most visited section of the parks and the Parkway allows a slower pace and more turn-offs for the sight seers.
The campground starts reserving spots for the night at 11:00 am, and it was just past lunch time, so we were confident that we could get any campground we wanted. We wanted Lake Louise. Of the many parks and natural wonders I’ve seen, Lake Louise is one of the single most beautiful spots in the world. But get there early in the morning, before the boaters clutter up the water and stand right at the eastern edge of the lake so you don’t have to see the monstrous Chateau Lake Louise. The chateau is a very well done and graceful building, but it should be a well done and graceful building a mile or five away. I think that even a well done and graceful mustache would spoil the Mona Lisa.
The lake is a glacial lake. That means that the water is filled with minute particles of rock and debris that has been scraped off the rock over thousands of years of the ice slowly working down. If you don’t know this, glaciers flow like rivers, very, very, very slow rivers. The movement of the ice against the surface of the rock beneath, grinds away a fine layer of dust that gets trapped in the ice and then runs into the lake with the melting glacier. This has the effect of turning the water the most incredible colors. Emerald greens and electric blues that just take your breath away. Lake Louise in a sort of turquoise that must be seen to be believed. It was in the early morning fog of that next morning that I got the second of the two best pictures I have ever taken.
We had been in and out of the truck taking pictures all the way up the parkway, but once again it was time to put on the boots and see more. Off to the right of the lake is a trail marked Beehive.
The trail is cut into the side of the mountain. It is nothing but switch backs that take you higher and higher through the deep trees, with only the occasional opening to take in the view and see the progress you’re making. Up above the lake is where you get the best view of the color. It was a bright, sunny day. The sky was a deep rich blue and the clouds were fluffy and white, and the electric turquoise of the lake still took the spot light.
You pass another lake on the way up. This lake is much smaller, a deep cobalt blue, nestled so deep in the woods that you don’t know it’s there until the trail turns and you are standing on the shore. The climb is steep, even with all the switch backs, and those friendly park ranger provide some much appreciated benches to take the load off for a minute and enjoy the scenery. You’re about halfway to the Beehive.
When you get to the top, there is another lake and a little refreshment stand. They just sell lemonade and small stuff that someone had to carry up that same trail you just came up. You hang out a few minutes, catch your breath, and then start down.
On the way down Dave and I came up behind a lady who was a little older than we were (we were in our early 30’s) and was coming down from the top. Wearing high heeled sandals. I pointed this out to Dave and was in awe. We had on serious foot wear, and while we move fast on the trail, we were feeling the climb. Her feet should have been bleeding and raw, but she was just moving along. Dave asked her about her footwear choice and we talked the rest of the way down. She and her husband were on vacation (holiday) from England, and they were staying at the Chateau that night before moving on, and she didn’t want to see the park from the hotel window. Good woman. I’m not a social person, and 30 years later, I still follow Sammy Safety's advice and don’t talk to strangers, but on the trail sometimes that brief conversation with a stranger is an enjoyable diversion. Must be the mountain air.