September 14
Today we got an early start so we could go to Moraine Lake. I had purchased tickets to take a charter bus at 9am without realizing we were staying about an hours drive from the pickup site so we were out the door by 7:30 to catch it in time. You can’t drive your own car up there so after the beautiful twenty minute bus ride, we arrived to see hundreds of others already there and a bit of a chaotic scene. Once we got past that initial disembarking situation we got out of the fray.
We walked up about a half mile staircase called The Rockpile Trail which is known for an iconic view which you’ve probably seen so I won’t bore you with it. What? You haven’t? Okay here’s the shot:
After we got down from The Rockpile, we walked along the lakeshore trail as far as we could, which was where water from Moraine Glacier pours into the lake. How cool is that?!?
We had a picnic lunch on a shoreside rock on the way back. By then the sun was starting to shine after a morning of cloudy skies. As we ate we realized we could see a perfect reflection of the mountains in the lake – an image I hope to remember forever.
We had a beautiful drive back at the end of the day, through the Bow Valley Parkway, a scenic ‘off the beaten track’ route. Knowing we’re heading back to the US tomorrow for a couple days in Glacier National Park, we talked about all the things we will miss from our time here in Canada. I wrote a few of them down.
- The people, so friendly, welcoming and caring
- The scenery, which, as you’ve seen is mind boggling
- Converting Kilometers per Hour to Miles per Hour
- Poutine
- The exchange rate
- Canadian (lack of) traffic
- Converting Celsius to Fahrenheit
- The complete lack of litter-such clean roads, streets and highways
- Washrooms at every turnout on the road
- The chance to see moose
- Lush vegetation
- Crows the size of Foghorn Leghorn
- The lack of clear-cut logging
- Road closures to allow animals their space in certain seasons
- Complete lack of graffiti
- The views – the views – the views
- The cute little icon on road signs they use to tell you there’s a view coming up worth checking out
- The country of Canada, which has so much to be proud of🇨🇦
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