This was a trip of sorts, in that we went all the way North West on the first day and then came down twice the distance to the South, right until the US border. I would baptize this trip as 'The Lakes Tour'. We were joined by a new friend in this trip - Mr. Ankur Gupta or Sunny as he is popularly called.
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| Lac de Arcs - about 85 KM West of Calgary |
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| Trans Canada Highway |
The first arm of the journey took us through the Banff National Park and the Yoho National Park. The route? The contemporary and the ever-so-trodden Trans Canada Highway - HWY1. A stop at Lac de Arcs was customary. Next came Lake Louise (Banff National Park). I was not particularly happy seeing the lake this time, as I had hoped it to be sparkingly green or a variety thereof, and there it was - an expanse of frozen ice till the eyes could fathom. Nevertheless we spent quite some time there before moving on to Emerald Lake in Yoho.
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| A cottage near Lake Louise |
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| Nordic stop |
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| The frozen expanse of the lake |
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| Timber way |
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| The smiling family |
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| Purest of the pure - frozen chasms |
40 KM further West is Emerald Lake. This again is a glacial lake like Lake Louise. We did a bit of canoeing in Emerald Lake.
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| At the beginning of Emerald Lake |
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| A cross section of the bridge |
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| Charming green doing its magic yet again |
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| Walking around the periphery of the lake |
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| The walk juts out into the lake |
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| L-R: Avneesh (the steer), Pravesh and Sunny |
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| The canoes form a silhouette against the peaks |
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| Mystique blue |
It was a long drive from here to Waterton - about 470 KM. But we did not want to stay there at night, so we had planned to stay put at Pincher Creek which is 50 KM North of Waterton. On the drive there we did make a short stop at what is called 'The Natural Bridge'. This place is also in Yoho and is a wonder that has been carved out by the forces of providence through ages.
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| Yes, that's where you are |
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| The Natural Bridge |
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| Forces of providence work untiringly |
Our drive South was exciting as we recited many old stories that we had heard in our childhood. Frankly speaking we did not want the drive to end that night. Munching up on our stories we reached Pincher Creek at night. It is a small town nestled in the cradle of fine prairies that have a formed a wonderful union with the southernmost ranges of the Canadian Rockies. These great views were nevertheless concealed from us by the dark shroud of night, and it was only the light of morning that revealed to us the wonder that mother nature had created in this child of hers. Breakfast was done early morning at the local Tim Hortons.
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| Early morning scene - Pincher Creek, Alberta |
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| Southern ranges of the Canadian Rockies dote the road from Pincher Creek to Waterton |
The ride from Pincher Creek to Waterton, again, is like the work of a painter who would have squeezed in all his imagination into the strokes of his paint brush while creating his masterpiece. Nonetheless, nature never has one masterpiece but infinite and we are always enthralled when the next one is shown to us. The road is winding at times and goes up and down at others while making its way amid beautifully snow clad Rockies.
At Waterton, we booked a one and half hour cruise in the Lake. The cruise cross the International Border between Canada and USA on the 49th parallel North.
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| Prince of Wales Hotel - Waterton |
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| Our stead for the cruise |
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| The Waterton Lake |
We visited Cameron Falls which are in the town thereafter. Then it was a 300 KM drive back to Calgary.
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| Cameron Falls in the town of Waterton |
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