Today, Monday 2nd April we embarked upon the final leg of our road trip from Panorama to Lake Louise. Been a little bit nervous about this one. For the last few days the weather forecast has been predicting around 20cm snow overnight on Sunday (last night) and the main part of the journey is the mountain pass from Radium Hot Springs to Castle Junction, not to mention getting down the road from Panorama. As it turned out the forecasters got it wrong this time, only a few cm's had fallen and the roads, although covered in snow for short sections were perfectly fine and the the AWD Highlander took it all in it's stride.
That little bit of snow that did fall was just enough to add that extra dimension to the already exceptional scenic delights we were about to experience. Going over the pass through the Kootenay National Park was sensational, snow capped trees and mountain vistas making the journey just fly by. We made a couple of stops to look a little bit closer ; had a short walk down to the riverside and then a slightly longer walk through a beautiful wooded area where we met the bend of the river where the views were a joy to behold. It was really cold, probably only around -5 but very dry and very crisp air. Nothing a warm hat and a pair of gloves won't solve and just a beautiful place to be. It really was picture postcard stuff.
So the combination of the weather, the stops we had and what was about to come made this without doubt the best journey of the entire trip, which contrasts with our last trip which to be fair I found a bit dull after the first hour or so.
After making it safely over the pass, we found ourselves on Highway 1, the main stretch of road from Calgary, through Banff, and on to Lake Louise. Around 15 minutes later we left Highway 1 at the Lake Louise junction and followed the beautiful Moraine Lake Road which, 5 minutes later delivered us to the Chateau.
Arriving at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise really is a sight to behold. The hotel is majestic in every way possible and I'll do a separate post just on the hotel to do it justice.
So here are a few pictures we took on the way, but first the usual time-lapse video. Enjoy!
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| Is it cold? Too right it is. |
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| These paw prints were massive. Bear? |
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| Didn't hang around too long to find out |
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