Welcome To Canada...Lake Louise

On Sunday, May 25, 2014, we packed up, fueled up in St. Mary, and

made our way on 89N to the

Canadian border.  Wow, what an

easy crossing.  We were the first across, and while waiting across the street at the Duty Free Store, we watched as

as the others came through just as fast as we did!

And, with the

Stars and Stripes in our rear view mirror, and

Alberta and beyond in front of us, we

replaced the Next Exit with the Milepost and headed

North for new and uncharted adventures!

First, we had to familiarize ourselves with some

new terminology.

Wallace took the

lead and guided us along the Canadian Highways.

We made a stop at

Fort Macleod for a short

break.  Here we found a

 

replica of the original Fort Macleod.  The Fort/Museum features the history of the North West Mounted Police.  The original fort, named for Colonel J.F. Macleod was built in 1874 and was the first outpost of NWMP.

Time to

 

move on.  What beautiful country...and

I though Texas was cattle country!  The ranch land

in Alberta seems to go on forever.

We made a

lunch stop beside the road before heading on

towards our evening destination.

We made our way west of Calgary and enjoyed the

 

Cowboy trail, enjoying lots of beautiful scenery.

As we neared Banff National Park, there was the pure beauty of

majestic mountains, and serenity of the

rivers.

There was the uniqueness of the

overpasses.  These are designed just so the wildlife can cross the highway!

Time for a fuel stop...we had 2 tickets for $100 each (Canadian $$) or translated to the US $$...equals $5.00 per gallon for diesel.

Just down the road, we exited to Banff National Park.  We paid for 2 nights stay in the park system, the first being at

Lake Louise Campground.  Great wide pull through sites.  We shared this one with Bob and Molly. The sites were electric (30amp) only, but, it was all we needed.  Once we settled in, we headed out to take in the surroundings.  This river

  

flows just to the edge of the campground and these

little critters play along the bank and throughout the park.

The drive to

took us by surprise!  I never thought that

this is what we would find.  I don't think I have ever seen a frozen lake.  Wow, is all I can say.

What a beautiful

sight.  And, on it's banks sits the elegant

Chateau Lake Louise.

After a walk through the

snow, we headed back to the campground and...

the rain settled in, but, before we snuggled in for the night, we had chocolate cake and wished Mary at Happy Birthday.

What an awesome day!