The Canadian Rockies

Explore the world. It’s simple. That could mean taking a brisk walk around town. That could mean talking to an old friend you haven’t seen in a few years on the street. It could also mean traveling. My parents have always deeply instilled the importance of being cognizant of others around me, encompassing the various existing cultures, languages, and tenets. I consider myself very fortunate of being bestowed with the gift of frequent travel. From July 22-July 31, my family explored the world of the Canadian Rockies.

July 23-24–Lake Louise

Lake Louise [the town], was actually not the first place we visited, in fact, it is almost 2 hours away from Calgary. Calgary was the closest city with an international airport, and arriving, exhausted and depleted of mental energy at at around 4 p.m. on the 23, we stayed in a rural hotel close by the airport. It wasn’t until early the following morning that we drove the 3 ½  hours to our first destination, Lake Louise.

Roadside view of mountains

I remember riding in the car, listening to pop music on Sirius XM, completed dazed by the sublime vista of the grayish mountains, fitted perfectly together with the azure blue of the
unique rivers and lakes. My family was driving on the highway, yet it already felt like moving in a painting. The mountains hosted million year old glaciers, merely visible underneath obfuscated clouds. The ride from Calgary to Lake Louise took 3 ½ hours due to frequent stops dedicated towards visiting lakes or views off the main highway.

Lake Louise is by far the most famous lake in Banff National Park. In fact, after stopping at Lake Louise Village for lunch at 1:00, no cars except for the ones heading to the hotels by the Lake were allowed to pass at this time. The culling ensured that (a) all car headed down to the lake were able to find parking and (b) the lake wasn’t overcrowded with visitors. Incognizant of this fact at first, soon I realized what the traffic police were talking about. Driving up the narrow road, curvy road, I saw cars parked almost half a mile away

Chateau Lake Louise

from the Lake. Many of these people had probably awaken before the sun to see the Louise. Likewise, public entrance into the Lake wasn’t permitted after 7. This marked a very short, and limited public visitor number each day. Thankfully, I was staying in a hotel so the lake would be of access to me during my whole stay. And that’s when the Chateau Lake Louise pulled into sight. I was amazed, the resort was humongous! But then the Lake pulled into view, and that’s when I my brain really froze.

Of course, being a photographer, my parents and I walked down to the amazing Lake Louise, observing the light-blue water of the lake, blended with the glacier in the center of the landscape. The piece seemed to fit together so perfectly, it was like a miracle! The subtle sound of the gushing water onto the rocks on the shore, the luminous mountains in the background. My breath was taken away by silence.

Yet the next morning of our one night stay, I was once again mesmerized, yet this time by the very different vista of the giant glacier in the morning sunrise. Red, glowing, orange, lurid…amazing. To be completely honest, I was unaware of the how beautiful some places in the world could be. I guess I was kind of caught up in Boston.

Later in sunrise

Earlier in sunrise

July 24-26–Jasper

Jasper is another town, about 3 ½ hours from Lake Louise, and that’s the calculated time for a car ride that has no stops. A non-stop ride was not possible for my family, as the

Peyto Lake, off of highway

road we were traveling on was nominated one of the most beautiful roads in the world. We passed foreboding mountains, and twisted rivers the color of a pale light blue.

In Jasper, we stayed at the Jasper Park Lodge, 18 minutes from downtown. Out of the three towns/cities I visited during this Canadian Rockies trip, I think Jasper was my favorite

Jasper Park Lodge boat rentals on Beauvert

place to visit. Our lodge was located on Lake Beauvert, a non-geometric shaped lake with a tall, glamorous glacier in the scenic view. Our lodge consisted of over a hundred small cabins, surrounding around ⅓ of the lake. I enjoyed my chilly, brisk runs along the trails of the Beauvert in the morning and the sitting on decks above the shore of Beauvert, watching the sunset at night. Truly a wonderful pleasure.

Lake Beauvert

Although Jasper and Lake Louise are both towns in the Canadian Rockies, they both dramatically differ. It’s almost like sensing the difference when you cross the border between two towns in Massachusetts. Jasper seems more connected to the wilderness, with taller, more abundant mountains, and curvy highways, while Lake Louise seemed to be more populated, obtaining a closer resemblance to the city.

My favorite place to visit in Jasper was the Athabasca Falls. My family parked at the top of the canyon-like-gorge, and hiked down to the river. WHAT A VISTA! The color of the rocks, a concoction of yellows, and light oranges reminded me of the Grand Canyon. Yet the main difference was the gushing water and glaciers in the background. The sun was high in the sky, sending a warm azure tone to the water and the trees glowed a brilliant green. I was truly amazed by this painting-like view.

Top of Falls

Bottom of the falls

Halfway down Athabasca

July 27-31– Banff

Being the largest city of those we visited, Banff was also very unique. There was a plethora of wilderness, bears and water. Yet it also had a fair sized downtown, with local and international shops. It was almost like a more mountain focused version of Weston, MA.

Columbia Icefields

The ride from Jasper to Banff would have been about 7? hours, yet my family visited the Columbia Icefields on the way. It is a huge, million year old glacier that sits close to the highway. We took an Ice Explorer (there are only 23 of these machines in the world) up the rocky mountain and finally onto the glacier. What an original view. This marked my first time being on a glacier and surprisingly, it wasn’t as cold as I’d expected. Small streams ran throughout the crevices of the cracked ice and not surprisingly, this was from the slowly melting glacier.

Finally, at around 9 o’clock p.m., my family checked into the famous Banff Springs Hotel, located in the mountains. This historic hotel was built in 1888, and resembled the architecture of a castle. The interior was almost ghostly, too vast. The halls were colossal, adorned with tall small glassed windows and large black and white tiled floors that echoed when you set foot upon them. The lights that flared in the hallways exemplified candles or old-fashioned, dimly lit lanterns.

I think the most notable place we visited in Banff was Emerald Lake, which was 45 minutes away in Yoho National Park (thank you Sophie for recommending this!). Yes, the name says it all, the water appeared like a bluer version of an emerald! We walked a three hour trail along the lake’s circumference, observing the mountains, and the water’s color from different angles. Away from the bedlam of the city, I felt very present and relaxed, observing flowers and taking photos of the lake. We were in the woods, so the extra green added amazing pazzaz. The woods were quiet and only the occasional sound of rustling in the trees could the heard.

Emerald Lake

Emerald Lake

August 8–Boston

I’m sitting in the study room, typing up this post, thinking about my whole trip. A reflection. It lasted nine days, and we visited three different towns/cities. My family explored at least two places each day, so I’ve just highlighted my favorite place(s) from each city. I’ve kept a verbiage journal throughout my whole trip, writing and recording each day.  In retrospect, I know how many places I been around the world, but I think the Canadian Rockies have genuinely made the list of places I’ll never forget. It’s truly an amazement, a realization, and Mother Nature’s miracle.

Note: I took all of these photographs during my trip, and most are very lightly photoshopped, although the colors of the water are generally not altered.