Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise – Unbelievably, we have again awakened to another rain soaked day here in the Canadian Rockies.  Even the poor bellmen were beginning to show signs of wear as they attempted to keep everyone under an umbrella.

Even the locals have commented about the rarity of this amount of rain during this time of year.  Evidently, sunny skies are more the norm for early summer in the Canadian Rockies.

After breakfast the rain had slowed to a very small trickle, so we decided to make a hike around stunningly beautiful Lake Louise.

As you can see from my photograph above, you shouldn’t waste any pity on us as our surroundings were absolutely stunning in spite of the rain and clouds.

We were not alone in our thinking that a hike was the order of the day.  Our roughly two-mile jaunt found perhaps one hundred others out taking the very same walk.  I think the sheer number of hello’s, hi’s, and good morning’s were more strenuous than the hike.  We encountered unusual accents and people from all over the world.  Big fun!

In the distance, behind my photograph of the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, you can see the Lake Louise ski area.  We had heard other hotels guests mention that they had seen grizzly bears from the safety of a ski lift so we decided to pack our bags a little early and take the Lake Louise gondola ride before we headed off to our next stop: Banff.

We opted for an open chair lift so that I might get the best photographs possible on the ride up.

The fourteen-minute ride took us above the tree line.  The cloud layer had thankfully risen nearly to the tops of the mountains and we were privileged to gaze upon God’s stunning creation.

Here is a glimpse of our view aboard the chair lift of the Canadian Rockies.  In the distance, you can see Lake Louise with the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise sitting upon its turquoise shores.

We’re now off to Banff.  Stay tuned!