Wednesday, July 26th: The Niagara Falls of Canada

We loved Jasper, and now it was on to Banff.  The two parks connect, driving on the same route right through Jasper and into Banff.  Banff is considered the Niagara Falls of Canada.  Meaning it attracts thousands and thousands of visitors from around the world every summer.  There are two lakes which attract most of the attention - Moraine and Louise. Huge, gorgeous, mountain lakes.  The funny thing is, I actually had a poster of Moraine Lake hanging in my bedroom as a freshman in college.  I had picked it out during my prepping for my dorm room as a photo of one of the most beautiful places I’d ever seen.  It was right over my bed that entire year.  So, yeah, I’ve been fascinated with this north country for a while.  In fact, I looked into the University of Fairbanks during that transitional time in my teen life.  Alaska was a place I saw in magazines and TV shows and calendars that always captured my imagination.  No one could understand why I wanted to go there.  All that cold and snow?

We were VERY excited to cross the US border today!!!

Anyway, I would have liked to have seen these beautiful lakes.  But the interpreter at the vistor center informed us that the only way to get to Moraine Lake was to take a shuttle bus, and those book up days in advance.  I do not do well with things that need to be done “days in advance”. I can’t even make a camping registration more than a day before I want to sleep there.  Who knows what might happen between now and then?  I live in a state where catastrophe lies around every corner, hauling 9 people around.  The chances of us making it to any destination on time looms like a cloud and stresses me out to no end.  I can prep for the typical: soccer practice, church, etc.  But driving across a few 100 miles and planning to arrive on a given day?  Forget it.  I would rather drive on and hope to find a decent place to lay our head as we are on the road and I can accurately project our arrival.  I’m not sure which one is more crazy.

Anyway, Moriane Lake was definitely out.  And we could hike 2miles to Lake Louise but we had to find parking.  There was one free spot which might accommodate our camper if we got there early but it was already 10am and people were everywhere.  Tim and I both struggle with sharing the outdoors with crowds.  We create enough of a crowd on our own lol.  But if we’re going to make the effort to visit these areas, I don’t like to wait in long lines, or press in to fight for the best view, or stumble over a lot of people like it’s an amusement park.  Call me selfish, but I like space to actually feel like space!  It’s crazy how much these places have congested in the last 20 years since our first travels.  Timed entry permits??  6 months out to camp in a National Park??  Wow.  I understand that more people are appreciating these special places, but it’s hard to see things different from what you remember.

A STATE and not a province! Yay!

So we decided to skip the lakes.  It was kind of a bummer considering we were RIGHT THERE.  But it meant cutting into out time in Glacier, we we chose to prioritize that.  We did try to stop at a recommended quick hike to Johnston Canyon on the way out but even there the parking lots were so full there were already people driving in circles to catch someone pulling out.  There wasn’t a chance for our silver beast pulling a 24 ft. camper to find a spot.  We moved on.  Glacier, here we come!