Doing Lake Louise

Photo by Caryl Zimmerman

I have a list hanging on my 'frig of all the things I want to do before we leave this beautiful country. Since our anniversary was this past weekend, I was able to convince my husband to do the most expensive item on it: spend a night at The Chateau Fairmont Lake Louise. As a bonus, we would also be able to cross off "skate on Lake Louise," "take a horse-drawn sleigh ride" and "go dog sledding." Woot!

Even though we've been to Lake Louise a gazillion times, we've never stayed over. I researched the hell out of the place, learning when the sun rises and sets, when's the best time of day to dog-sled, which restaurants other travelers recommend...you get the picture. I knew it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I wanted to do it right. I had notes, pamphlets and a schedule. Raise da roof!

We left early  when we were ready Saturday morning, full of coffee and high hopes. The weather forecast called for snow that night but that would only make our Sunday morning dog-sledding adventure that much better. One of the reviews I read said the first run of the day, in fresh snow is an unforgettable experience. Can I get a what what?!

Well, you can save your "what what." Everything went wrong. I wanted amazing photos of the lake at different times of day, but all was gray: the sky, the snow, my face- everything was a variation of the mixing of black and white: dark gray, light gray and grayish-gray. I managed to look like I was skating (even though I was a wobbly mess) in some photos Greg took, but they lack that punch of blue I was hoping for above the mountains. 

Photo by Greg Zimmerman

And when the sun went down after dinner, it must have done it someplace else. NO bright splashes of orange, pink or yellow. The view from our window just got darker, until all you could see was a ghostly light on the ice sculptures below. Creepy. The mountains could have sunk into the earth for all we knew. The whole world out there was black and still. And it looked cold.

Photo by Caryl Zimmerman

Time for our sleigh ride! (waah) I booked it at night because we've been to the back of the lake a few times during the day. I thought being there in the dead of night would be a unique experience. Apparently, I was the only one in the universe who felt that way because we were the only two people on a sleigh that could seat twenty people.

Here's a photo I took from our room during the day. Idyllic!



And here's a photo I took right before we climbed on. Scary!

I was looking forward to the silence of the forested trail while we hunkered down under a soft blanket. Instead, Greg and the driver struck up a conversation that lasted the entire hour we were out there. No silence, no hunkering and no moon illuminating the landscape. As a result, my other senses were heightened, which was unfortunate since my nose was in close proximity to the back end of two horses.

Wait- it gets better. 'Member earlier when I said my face was gray? We realized back at the hotel that my face was ashen because I had the beginnings of a cold. The introduction of illness added a delightful new emotion to our two hour dog sledding tour in the morning: fear. What if I threw up all over the sled? What if I needed a bathroom out there in the middle of the wilderness? What if I just stopped worrying about it and shut the heck up?

I rolled over in bed with a huff, determined to get a good night's sleep so I could see the freakin' sunrise from our window and enjoy a freakin' dog sled ride in a freakin' winter wonderland!! Happy freakin' anniversary!!

The alarm woke us at 7:00. Greg looked outside and reported that the black sky was slowly turning gray but due to a snowstorm, he couldn't see much of anything else. Of course he couldn't. I popped some cold medicine, showered and bundled up for the morning ahead of us. At least I'd get to see some dogs! The pamphlet said they love what they do and are very friendly. 

But when we arrived at the designated meeting place, we found the parking lot (and one car) buried under new snow. We called our tour guide who told us that -of course- the outing was canceled. They tried to reach me via email, but I hadn't been online all weekend. Apparently, there was an avalanche warning that day. So, no happy dogs, no fresh snow, no first run of the day.   

Greg asked me what I wanted to do since we had the room for a few more hours. I sneezed in reply and then said, "Let's go home."

Photo by Caryl Zimmerman

You would think that would be the end of the story but NO! Road conditions were so bad that it took us four hours to make the two hour drive home. Cars slid off into the ditches. Cars slid into one another.

NOT my photo. 

For the first two hours Greg called it an adventure! For the last two, he groused about all the "idiots" who didn't respect the snow and wound up sideways on the highway, causing delays for everyone else! I stupidly asked, "So, it's not an adventure anymore?"

I also received a silent glare when I said, "Now I can cross one more thing off my list: 'Drive home in a blizzard!'"  I can be kind of annoying in tense situations. 

The weekend wasn't all bad, of course. Any time you get to stay in a hotel and eat out it's a good time. Besides, I got some great snow pictures:

Photo by Caryl Zimmerman

Photo by Caryl Zimmerman

    

Photo by Caryl Zimmerman

Photo by Caryl Zimmerman

Photo by Caryl Zimmerman

Photo by Caryl Zimmerman

Walk Like a Canadian

Saturday we walked across Lake Louise. That's right, just like Jesus! OK, that was a borderline blasphemous joke. I apologize. But back to this trick we learned for walking on water. If you're dedicated enough, you can do it, too! Follow each step carefully: 1) Move to Canada  2) Wait til January.
     

Even though Lake Louise turns into a frozen tundra in the winter, the folks who run the Fairmont hotel on its shore have come up with fun activities to keep us all busy until the canoe rentals are available again.

Horse-drawn carriage rides:

Ice sculptures:

Ice skating:

And cross country skis and snowshoe rental to get you across the lake:



We didn't rent any gear because we all had on hiking boots with good tread. Besides, the plan was to merely take some photos standing on the ice, looking back at the hotel.

Somehow we wound up back here:

The beauty of the snowy mountains seemed to pull us further and further along towards the back of the lake. But I stopped so many times to take photos that my husband gave up and took a nap:



I'm glad we made the trek because we got to see the waterfall in all its winter splendor:

I also got to see this tree wearing a snow hat:

There's something about the silence and the unspoiled beauty on the other side of the lake that's good for the soul. It's worth it to take a moment to drink it in.

Something that's good for the body to drink in is a cup of hot tea by the window inside the Chateau Lake Louise when you're done frolicking. After a day like this, your entire body, mind and spirit will go, "ahhhhh..."



Here are some bonus pictures from the ride home:

 

Castle Mountain:

Big Elk Herd Outside of Banff:

Penguins in the Midst

of a bunch of onlookers

Everybody loves a penguin. How can you not? They're adorable. So when I heard that The Calgary Zoo is hosting a "Penguin Walk" three times a week, I added it to my schedule.

And there it was, circled on my calendar this morning!

I wasn't sure how it would all play out. What I wanted more than anything were some great photos. The video I saw on the news made it look like you could actually walk with the penguins as they took a morning stroll. Would there be a huge crowd?  How close would I get to them?

I read that there would be a total of eight King Penguins participating in the event- four males and four females- named Arthur, Asa, Ceasar, Diana, Grace, Hera, Solomon and Tut.

I got to the zoo early, paid my $22 general admission (ouch) and was disappointed to see lots of people heading in from the parking lot, most with young children. Makes sense, of course. 

The penguin habitat was easy to find as it's fairly close to the main entrance. The first penguin I spotted was a sparkly statue, so when I spied another one standing tall on a hill, I wasn't sure it was the real thing. Then it moved its head. I may have gasped out loud because it was stunning- those gorgeous blasts of orange and yellow against the grey and white body. Bravo, Mother Nature!

A crowd gathered around the pen, which must have tipped the penguins off as to what was coming....

...because they lined up at the gate!

"C'mon, c'mon!! Let's go!"

I figured I'd better get a handle on what was going to happen, so I found a volunteer who told me the penguins would walk with their handlers and that we needed to stay behind the ropes (which she pointed out) or the orange barriers at the bridge. OK, so it would be more of a parade than a walk. Feeling superior and clever, I decided that the further away from the penguin habitat the better, as there would be fewer people. I headed for the bridge.

The only problem was that I had no idea where the bridge was. The zoo has a bridge? When I noticed that I was walking past giant dinosaur replicas, I realized I might be in trouble. I turned around, rushing back towards this sign:

Never fear, dear reader, Clever Caryl didn't miss the Penguin Parade! I spotted a bridge, asked another volunteer if the walk went past it and planted myself there. It turned out to be a great spot. 

The Penguin Papparazzi wait:

And then the waddling little creatures came down a small slope right towards me! Actually, there was a curve in the path, which they completely  ignored. The little group walked straight, stopping in front of the crowd, while their handlers coaxed them back on the trail with a bucket of fish.

OK, back on track and headed for me!

This guy played it really cool as he walked by.

Why does this remind me of the cover of Abbey Road?

(OK, it's a stretch, but that did pop into my head.)

After I took this photo, I put the camera down so I could experience being that close to these intriguing little beasts. But I did snap them walking away:

And then I ran around the loop in the opposite direction to watch them return home. Some of the penguins who didn't get to go were also "running" to greet them. So cute!



Once back inside, they huddled up and gossiped about us:

One of the most fascinating things about watching the penguins was the way they watched US. One of their handlers told us the penguins enjoy the new sights and sounds they experience as they take their walk. You can most definitely see them looking around and checking us out.

Another thing about these birds is they're so darned beautiful:

The Penguin Walk will continue until the end of February or early March, depending on the weather. It's held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from 11:00am- 11:15am.