Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Natural Bridge, The Spiral Tunnels, Lake Louise

We've got another jam-packed day filled with sightseeing destinations! After a home-made breakfast at the cabin, we drove over to Yoho National Park to check out Natural Bridge.


Natural Bridge is called this because of the rock bridge that was formed naturally over the Kicking Horse River.


Due to the fast moving water of what was once a waterfall, the force of the water eroded the softer limestone rock to create fissures, and then eventually a wide gap in which the gushing water flowed through to the below, calmer waters of the Field valley. 


The weather was pretty interesting that day. When we arrived, it started to hail! Then, the sun came out, warmed up the rocks and created a beautiful emerald blue-green water that looked amazing against the rushing white rapids! With the tall, green trees and the snow-capped mountains as the backdrop, this view just perfectly summed up the province's slogan: Super. Natural. British Columbia.


The photos captured the colours pretty well but to see it with our own eyes was just awesome.


Driving along the Trans-Canada Highway, on our way to Lake Louise, we made an impromptu stop at the Spiral Tunnels visitor area. This is the site in which the rail line goes through Mt. Stephen and Mt. Ogden, cross Kicking Horse River and loop through Cathedral Mountain to create a steady gradual grade for trains to ascend or descend the mountains.


Although we did not see any trains traveling through the tunnels, it was still pretty cool to see an historic site that was integral to BC's history.


Around early afternoon, we arrived at Lake Louise. It was quite nice and sunny while we sat outside for lunch at Samson Mall. But before we could count our blessings, it started to snow when we got to the shores of Lake Louise!!! 


Mid-June and it was still incredibly chilly!


And all that low cloud coverage meant we could not see much of Mount Victoria and Victoria Glacier across from the lake :(((


Even though the sky cleared up a bit later on, the blue sky appeared behind Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and not on the lake side so in the end we were unable to see any of the iconic mountain and glacier views across the lake.

Oh well, that just gives us another reason to come back another time! Next time, I hope the weather will cooperate with us and show us the natural, sparkling beauty of Lake Louise!

No comments:

Post a Comment