Entire Day with Brewster Sightseeing from Banff to Lake Louise, Mountain Lakes & Waterfalls

Okay, we start Day 5 of our trip with Canada Rail Vacations and today that is an entire day with Brewster Sightseeing.

We get picked up in the morning at our Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel and start out on our journey, lunch is included and ending at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise...

Yep, this is our final destination: Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise

The weather at 6:04 in the morning was 1ºC or 33.8ºF...
The maximum for the day only 6ºC or 42.8ºF
Light Snow Showers today...

At 8:15 AM in downtown Banff with beautiful light on the surrounding mountains!
Very special lanterns, in regard to heavy snowfall in winter they are kind of roofed for handling the weight.

This is where the photo got taken. Heading towards the bridge across Bow River.
Banff is only about 8,000 homes and they restrict any expansion as it is in the Banff National Park with even some Grizzly Bear residents!

Here we're crossing the Bow River...

Since we're right in the middle of Banff National Park here on the Trans Canada Highway, there are about six Wildlife Overpasses being build within the Province of Alberta.

Here we are on Lake Louise Drive

Yep, this IS Lake Louise! often known as the 'Jewel of the Rockies'
Such crystal clear glacial lakes. There were still low hanging clouds at 10:08 AM...

Now with the lake behind my back, I'm facing the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise where Pieter stands near a huge bench.

Yes, this sure was another day for indulging in my Escada down muff.
Hands free for my iPhone and it hangs around my neck on its own chain.
It was still 1ºC or 33.8ºF by 10:15 AM!
Lots of special shrubs feed wildlife such as bears, wolfs etc.

At 10:39 AM we continue on Lake Moraine Road...
A little stream running down from the mountain but it is ICE now.

At 10:47 AM we continue on Lake Moraine Road.
They don't let more traffic going uphill than available parking spaces!
In winter time this type of road is closed for traffic.
Right now it is already closed!

A couple of minutes later on Lake Moraine Road we at least get a clear view of 'part' of the mountain.
Clouds are hanging very low today.

At 10:49 AM almost near the parking lot at Moraine Lake!
This photo is taken through the side window at same spot as the above photo straight ahead.
Too bad that the clouds obstruct the spectacular view...

Being warned about the rather steep trail with steps for a fabulous view of Moraine Lake, I let Pieter go to the coffee shop and stay below... his heart is no longer up for climbing.
So here I start my Trail to Consolation Lakes...

Same spot as above but looking now ahead onto the trail where it still is level.
Clouds hanging low.

Here you can see where I was in the previous photo.

WOW, that view indeed was spectacular, minus the clouds covering the mountains surrounding Moraine Lake!
There were still people rowing in a canoe on the lake, regardless the chilly temperature.

LOVE the green glacial waters at these lakes!

Below is a short 41 seconds video from my solo Morning Hike...

Relive 'Morning Hike Moraine Lake Banff National Park'

    

    At 11:29 AM Pieter took this photo from Moraine Lake Lodge where he also found the coffee shop area, due to the unique orange colored Douglas fir being used.

At 12:10 AM back on the Trans Canada Highway and regardless of the clouds, we get a view of the surrounding mountains.

At 12:14 AM we are leaving Banff National Park in the Province of Alberta, Canada and now are entering into Yoho National Park which is in the Province of British Columbia, Canada.

Nice mountain views here!

Welcome to British Columbia, Canada!

Those mountains got a generous dusting of snow and I guess that remains there permanently.

At 12:18 we are back on the Trans Canada Highway and also in British Columbia they have added Wild Life Overpasses.

Beautiful view!

So happy that the weather has changed a little bit and at least the low hanging clouds have disappeared.

Here they are working frantically on road work that needs to be finished before winter.

Spiral Tunnels near Kicking Horse River... the very tunnels we came through when aboard the Rocky Mountaineer train.

Here you see the Kicking Horse River above the picture on the Trans Canada Highway.

Castle Mountain where the Spiral Tunnels also loop through...

Look at the beautiful yellow leaves!

This is the spot from the above photo.

At 12:37 we are in The Kicking Horse River Valley

At 12:38 we are at Natural Bridge over Kicking Horse River

Natural Bridge

Indeed, a Natural Bridge over Kicking Horse River!

Looking now to the other side of Kicking Horse River, past Natural Bridge

At 12:42 sign pointing out Mt. Stephen 3199 M or 10,495 Ft

Mt Dennis 2541 M or 8,337 Ft

At 13:19 I took this photo through the window at the restaurant for lunch at Emerald Lake

Emerald Lake view from lunch stop...

At 13:51 we walked a little bit towards the lake... Beautiful fall colors and mountain views!
Lower left in photo you still see some of the emerald green of the lake...

Emerald Lake...

Our After Lunch Walk at Emerald Lake

Our walk back to the bus, alongside Emerald Lake and over a narrow bridge, only for small and light vehicles.

Still people canoeing on the lake!

At 15:22 we start our short hike to Takakkaw Falls...

Husband Pieter near bridge on our way to Takakkaw Falls

At 15:28 we came across these Mountain signs:

Vice President 3,066 m or 10,059 ft

Michael Peak 2,695 m or 8,842 ft (just click on link to see them all...)

Cathedral Mountain 2,766 m or 9,075 ft

Takakkaw Falls are Canada's 2nd highest waterfall, plunging from above at a heights of 380 m (1,246 ft) with a 254 m (833 ft) free fall. 
Fed by the Daly Glacier above, Takakkaw Falls is at its peak in July when glacial meltwater runs freely.
The Yoho Valley access road is closed during winter due to high risk of avalanches.

Takakkaw Falls

So there is Takakkaw Falls...

Looking the other direction... Pieter standing closer to the stream, visible to the right of his shoulder.

Our driver and the tour guide had hot coffee, tea or hot chocolate for us upon return to the bus + cookies!

Brewster Sightseeing is TOP in every aspect.

At 16:24 our bus driver had to manoeuvre down these hairpin curves on the mountain road!
One curve had to be done backwards but it worked well.

There you see the hairpin curves...

BUT we sure did make it safely back to our Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise for another cozy night.
Thanks to Canada Rail Vacations making such great deals for offering affordable LUXURY!

Hope you enjoyed these images of our tour through beautiful Banff and Yoho National Park.

Did you know that Banff is a UNESCO World Heritage site?

Of course I did create another Relive short video of 1 min. 59 sec.

Please do click link below:

Relive 'Canada - Banff National Park & Yoho National Park'

   

On September 28, you bet that I did sleep tight after having been active on my feet!
Thank you for your visit and comment and stay tuned for day 6...

Related links:
Lake Louise & Moraine Lake, Banff NP, Canada in 4K (Ultra HD) | beautiful video

Yoho National Park - Takakkaw Falls, Natural Bridge, Emerald Lake - Canadian Rockies | short video
TOP 10 Tourist Attractions in CANADIAN ROCKIES.Full HD | video and we did see #s 1-3-5 and 10
Exploring Banff with Brewster Sightseeing | previous post by me
Our Kamloops to Banff Trip Aboard the Rocky Mountaineer via Canada Rail Vacation | previous post
Our Canada Rail Vacation Aboard the Rocky Mountaineer Vancouver to Kamloops | previous post
Vancouver British Columbia, Canada in 1996 and back again in 2018 | previous post by me

Exploring Banff with Brewster Sightseeing

Our Rocky Mountaineer journey is completed, so now we enjoy exploring Banff with Brewster Sightseeing.
Banff National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel sits right in the center of it!

Here, husband Pieter is seen left from the bench at 7:55 AM in the morning. It is nearly impossible to capture this enormous hotel!

Yes, we did rise early as this was our breakfast at 7:08 AM.
At STOCK Food & Drink, I'd ordered Avocado on Toast without salt added.

We got picked up at our Fairmont Banff Springs hotel by coach and started our 4.5 hour guided bus tour.

At 8:54 AM we arrive here at the Gondola Base, but it is raining...

Okay, we will start our 8 minutes trip up on Sulphur Mountain...

It is what it is, the weather is NOT good, no view at 9:09 AM.
We see hardly the Gondola Base to the right of husband Pieter...

Here I am standing at the Summit in front of a nice 'clear' photo of what this Bow Valley should look like from upon high!
Cold too, I'm enjoying my down filled Escada hand muff!
Both our down filled jackets felt great here in Banff!

A strong wind as well and a white world...
Nobody is using the board walk where you can get to Sanson Peak.
Just click here on: Brewster Sightseeing for exploring it all under excellent conditions!

This COULD be viewed on a clear day and you see the board walk.
See more here at Banff Gondola just click it and scroll down.

At 9:20 AM I at least can read why so blue? The brilliant turquoise color of glacial lakes appears due to 'rock flour', or tiny grains of rock ground up by moving glaciers.

Leaving husband Pieter inside at the Summit with a hot coffee, I go outside again.
Very windy and no view!

Husband Pieter captured me outside, after he finished his coffee.
My hair is wildly blowing in the wind and it was COLD!
Oh sure, I enjoyed a hot cup of tea as well; felt great inside my cold hands.
Too bad we completely missed this spectacular 360º view from the top of this Summit. No use for even getting there...

This is where I stand in the snow...

Such a small world...

At 10:09 AM we're back down at the Gondola Base

While we wait for our bus to continue our sight seeing tour, we admire the bearings of the gondola!

My hand on top of such a sturdy steel cable...

At 11:00 AM we're outside near Bow Falls and noticed these spectacular fall colors, even if the light was not good.

Here Pieter is standing at Bow Falls.

This is where Pieter is standing, near the edge of the Bow River and the very rough falls, no rafting possible due to the rocks.

Next stop is #3 - Surprise Corner

The site of our hotel, is in the lower part, center as seen from Surprise Corner.

The driver brings us across the Bow River now where we capture our Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.
No mountains visible... Surprise Corner was a very limited view for us!

Across from the Bow River now.

Pieter standing next to the beautiful fence made from bright orange Douglas fir.
Uhm, my husband is not related to Micky Mouse... just one snap on the flap of his hat came loose!

Explanation about DOUGLAS FIR

Even these posts seem to be made of Douglas fir!
Excellent directions though, everything looked so meticulous and clean.

Here we are near the Hoodoos at 11:55 AM.
A unique sight that is as impressive as it is awe-inspiring: hoodoos. Formed from volcanic rock over 200 million years ago, these wonders were created due to erosion, rain, frost, and snow. Legend says that the hoodoos are actually giants that come to life at night to protect the region, but because you will be traveling through the hoodoos during the day, you will never know!

The Hoodoos, seen at center...

At 12:00 noon, the Hoodoos

The beautiful fall colors at the edge of Lake Minnewanka where part of the group got off for a cruise on the lake.

Lake Minnewanka...

That was our 4.5 hour guided bus tour... We only did the Banff Gondola and not the Lake Minnewanka Cruise!
Back to our Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel where for the first time since 5 days, poor Pieter was able to take a nap!
At that time I could work a bit on my MacBook in our cozy room.

By 16:00 it was 4ºC or 39ºF and it will go down to -4ºC or 25ºF

Around 18:00 we enjoyed a cozy early supper... Pieter liked a soup and I know that it would be too high in sodium for me so I ordered something different.

The fluffy puff pastry with arugula and fresh veggies inside proved to be a good choice!
Also my salad was good.

Since they earned a positive review on TripAdvisor, that's what I did.
Excellent for Breakfast and for a Quick Supper! click link.
Their very courteous reply shows that the Fairmont Hotels have the highest courtesy!!!

When I looked out of our window at 19:30 the mountains were almost entirely visible!
We enjoyed our down duvet and the lovely pillows and had a good night sleep for our 2nd night here.
Once again, the special bargains you get when booking through Canada Rail Vacations makes you feel like Royalty! They only select the BEST!

Enjoy below my short 55 second video from Relive:

Relive 'EXPLORE BANFF TOUR INCL GONDOLA'

        

Thanks for your visit and comment and stay tuned for more...

Related links:
Our Kamloops to Banff Trip Aboard the Rocky Mountaineer via Canada Rail Vacation | previous post
Our Canada Rail Vacation Aboard the Rocky Mountaineer Vancouver to Kamloops | previous post
Vancouver British Columbia, Canada in 1996 and back again in 2018 | previous post by me
BANFF GONDOLA - Sulphur Mountain Gondola | Great Youtube video on a clear day!

Fairmont Banff Springs Vacation Travel Guide | Expedia | short Youtube video showing the hotel