Canadian Vacation Part 1: Lake Louise

Last week I vacationed to Shuswap Lake in British Columbia, Canada. To say it was (almost) the most perfect vacation ever would be an understatement. It wasn't a vacation where we were going, going and doing all the things. It was a vacation of late rising, coffee sipping, relaxing days full of books and sun and the great outdoors. While we did spend the majority of our time in BC, we decided to fly in to Calgary, Alberta and drive through the Canadian Rockies with a stop at Lake Louise in Banff National park. I only have one thing to say about that decision: the extra six hours and landing at 0130 and getting only 4 hours of sleep was TOTALLY WORTH IT because Lake Louise is absolutely gorgeous. There's a reason it's the number one photographed landmark in the Rocky Mountains. See below for evidence.

The drive in was almost as pretty as the Lake itself.

I was that weirdo taking photos through the windshield of the car.

This is standing at the end of the lake where the Chateau Lake Louise is located - behind my head are the glaciers that feed the lake.

We hiked from one end of the lake to the other - about two miles one way - and the views were amazing. It was a flat hike, so not to strenuous, but a good distance nonetheless. I had dreams of hiking to the top of that mountain pictured in the far right of the photo above, but due to some pretty crappy traffic that put us several hours behind, we weren't able to do it. 

If you're planning on visiting the Canadian Rockies or any part of western Canada, I highly recommend making a pit stop at Banff National Park along the way! I really wish we would have made plans to stay a night and spend some more time in the park, because just the one day already has me itching to go back!