Day 314. June 16, 2014. Rain, rain, go away!

LOCATION:  Lake Louise in Banff National Park, part of the Canadian Rockies in western Alberta

WEATHER:  More cold and rain. Highs in 40s

Since it was raining, we decided to do scenic car trips.  We visited the chateau/hotel at Lake Louise.  This is what it looks like on a sunny summer day

And this is what it looks like in winter

We had lunch in a village cafe.  Everything is super expensive.  We sat next to a woman, Fran,  who has been full-time RVing for three years.  

We drive to Yoho National Park which is next to us, in eastern British Columbia.  We saw lots of beautiful lakes and waterfalls.  All the parks have really nice lodges with cabins.  We stopped at this one to take a look inside.  The fireplace in the lounge area was cozy, and they were setting out afternoon tea.

The bar was cute, too, with mining carts on the bottom for a design.

I asked about the price for one night....$460!  

Bears are a big deal here.  Our campground has an RV side and a tent side.  The tent side is surrounded by an electric fence to keep out the bears.  The highways have overpasses and tunnels so the wildlife can cross safely.  Many of the trails are closed due to bear sightings.  George calls it Bear-anoia.   At the visitor center, we learned that this is more to protect the bears than the people.  They are trying to keep the bears natural, rather than becoming habituated to man.  We did see one grizzly along the highway.

We invited Fran over for drinks.  She is a professional photographer, and very interesting.  Always good to swap stories about interesting places to go, and campgrounds to hit.

The weather is supposed to be better tomorrow.  The constant rain is depressing!

I made the mistake of not grocery-shopping before we got here. Today,  I took my shopping list to the store in Lake Louise Village.  It is very high-end.  It is like a gourmet shop with a few staples.  Super expensive.  I ended up scrapping my menu ideas, and just buying a few things.

DINNER:  We needed to use the last 2 wieners, so I made a chili with them, and served like a chili dog.  Hearty, so hit the spot.