We got a late start this morning, after waking up to find a steady rain outside. Actually, “late” is a relative term: I got up “late” at 6:30 AM, but David apparently woke so late that he barely had time to wolf down his breakfast before meeting me in the lobby at 10:15 AM.

Not that it mattered very much: with a cold rain, and fog hiding the mountains almost completely from view, there wasn’t a whole lot to do. David seems perfectly happy with clouds and rain and cold weather; but for me, what makes this whole part of Canada so special is the panoramic view of the mountains and lakes in bright sunlight, with nice blue skies overhead. Well, this is cheating, but here’s a taste of what it looks like in such weather: these two pictures were taken a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away — during my first driving trip to the Canadian Rockies in the summer of 1970 (click on the thumbnail images to see a larger version of the pictures).

Back to the present: we decided to drive the 30-mile distance to Lake Louise, which was apparently named in honor of the 4th daughter of Queen Victoria (in a dazzling display of ignorance, I had to admit that I had no idea the erstwhile queen had had any daughters, let alone four!) David hoped to take a 3-mile hike along the edge of the lake, and up a modest slope to a “tea house” where we could get some warm refreshments. The guidebook noted that the tea house didn’t open until late June, which David hoped was an error; alas, it wasn’t.

We arrived in Lake Louise half an hour later, drove through the village, and parked in a huge parking area apparently intended to accommodate dozens of charter buses and hundreds of tourists. This early in the season, the parking area was mercifully empty and the crowds were relatively small. The parking area was just outside the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, which (though somewhat smaller) sprawls over the area somewhat like the Banff Fairmont. I think it’s meant to be architecturally imposing, on a scale to compete with the mountains; but it doesn’t seem to have any real character. As David described it, it’s like “an airport hotel,” a somewhat anonymous pile of sandstone blocks and carved archways.

David was determined to go off on his hike, in hopes that the far-distant tea-house would be open; I had no interest in slogging through the cold rain, so I wandered into the massive lounge area of the Fairmont, and settled down to relax. Deborah Nyack, a harpist who describes herself as the Harp Angel, was holding forth, with renditions of Pachelbel’s Canon, Beethoven’s “Für Elise” (known to afficionados as “Bagatelle in A Minor”), several songs from Les Miserables, and even the theme song from The Godfather. Something for everyone, I guess, and I have to admit she’s pretty talented. According to her website, she has played at Carnegie Hall, London’s Royal Opera House, the National Arts Center, Philadelphia’s Academy of Music, Jerusalem, Washington, Edinburgh, and the Canterbury Cathedral. How she ended up in Lake Louise is a mystery that I suppose I could track down, but I’m happy to leave it a mystery for now.

David eventually returned after a couple hours, looking somewhat bedraggled. We decided to try the “English Tea” service at the Fairmont, in the lounge overlooking the lake — a lounge that appeared to be filled with Japanese tourists and grouchy-looking elderly Canadians. David happily consumed pastries, finger sandwiches, scones with whipped cream, tea, and a glass of sparkling wine … while I munched on a chicken sandwich and swilled a Diet Coke. Well, that’s okay: I’ll have a nice glass of wine with dinner later this evening. Ms. Nyack was on her third repetition of Pachelbel’s Canon as we settled our tab and headed back to the parking area to retrieve our car and head back to Banff.

So that’s it for the Canadian Rockies, at least for this trip. We’ll have a late dinner this evening, get up at a civilized hour tomorrow morning, and head eastwards towards Calgary, and then south toward Glacier National Park, and my favorite little town of Polson.