Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada: This place attracts people from all over the world. I can't begin to identify all the languages I heard spoken.
Many from various parts of Asia, of course. Japanese is less prevalent than 20 years ago, Mandarin is more dominant as China's 20% of the world's population gets richer. I suspect some Korean sneaks in too.
I'm also sure I heard several Indian dialects plus some European languages. There were a very few black people, you could count them on one hand. Latin American Hispanics were very scarce too.
The grand old railroad hotel at the foot of the lake is now run by the Fairmont group and is called Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, quite a mouthful. I spent an hour or so inside checking out the shops and lobby, very posh, very 1920s feeling which made one wish he had on a blazer and flannels. We didn't personally come up to that sartorial standard, of course, but saw a couple of guests who did and envied their effortless cool.
The area doesn't have a lot of smoke today so the air wasn't too hazy, enhancing the view which here is always world-class. The glaciers that overhang the head of the lake are still there, and the place itself is wonderful.
What takes away from the experience are the crowds ... Lake Louise is a mob scene this time of year. Everywhere you look there are multiple clusters of families, it feels like the crowd leaving a pro football game or the Rose Parade. Of course the people watching is primo.
We were able to park at LL, but were unable to go to Moraine Lake because the parking there was literally "full," which is to say there was none available. We learned they were letting 10 cars go up for every 10 that came back down the only road which goes there.
Parks Canada is now running shuttle buses from an overflow lot down the Trans-Canada Highway to Lake Louise, a smart move. It is taking much pressure off the LL parking lots which are far from minimal. The buses also run from the mall which is LL's version of a townsite. They don't pick up here in the campground which I think is tacky.
I told the other DrC it would be fun to come here and stay in the Banff Springs Hotel for several days, and then at the Chateau LL, perhaps following up with a stay at the Fairmont in Jasper, very nice too. Fly into Calgary, rent a car or SUV, and stay at the posh establishments - costly but a kick. Maybe when we get too old to RV.
