Day 8 -Lake Louise

Too moeg today to write lots. 

 Pics are all SOC (straight out of camera) which, frankly, I'm hating as I'm really dying to tweak the light and contrast a bit in Lightroom. Trying to leave my best pics for later.

The Emerald Lake

This is where we saw another bear here(far up the mountain, but we'll take it), lots of mule deers (long floppy ears) and apparently the impressive horned thing we saw next to the train what seems an eon ago was actually an elk, not a caribou. The bears come down to the roadside this time of the year to eat dandelions. They've also learned to walk along the railroad track eating the grain that's fallen off the cargo trains. We've heard some amazing bear tales on our trip - fascinating creatures.

 We're really getting into the routine now...new hotel rituals include checking out the fancy soaps,  the coffee machine and the smoke break spots for mom. Sometimes she's been able to open the window and smoke through the crack, carefully tapping the ash into a held tissue. I kid you not. She's sworn to kill me if I attempt to take a photo of this not-so-elegant-but-oh-so-rebellious deed.. The last few hotels have had a wire mesh covering the opening so she's had to skulk around the nearest entrance for her fix. And of course, the daily washing of 'smalls'- I no longer worry about what hotel staff might think of the state of my undies. I can't hang around to explain to them that Max, when he was a kitten enjoyed chewing the elastic on my bra straps.
I'm missing my kitties. 

 Here we are at the incredibly ostentatious, fake Swiss Chateau-style hotel at the Fairmont Lake Louise. No shortage of monied people here. It's gorgeous though.

After taking a walk around one side of the lake we sat in a secluded wing (thanks to the lady at the President's Club desk for the tip-off) at the end of the hotel far from the tourists and just soaked up the view for a bit.

Cheers for now :)