Alberta.  Banff, if you have never been here, is just crazy with views! I say Banff, but really mean the Banff National Park in Alberta (Canada), which area includes Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, Banff, Canadian Rocky Mountains galore, and much more.

The views almost seem to get silly, because around every turn is a simply more astounding view. Even within our campground (Tunnel Mountain Campground), you can walk around the campground and see 360 degrees of spectacular sights.

In one of our rare nods to tourism and cheesiness, we rode the Banff Gondola up Sulphur Mountain. Here are a few photos from the top of Sulphur Mountain.

We really planned on doing some hiking: temperatures during the days are in the high 50’s to low 60’s, beautiful views, and sunny skies; really nice hiking weather. Perfect, right?  Except this area had a somewhat harsh winter and snow still abounds. Trails (and some roads) are closed due to the still lingering snow and in some areas avalanche danger.

At Lake Louise earlier today, where we anticipated to hike, the lake is still frozen over and the hiking trails would be more suitable for cross country skis or snowshoes. Moraine Lake is likewise mostly frozen over.

Having spoken with one of the rangers, and having been warned about June being monsoon season with a lot of rain, we plan on heading back here in mid to late September so we can hike, do some paddling, and see the Larch trees as they show off their fall colors.

But for now, we are just sucking up the views!