Banff National Park ~Alaska Trip Day 7

We woke up, emptied our used water tanks at the Kootenay park campground, and made the short half-hour drive to Banff. In a rest area on the outskirts of town, we ate our hot breakfast then took pictures by the welcome sign.

It was a cloudy morning and we couldn't see the mountaintops, so we relaxed in the visitor center for awhile, then took a stroll through town. A rain shower hurried us back to the motor homes and we drove up the mountain to the gondola. There were people and vehicles everywhere! It was so congested, crowded, and touristy, we soon exited this highly renowned town for the more quiet, scenic sights in the park. (Banff is a beautiful place, and it would be nice to return as a couple...it just was not a relaxing young-family experience.)

We checked out Vermilion Lakes Drive.

Then headed up the road to Johnson Canyon.

The falls hike there was very nice. It was a partially paved path with a slight incline and a really cool catwalk. Annie's knee (bone-spur) was bothering her, so she and Mamaw stayed behind in the RVs. The crazy thing about this excursion was the amount of people. Teeming! There were copious amounts of foreigners (duh, we are some of them; that is hard to remember!) Chinese, Japanese, Bangladese, Indian, Muslim, European, and the likes. The tourists were almost as interesting as the scenery!

 In the picture below, you can see the line of people waiting to duck into the cave tunnel to get up close to the lower falls. I likened it to Disneyland amusement park waiting lines. This seems crazy!

Some more roadside shots...

We parked in the Overflow camping, ate supper, then all piled into one RV to cruise up to Lake Louise in the evening in hopes of missing the peak crowd surge. Not so! I could hear the murmur of the masses from the trail before the lake came into view. It is still a lovely spot and we enjoyed a stroll around the edge gazing beyond the water to the mountains and taking family photos of others who did not have a selfie stick.

7 more miles up to Moraine Lake. This place was more peaceful. The folks who were there made an entertaining spectacle walking across floating logs to get to a hill of large boulders. Few made it over without sinking a foot, leg, or more into the icy water. And others kept trying it! I especially liked blueness of the lake.