Glacier to Lake Louise Campground, Banff National Park

We woke up to a gray day and by the time we were on the road at 9:00, it was raining.  It made leaving the beautiful spot we had been in much less painful.  We drove north on route 89 through rolling hills of fields.

When we arrived at the Canadian customs, the border patrol told us to wait right where we were.  There was a Prevost bus RV pulled over ahead of us and they were searching it inside and out.  We thought we would have to go through the same routine but luckily did not.  The guy waiting on us asked if we were related to the Leavitts of Cardston, a town nearby.  He said the town was founded by a Mormon with the last name of Leavitt.  The man had three wives and twenty-six children.  There are now 23,000 Leavitt descendants in the world from just the one man.  About 10:00 he let us go with just a "Have a nice day".

We continued north to Fort Macleod where we stopped at Extra Foods for groceries.  It had been awhile since we had stocked up but I hadn't planned on spending $300.  We thought the prices were high but knew we would be in a national park for at least three weeks and didn't want to chance running out.  The store brand or no-name-brand had bright yellow packaging with black letters.

Once into Canada, the land was very flat and very agricultural.  It didn't stop raining until almost two and it was about that time that we started seeing mountains to the northwest.  As we got closer, the mountains got more dramatic.  It took us a lot longer to get to the park than anticipated.  We stopped at the park entrance and bought annual passes which was cheaper than the almost ten dollars a day per person and it is good anywhere in Canada for a year.  Once in the park, the four lane highway had four sets of double arches over the road with grass and trees growing on them.  These were pathways for animals to cross over the highway as high fences blocked them from crossing otherwise.

Flat Farmland with Happy Barn

The Mountains are in Sight

Big Clouds and Big Mountains

Entrance Gate to Banff National Park

Overpasses for Animals

 Lake Louise Village with Victoria Glacier Behind

When we finally arrived at the campground, there were a dozen RVs in front of us waiting to register.  We figured we were in for a long wait.  in a few minutes, a ranger with a clipboard walked up beside us, asked if we had reservations, checked our names off, gave us a map, told us where to go and said someone would be around with our campground permit later.  We bypassed all those people waiting in line.  We were set up by 6:10 and sitting outside with drinks by 6:15.  The sites are double pull-throughs with picnic tables on either side.  There are trees between sites for privacy and we can see high snow covered mountains through the trees.  The sun is out and so are the mosquitos.

Waiting Line for Registration

Mt. Temple near Campground