Wednesday

We drove out early to beat the crowds at Lake Moraine, which is one of the most famous views in all Alberta. The access road is typically shut down for afternoons, because of the massive influx of sightseers and shortage of parking. Once we reached the viewing area, we found dealing with the crowds to be well worth the views. Lake Moraine was featured on Canadian $20 bills for many years, and stands out as a special gem like Tahoe does for us. In a land filled with jaw dropping glacial beauty, you can imagine the impression this lake makes. There is simply no way our cameras can convey the depth of color, but the pics are great nonetheless.

 
 


We also explored the area a little, but didn't go past an area where the trail had washed out and was under repair. It was enough to discover that you didn't need to go far to get away from the crowds!

Next up, we checked out another major tourist attraction, Johnson Canyon Falls and Ink Pots. The mile walk to the falls was also crowded, but was enjoyable nonetheless. The path is mostly catwalks, clinging precariously over the river gorge. 

The lower portion of the falls is viewed from a small natural cave/tunnel, where we were close enough to be dowsed with spray as we attempted selfies in the narrow confines.

 
 

Then the upper falls

From there we hiked another 1.5 miles to the Ink Pots (escaping most of the crowd), a set of natural springs that are fed from beneath the mud on the bottoms with "rock flour" laden water. The landscape dotted with these vibrant pools was almost alien! We were also treated to views of an amazing valley, just begging to be explored. We would have loved to go backpacking there.

 
 


 In some we could see the mud slowly bubbling with the inflow, and in other pools endlessly shifting patterns were being created as the mud continuously layered itself. Watch closely and you can see it in this video. These round depressions are actually bottomless pockets of quicksand created by the spring underneath.

We wrapped up the day with a trip up Sulfur Mountain on the Banff Gondola, which afforded some great 360 panoramas (and more terrible cinematography) of the Bow River Valley and the town of Banff. The prominent mountain behind the town is Cascade Mountain, the far side of which we had climbed on Monday. We also spotted an epic rainbow on the drive home.