Terry and I stayed in the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in Alberta Canada and the room had a fabulous view overlooking the lake. While Terry explored the hotel, I sketched. The hotel isn’t as gorgeous at the Fairmont hotel in Banff but the view made up for any deficiency. The pool was under repair and the lobby seemed to always be full of bus loads of Japanese tourists. The lake had a magical turquoise color that is hard to capture with a simple watercolor wash. The color is caused by the cloudy glacial silt that is always suspended in the water.

Terry and I walked to the far end of the lake where rock climbers were scaling cliffs. I wasn’t tempted to try this myself. I would need to loose a few pounds before trying to support my weight from my fingertips. We took another trail that went half way up a steep slope to an overlook that offered a birds eye view of the lake. It started to rain and we put on our rain gear. Tiny yellow canoes dotted the lake everywhere. When we got back from that hike, we saw a couple in a canoe that capsized. That glacial water is ice cold so they were in danger of quickly drowning. A motor boat quickly got out to rescue them and tow the canoe back.  At diner that night the capsized couple were the topic of every conversation. Terry and I didn’t rent a canoe.