Relaxing at the Lake Louise Ski Resort.

Posted on by Thor

In an effort to be sure all sketches are posted online, I’ve started signing sketches once they are published. This way, hopefully, no sketches will slip through the cracks. In the early years sketches often slipped by because the latest sketch and experience seemed fresher and more exciting. Looking back at vacation sketchbooks, I was surprised to find this Lake Louise, Canada sketch unsigned. That morning, Terry decided she was going on a horse back ride up to the lip of a glacier. I don’t trust horses so the morning was mine to find a sketch opportunity.

I went through the town maps and brochures and decided that the gondola ride was probably sketch worthy. It was summer however, so there wasn’t much snow on the lower slopes.
The Lake Louise Ski Resort
(1 Whitehorn Road, Lake Louise
Alberta, Canada, T0L 1E0) had this gorgeous ski lodge at the base of the mountain. I could faintly see the gondola snaking it’s way up the first slope. I went inside to check on ticket prices. After a quick deliberation, I decided the lodge would be my subject. I had to sit in the parking lot to do the sketch, so I was always looking around to be sure I wasn’t run over by a wayward tourist bus or an RV.

Every half hour or so a bus would park in front of the lodge. All the tourists would pile out of the bus, take a cell phone photo and then pile back in. I’m glad that Terry and I travel at our own pace. Back at the hotel, Terry made fun of me for not riding the Gondola. She made clucking noises to rub it in. Her morning had been a real adventure riding her horse through muddy slopes to the glacier.A little friendly competition on vacation isn’t a bad thing. I grant Terry won this round.

A hike around Lake Louise

Posted on by Thor

Lake Louise in the Candaian Rockies is one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. From our hotel, the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, (111 Lake Louise Dr, Lake Louise, AB T0L 1E0, Canada) Terry and I hiked around the lake on the western shore. The trail only gets to the far end of the lake before it ends. On the first hike, I stopped half way out to do this sketch looking back at our Chateau. Terry pushed on until the trail ended.

On a second hike, I walked with her to the end of the trail. On the cliffs at that end of the lake, rock climbers were scaling the pure vertical face of the rock. Although there were safety ropes and spotters below, it still seems pretty daring to trust the person below to keep you from falling to your death should you slip. The walking trail ended at a large glacial stream which must be fed by the large glacier up in the mountain pass. When we returned from the hike, I noticed a large class of students sitting on the terrace of the chateau doing watercolors of the lake. I glanced over a few shoulders and resisted the temptation to ask, “Are you an artist?” It was time for an afternoon tea and a nap.

Lake Louise is one of the most beautiful lakes in the world

Posted on by Thor

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.