ALberta | Ranjan's Writings

Continued from My Canadian Rockies Trip, Part 4: Bar U Ranch and Banff.

We started the day with a hearty breakfast at our hotel in Banff and readied ourselves for the trip to three iconic lakes in the Canadian Rockies known for their uniquely beautiful, blue shades; Louise, Moraine and Peyto Lakes. We had glimpsed Lake Louise from the top of Sulfur Mountain as described in the last post. Today I was looking forward to viewing it up close.

Lake Louise, is named after Princess Louise Carolina Alberta, the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. The glacier covered Mount Victoria provides the unique backdrop seen through the V formed by forest-covered peaks. It is no surprise that many peaks, provinces and features in Canada are named after members of the British Royal Family.

Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Canada. — At Lake Louise, Canada, with Mount Victoria in the background. Note the turquoise color of the water.

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Continued from My Canadian Rockies Trip, Part 1

After the eventful visit to the Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo-Jump described in the last post, we arrived at the Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village at Pincher Creek, a small town in southwestern Alberta.

A Little History

John George “Kootenai” Brown was born in Ireland in 1839. He served in the British army in India during The Revolt of 1857 (aka the Sepoy Mutiny). Eventually he made his way to Western Canada and traded with the Kootenai First Nation earning his nickname “Kootenai”. He was a multi-faceted individual; trader, hunter, tourist guide and later, park warden. The Pioneer Village bearing his name was established in 1966 to preserve the frontier heritage of that era. The well preserved cabins with period memorabilia evoke that historic time.