Lake Louise and more - Day 2

Wednesday morning (May 30th), we woke up around 7 am, got ready, grabbed breakfast to-go and checked out of our hotel, Lake Louise Inn. We all slept really well and craved more sleep.

We headed to the picturesque Lake Louise. The place was incredibly beautiful. I guess the only downside of going in May was that the Lake was still frozen. However, the normal tourist rush had not yet started which was certainly to our advantage. The frozen lake had a unique charm to it and Ajo & LK took some amazing photos. Drive to Moraine Lake, our next stop was spectacular. The view was magnificent snow covered mountains and jagged peaks beautifully carved out to perfection.

After lunch, we drove via a so called "scenic" Bow Valley parkway. The drive and a few pull outs were recommended to us at the visitor center. The drive was definitely not the most stunning route and with speed limits of 50 km/hr the drive felt long. Needless to say, this was the least favorite part of the trip for a few reasons which will remain unmentioned in this blog.

We stopped by the town of Jasper at the Enterprise car rental to add me as an addition driver to the records since Ajo & I will be driving the Edmonton to Jasper leg of the trip the next morning. We then headed to Calgary. On the way, LK wanted us to try a popular ice cream place in Cochrane, Alberta. We changed our route to accommodate this stop. En route, we stumbled upon a beautiful isolated church in an open field with beautiful mountainous backdrop. We stopped to take pictures- the best decision ever. This was one on my favorite stops during our trip. There was something solemn about this historic church. Built in the 1870's, this church stands today as a reminder of missionary work of Rev. George McDougall among the natives and the early settlers/workers. It was inspiring to all of us. We took few of our best and memorable photos of the trip here.

After ice cream, we headed straight via highway 2 towards Edmonton. Drive from Calgary to Edmonton felt similar to the drive from Reno to Las Vegas. The only difference was the desert in Reno/LV was replaced with some green terrain. Two and half hours felt longer for some reason. We snacked on chocolates and homemade vadas. Let me you something, sharing a wonder bar by breaking it off inside a car is not a good idea. We learned it the hard way.

One thing that was revealed to us during the drive was the magnitude of  God's awesome and powerful miracles. They are reminders of His Grace and His love. We thank God for circumstances like such to remind us that He is totally in control. During our missteps, God graciously intervenes.

We arrived at Edmonton close to 9PM. The sun was still bright. LK was truly not exaggerating when she told me that Alberta had sunlight till 10PM. I just did not believe her at first. That is such a funny story we can talk about years from now. We had dinner with the LK and her mom. The hospitality and warmth in that home was sweeter than honey. It filled our hearts. Sleep once again felt great after another long day.