Our train trip yesterday across the Continental Divide on the Rocky Mountaineer was spectacular, but today's tour of Banff National Park may have trumped it.  The mountains here are the grandest and most rugged I have ever seen, and the water in the lakes and rivers defines the color turquoise.  The first pictures in today's installment are from Moraine Lake, where signs warn hikers not to go alone because of the bear threat, but the only wildlife we saw were the friendly chipmunks at the lodge.  The lake itself is dazzling, and again, the pictures only do it half justice.  Lake Louise is the sight of the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, built by the Canadian Railroad to promote tourism and westward expansion back in the early part of the twentieth century.  Our group was treated to a buffet like no other at the Chateau.

After lunch, we made the two-hour trek up the Icefields Parkway to the Columbia Icefields and the Athabasca Glacier.  Walking on a glacier might not be something many of us have dreamed of doing, but anyone in our group can tell you that it's an experience you can't believe until you've done it.  The peak on the north side of the glacier is one of only two places on the globe where the glaciers feed water into rivers that run into three oceans, the Pacific, the Atlantic, and the Arctic.  Check out all the pictures in the Eye on You section.  I'll post a lot more when we get home.

This will be my last entry into our travel log.  Tomorrow we travel to Calgary, and Thursday we fly home to Texas.  I know that each and every one of our group will have plenty of wonderful memories to share with you.  Glenda wanted me to let her friends and co-workers know that she got to eat an elk steak last night.  Today we saw some of the elk lucky enough not to be on Glenda's plate.

We've had a fantastic time, but we're also looking forward to getting home.  May God bless.