Great Canadian Loop 2 - Lake Moraine and Peyto Lake

The reason I wanted to come to see Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada was primarily to see a lake which I had only seen in online pictures -- Lake Moraine.  This is a lake that was formed when a rock landslide blocked a glacial river and the river became a lake. What adds to the extreme beauty of this lake is that it is surrounded by ten peaks, all over 10,000 feet above sea level.  As I took pictures of it, I felt I was on sacred ground; that what I was viewing was not only  breathtaking, but holy.

I couldn't stop shooting.  You will see only a few of the shots.  I felt enveloped in extreme beauty.

To me, it was amazing to see what I saw and which I have recorded photographically below, in ONE DAY.  The photos are sequential as I experienced them throughout this singular day. The exquisite beauty just kept coming, as you will see below.  The day far exceeded my expectations. 

We first visited Lake Moraine.  We then headed about 25 miles north on the Icefields Parkway, which ultimately ends at Jasper National Park some 100 miles further north, to Peyto Lake, another magnificent natural spectacle.  While going to Peyto Lake and returning from there, our eyes feasted on even more beauty, as you will see. 

The colors of Lake Moraine and Peyto Lake are the result of glaciers literally scraping rocks as they move and melt, and those particles, called glacial flour, end up in rivers and lakes and create the other worldly colors of the water.  Most rivers in Banff, Yoho, and Kootenay National Parks that we saw were these incredible colors. 

An integral part of nature photography is the lighting.  I would have liked to have been at Lake Moraine at sunrise to see the special glow that the sun casts on landscapes, but that wasn't to be. However, we got there fairly early in the morning, before the throngs of worldwide tourists arrived at 10am or so and were there for most of the day.  I was pleased with the lighting, although white puffy cumulus clouds can obscure and cast shadows on the scene. The master photographers will wait hours or days for just the right lighting.  I couldn't do that, but what I shot was good enough.

These photos are not photoshopped (obviously).  The colors are as they appeared, recorded as best they could be recorded by my Nikon 1, high-end point-and-shoot.  I likely will have some photoshopped and then be printed to hang in my office.  I am just grateful that I had a camera with two lenses that could record this miraculous day!

Lastly, I must acknowledge the Creator of this what I saw on this day and throughout the journey.  He did a masterful job at Banff.

1 to 3 Lake Moraine in all its glory and beautyin Banff National Park
4- One beauty in front of the background beauty!
5- The little white speck in the middle of the picture is a drone with a camera (I suppose)
6- More Lake Moraine beauty
7&8- Close ups of some of the ten peaks that surround Lake Moraine
9 to13- More incredible scenery at the end of a 1 1/2 hour hike near Lake Moraine
14- On the Icefields Parkway
15- More glacial beauty on the Parkway
16 to 18- Gorgeous Peyto Lake, with different hues based upon the sun and clouds, after a short hike
19- One of the mountains next to Peyto Lake
20 to 22- Turning around the other way from the perch from which I shot Peyton Lake
23&24- Beautiful Bow Lake
25- Hector Lake with majestic mountains in the background