We headed out on the road without checking the terrain map on Google, and that was a mistake. The climb out of Golden was steep and slow for the little Honda, and the trend was upward from there on to Field. From Field, the trend was almost straight up to Lake Louise. We were down to 40 kmh for some of it, and I had the 4-way flashers on for a lot of it, just like the big rigs. But we didn't hold anyone up as there was always two lanes going up and the traffic was not heavy. I kept the revs down to 2500 and second gear so the engine was never straining. Would have been our worst day for mileage, but we would have done SO MUCH better than all the SUVs that were passing us.
Lake Louise was worth the effort to get there. Fantastic scenery, beautiful hotel, beautiful lake, living up to all the stories.
After Lake Louise, on to Banff. Stayed at 'Bumpers' on the recommendation of a friend (great place) and an early dinner at the Keg. Then a walk around the town and a visit to the Fairmont, almost 3 hours of hiking with stops for pictures along the way. Words fail to describe the scenery and the beauty of the old hotel, and the place lived up to all the stories and the hype.
Some of the scenery. Absolutely brilliant. Sadly, no bears. Though they feature prominently in the tourist shops that line the streets, actual bears are scarce in the area. Our server at the Keg said that she had been at Banff for 7 years and had yet to see one alive. Maybe that means they just don't like the Keg.
