Travelog: Lake Louise.

Late last summer (2019) as August melted into September, I had the opportunity to drive across the Western provinces of Canada from Vancouver BC to Winnipeg MB. I was travelling with Matthew Cimone who did all the driving on that leg of the trip and we were pulling very long days of 10+ hours. Even though we were tired and it would delay our arrival in Swift River SK that night, he had never seen Lake Louise AB and I hadn't seen it since I was 9 years old so we stopped for a visit.

Glacial purity.

If you've never seen this beautiful, stunning, perfect place, try to get there one day. The glacier above in the distance feeds the lake below. On every side there are waterfalls and streams gurgling into the basin, filling it, as a river empties downhill opposite the glacier. I say we stopped for a visit, but for me this was a pilgrimage.

It was like walking through a global village, there were so many languages being spoken everywhere we walked: French, German, Russian, Japanese, Farsi, English from the UK, Eastern Canada, and the US, and others I couldn't identify, while a Cree Elder stood at the lakeside accepting donations. Turning to face the majesty of the mountains, the glacier, and forests full of bears it was easy to ignore the hotel sprawl behind us. There was only this...

Sacred waters.

Clarity, serenity

seeming stillness,

reflection of majesty.

Basin of ancient life.

You flow,

never the same from moment on. Cycling

from ice to stream to lake to river

to animal and plant and soil and cloud.

Sacred cycle that gives us

life. What started in the stars

and traveled here

from before time began

gave birth to us.

Sustain us, ice and water and cloud.

We must guard

against all

those who poison you,

who seek ownership over you,

who limit the access of all

to you.

Fill us and flow

through us.

Slake our thirst and quench

the flames of destruction.

Nourish us, and bring balance.

Sacred waters,

flow.

#lakelouise #sacredwaters #travel