Maligne Lake
July 25, 2009
Family picture with Spirit Island in the background. This was the far extent of our boat cruise on Maligne Lake.
 | We had enjoyed Maligne Canyon and the Maligne Lake Road, and were now headed outward on spectacular Maligne Lake.  |
You can barely see the buildings that we had left from in the distance as manmade structures are overwhelmed by the things God made. It was exhilirating to be out on the lake with the mountains on both sides.
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Our tourboat is like that shown above left. Above right shows Elyse, Brenda, Mark, Jordan and Ashleigh near the front of the boat.
There was a dramatic glacier on the starboard side going out. It was enhanced by the beautiful forest climbing up the flank of the mountain around it.  |  |
This is the view of the mountains to the left of the boat. We were told that this was a different mountain range - that Maligne Lake is on the boundary between the two ranges.
The lake is long and narrow, and Jordan has a view of our wake as we have moved through one of the narrowest points, headed for a small dock just past Spirit Island. A previous tourboat can be seen at our destination in the picture below, and Spirit Island is just to the left of it.  |  |
As we approached Spirit Island we got views of the distant mountains enhanced by green peninsulas of trees that accented the lake shore.
This is a view from very near Spirit Island and gives a better view of the glacier far down the lake. We were able to go down closer to it last year, but they had closed that part of the lake this year.
 | The boat was docked and we had a few minutes to walk around a loop trail for a view of famous Spirit Island and the lake and mountains. Elyse poses at one of the favorite photo spots along the trail. We joined the crowd of folks taking pictures. |
Elyse was keen on having her picture taken with her stuffed bighorn sheep. So of course Granddad is not reluctant to take pictures.  Above is a view of a stream coming down the mountain over part of Spirit Island. Below is the classic view of the Spirit Island setting, made famous by a 19th century photo and a mural at Grand Central Station in New York. |  |
 | We cycled around the family to get a photo of everyone at Spirit Island. Mark took the shot of Brenda and Rod. |
| Maligne Lake Return Trip |
2009