Road to Joy
Deer Lodge.
The other day I wrote about how Chris and I had wonderful dining experiences at Baker Creek Bistro. We also enjoyed two great meals at Deer Lodge, just up the road from our accommodations at Paradise Lodge and next door to the Chateau Lake Louise. We were not unfamiliar with the property, having stayed there on our first trip to the Rockies nearly nine years ago.
Tuesday night we ate in the Caribou Lounge overlooking Deer Lodge’s patio, which was already full of customers enjoying a late afternoon drink. It’s a tradition for Chris and me to have a nice dinner on our last night of vacation, so we decided to return to Deer Lodge’s Mount Fairview Dining Room. Our meal was delicious, a wonderful way to cap off an amazing week in the Canadian Rockies.
Baker Creek Bistro.
We first became aware of Baker Creek Bistro on our first trip to the Canadian Rockies in the late summer of 2003. The travel guide that I had bought was highly complimentary of its inventive menu featuring local cuisine. On that trip as well as our visit in the winter of 2006, though, we split our time between Banff and Lake Louise and didn’t make a visit to Baker Creek Bistro a priority.
Big mistake. Huge.
On this vacation, Chris met a fellow photographer while waiting for sunrise at Moraine Lake. They started chatting about their respective trips: hotel accommodations, restaurants, and Chris’ new acquaintance highly recommended Baker Creek Bistro. So, off we went - three times, in fact.
Monday night we ate in the lounge, a cozy bar featuring creative pub fare. (Chris selected a pulled pork sandwich, and I, not one to turn down cheese, picked a four-cheese grilled cheese sandwich. Both were excellent.) Most appropriately, we came across Chris’ fellow photographer, and had a lovely meal visiting with him and his wife, both professors at my alma mater of Boston College.
Wednesday night we dined in the restaurant, also highlighting an inspired menu. Chris had the Alberta strip steak special, and I had the tasting portion size of pan-seared scallops. (Not the lobster fritters, which were accidentally delivered to our table; Chris was only so happy to taste them, though.)
Finally, Friday morning was our last visit to Baker Creek Bistro, where, despite arriving at five minutes before cutoff time, we had a leisurely breakfast while enjoying a nice chat with our waiter, a native Calgarian who has settled in Lake Louise to enjoy all that nature has to offer. (Chris and I are extremely envious are are trying to work out how we could make that situation work for us!)
Baker Creek Bistro is a gem in the Rockies: fabulous food, appropriately rustic decor, all with a fun attitude that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’ll be first on our list when we next return to Lake Louise.
Sunday at the Station.
On Sunday night, Chris and I headed to the Lake Louise Railway Station and Restaurant for dinner. The restaurant is housed in the old historic Lake Louise train station, and the furnishings and decor are an antique-lover’s dream. All aboard!
Photos taken at using Hipstamatic (Chunky lens, Kodot XGrizzled film, no flash).
Saturday: it’s time for tea!
I last wrote about my love for afternoon tea when Chris and I visited Ottawa for Winterlude this past February. The Chateau Lake Louise is where I first introduced Chris to the ritual of afternoon tea during our first visit to the Canadian Rockies in 2003. On each visit since, we’ve made an effort to visit the Chateau for this leisurely pastime, and we’ve yet to be disappointed. Our first full day in Lake Louise was gray and rainy, a perfect day to while away a couple of hours sipping tea and munching on bite-sized treats.
Photos taken at the Fairview Dining Room at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise using Hipstamatic (Loftus lens, DC film, flash off).
Friday: travel day to Lake Louise.
The bad thing about a 3:00am wake-up alarm? Well, it’s 3:00am. The good thing? A Syracusan can land in Calgary, Alberta by 10:30am and arrive in Banff National Park by early afternoon.
Now Chris and I are looking forward to a week in the Canadian Rockies, the place which prompted early explorer Tom Wilson, the first non-native to view Lake Louise, to say in 1882, “I never, in all my explorations, saw such a matchless scene.”
Photos forthcoming…
Images taken with Instagram, X-pro II filter.
