Location Taken: Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta
Time Taken: June 2010
Siiigh. Lake Louise is beautiful. One of the most spectacularly gorgeous lakes in the world. And yet, it’s not the best lake I’ve ever seen.
I think the best lake was one I just caught a glimpse of through the trees while driving past. I don’t know it’s name or anything about it. And it was so long ago I don’t even recall where it was.
It doesn’t matter, though. If I returned and actually visited that nameless lake, it wouldn’t be anything special, just another large puddle.
So what made it so interesting in the first place? The thrill of discovering unknown beauty in an unlikely place. My particular sense of pleasure is highly tied into discovering new things, and seeing a glimpse of something special means a whole lot to me.
That’s a large part of why Lake Louise didn’t really excite me that much. It was a known beauty in a likely place.
I have this problem with all the well-known awesome places. It’s why I have little interest in visiting Yosemite, even with the magnificent scenery there. I know about it already, and if I visit, I will be merely confirming what I already knew. In the best case scenario it’ll be “Yup, that’s pretty all right.” and in the worst, I’ll be disappointed.
I’d much rather visit the lesser-known spots, where I don’t know what I’m getting into. That’s where nature can surprise me.
