Views On The Parkway

Valley View Near Bridal Veil Falls
Bridal Veil Falls

Near Athabasca Falls


These are some of the pictures that we took during our rides in the valley. When we went to the Icefields we stopped at various pullouts to try and capture the beauty. The water in the rivers and lakes at this time of year is turquoise in color which is the light reflecting the minerals in the water. The water this time of year comes from the snow melt and the rain. Later in the summer the water will become milky white from the melt water of the glaciers. The turquoise is really cool and shows as different colors in different shades of light and depths of water.

Trip North, Lake Annette Loop Trail, Jasper, The Cafe

The Hike

The trip North

The ride to Jasper was rainy but beautiful. We saw three bears on this ride and were able to take Pics of one. When someone spots an animal along the road it really isn't long before there is a traffic jam as other people stop to view. The bear below was giving everyone a show. He was just lying in the grass eating an enjoying the people. The towns in the Canadian Parks are full service towns with shops, restaurants, gas stations and all the services of a normal village. They are however within the NP itself. This is different than US parks that have very limited services within the parks and usually have the services just outside of the park or in the closest town. The campgrounds we stayed in were in the parks. The sites were very large and we had full hookups at both parks.

These pics are the ride, the town and, our hike.

Jasper, Alberta (6/10/2008 - 6/15/2008)

We left Banff on Tuesday 6/10 and drove through the rain and snow to Jasper. The drive up the Icefields Parkway as I mentioned before is beautiful even in the bad weather. The day after we arrived in Jasper we shopped and found an Internet cafe. We also took a short hike around one of the local lakes on the Lake Annette Loop Trail.

The next day was our one really nice day in Jasper so we drove back down the Parkway and visited the Icefields. The tour at the Icefields is in a vehicle that is designed to be driven on the glaciers. It was a neat ride and our guide made it very interesting with his humor. From the visitor center you can see how far the glaciers have retreated since 1844. It was really interesting.

During our rides up and down the Parkway we have seen a wide variety of wildlife. They are not really afraid of us humans so it is usually pretty easy to get a few good pictures.

The beauty of this part of our trip was so mind boggling to me so I have decided to attempt loading tons of pictures. I will try to narrate each of the posts so you have some idea what they are.

In spite of the lousy weather that we experienced this was probably the most beautiful scenery of our trip. I think Eileen is overdosed on mountain viewing because it is something that I never get tired of.

Enjoy the Pic's.

Life is Great!!!

Bill and Eileen

Banff Downtown, Lake Louise, Campground Mtn. View, Fairmont Hotel, Castello Restorante, Lake Minnewanka Walk

Banff Gondola Views

Johnston Canyon Hike (Falls, Walkway, Ground Squirrel)

Banff, Alberta Canada (6/6/2008 - 6/10/2008)

Today is Monday 6/16. We reentered the US today and finally have e-mail. We went to two Canadian NP's after leaving Glacier (Banff NP and Jasper NP). The two parks are back to back and run basically north to south along the Rocky Mountains. The first five nights we were in the NP campground in Banff; then we went north to Jasper. The ride between the two is called the Icefields Parkway. This ride is one of the most beautiful rides I have ever been on. It runs up a valley between the most incredible mountains that you can imagine. We saw bears, mountain goats, deer, big horn sheep, and other wildlife on our ride up and down the valley; but the real treat was definitely the unbroken mile after mile of incredible mountains.

While in Banff we walked the town, hiked Johnston Canyon and Minnewanka Lake, and visited Lake Louise and Lake Moraine. The weather was not the best for us but we did get plenty of exercise and visited many beautiful places. The town itself has many very nice shops and restaurants; and just across the bridge is the famous Banff Springs Hotel. We had a fantastic dinner at the Castello Restorante which is just one of the restaurants in the hotel. This is a 770 room establishment that has an attached conference center and a great looking golf course. It is a beautiful, historic hotel.

We also took the Gondola ride to a mountain above Banff. You can see for miles, and have a good view of the city and the surrounding mountains. They have the upper level designed like a compass. We were 2100 miles from New York City as the crow flies.

Banff is a beautiful city in the Rocky Mountains. It is a must visit if your are ever in the area.
Jasper was our next stop. I will fill you in on our visit there after the pictures are posted. Once again this is such a beautiful place, you really can't capture it on film. You have to live it and store it in your personal memory banks.