Jasper, Banff and Yoho National Parks and The Icefields Parkway Have Presented Non-Stop Beauty

It has been another week of INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL scenery. On Monday we arrived in Jasper National Park, our first stop in the Canadian Rockies. This land of craggy mountain peaks, lush valleys and mirror-smooth, glacial lakes provides a photographer’s dream. Maligne, Medicine Patricia, Edith, Annette and Pyramid Lakes, Maligne Canyon and Athabasca and Sunwapta Falls are all indicative of nature’s unbelievable beauty. Our visit to the Miette Hot Springs was both invigorating as well as relaxing. They are the hottest mineral springs (104 degrees) in the Canadian Rockies and to bask in the therapeutic pools while viewing the incredible landscape and wildlife is truly an unforgettable experience.

These parks are home to wildlife as diverse as their peaks and valleys. Fall is when the elk (or wapiti) are in rutting season and the loud bugling of these immense creatures is unmistakable and frequently heard.

After Jasper we traveled on the Icefields Parkway, which is undeniably one of the most beautiful highways in the world. National Geographic calls it “One of the World’s Ten Greatest Drives” and, believe us, it more than lives up to its reputation. To travel the Icefields Parkway is to be immersed in a vast wilderness of magnificent peaks, ancient glaciers, diverse wildlife, waterfalls, pristine mountain lakes and broad sweeping valleys. The road passes within viewing distance of seven icefields, comprising the largest concentration of glacial ice below the Arctic Circle, the centerpiece being the Columbia Icefield. This stunning geographical feature is a high alpine basin of accumulated snow that straddles the Great Divide. At Mount Snow Dome one encounters a TRIPLE Continental Divide, which is scientifically unique. It is at this hydroponic apex where water flows into THREE different directions across the continent to ultimately empty into THREE different oceans (The Atlantic, The Pacific and The Arctic!). It was near Mount Snow Dome, at the Athabasca Glacier, a tongue of the Columbia Icefield, that we had one of the most phenomenal experiences of our entire trip. We know, we have said that MANY times over the last five months but this REALLY was fantastic. From the toe of the Athabasca Glacier we drove ON THE ICE in a giant, six-wheeled, specially designed Ice Explorer almost all the way to the wall of the icefield. We then disembarked and experienced an awe-inspiring glimpse of icy-crevasses and miles of desolate glacial expanse. The temperature was ZERO degrees Celsius and the wind was VERY blustery. To see and walk on this glaciated ice field formed by snow that fell as long as 400 years ago provided a true Ice-Age opportunity.

The Icefields Parkway led us to Banff National Park where we have spent the last few days. Once again, the majestic beauty is inescapable. The mountains and the forces of nature inspire awe and command respect. We viewed Lake Louise, an icy blue-green lake fed by the springs from Victoria Glacier. It quite possibly may look familiar in our pictures as it is frequently seen in movies, on TV and in print. This and many of the lakes in this region have a phenomenal opaque turquoise color due to the silt and rock flour that is carried from the glacial meltwater. They are indescribably beautiful. In addition to Lake Louise we went to Lake Minnewanka, Bow Lake, Two Jack Lake, Peyto Lake and Moraine Lake within the Valley of the Ten Peaks.

From Banff we went to Yoho National Park where we saw Takakkaw Falls, one of the highest waterfalls in Canada, Emerald Lake, Natural Bridge on the Kicking Horse River and the Spiral Tunnels of Kicking Horse Pass. These tunnels are a railway-engineering marvel that enables a train to descend a very steep grade by traveling in circles inside the mountain. At one point we actually viewed the same train on three different levels as it passed over and under itself.

As you can see, it has been another FANTASTIC week. Tomorrow we leave the Canadian Rockies and head east toward Calgary, Alberta. Within a couple days we’ll be back in the States but there are still more things to see and do.

Here is the link to view some pictures from this past week. Again, there is NO WAY that the camera is able to capture the awesome beauty and majesty of all that we are seeing.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Sbs27hoxZMWi

Take care and stay safe,
P&J