The day started in Jasper and my two goals were sightseeing in the mountains and making my way about 100 miles south to Banff. I found a tour company that picked me up at my hotel in Jasper and dropped me off in Banff after a whole day of sightseeing. What a country !
The tour drove the Icefields Parkway, a mountain road that's advertised as one of the most scenic drives in the world. Jasper and Banff are around 4,000 ft elevation and the parkway in between rises up to over 7,000 ft at the Columbia Glacier and the coral blue Lake Louise.
As we started the drive, it was snowing and the clouds were just above the tree tops so we couldn't see the mountains. But the snow covered trees were a pretty site in themselves. We stopped at the Athabasca Falls just hours after the glacier ice melt starts it's journey north covering 6,000 miles where the river empties into the Arctic Ocean.
Next stop was the nature center at the Columbia Icefields Glacier where tours are available on giant buggies that take you up for a walk on the glacier ice.
We continued south to Lake Louise with the 5 star Fairmont Hotel overlooking the blue water. From there it was an hour drive to Banff and on the way we saw blue sky and the sun break through as the clouds hung in the valleys below the mountain tops.
Tomorrow I have another day in Banff while I figure out my last leg of the trip to Vancouver.
It's still summer and we're having another heat wave here in Philly and it's snowing there. No wonder they play so much hockey there.
ReplyDeletePaul