 |
| The Canadian Rockies are spectacular |
Running up Highway 93 from Lake Louise in Banff National Park to southern part of Jasper National Park, this piece of highway parallels the Continental Divide across the spine of the Canadian Rockies.
 |
| You can see how the road travels between the mountains |
Every square inch is gorgeous, including mountain peaks …
 |
| Lots of sharp, craggy mountaintops |
... waterfalls ...
 |
| Scott at Tangle Falls |
... beautiful lakes …
 |
| Herbert Lake |
… including some that were still frozen …
 |
| Bow Lake |
... a number of glaciers, most of them high up in the mountains …
 |
| A couple of glaciers |
... among them the Athabasca Glacier that flows out of the Columbia Icefield down to the road area …
 |
| The glacier is right around the corner |
This time, we just looked at the glacier, but, in the past, we have actually taken the snow bus up on it and walked around ...
 |
| Becca, Caty and Scott in 1993 |
See it here.
It is shocking how quickly the glacier is receding. It has been retreating about 16.5 feet a year, which is almost 500 feet since the first time we visited. Back in the 1800s it came to where the road is now. It looks like the tour route has changed completely since we did it.
 |
| You can no longer see the bus route |
We tried to eat lunch in the nice restaurant at the Jasper National Park Icefield Information Centre and Glacier Gallery (whew, long name!), but it was open only for bus tours. There was a small convenience-store-type eatery, as well, but its selection didn't warrant waiting in long lines. Luckily, we were prepared for picnics (a good idea because there isn't much along the actual Parkway).
We just spent our time on the route enjoying the scenery, stopping to enjoy the vistas …
 |
| Dramatic |
… and the wildlife, including Mountain Goats …
 |
| This one was right by the road |
… and several Black Bears …
 |
| Grazing at Saskatchewan Crossing |
I nicknamed one of the Bears we saw “Bad Bear,” not because we saw him do anything particularly bad, but because he had several large blue splotches on his side.
 |
| The blue paint splotches are a giveaway |
It appears that Park Rangers had shot him with a paint gun, an action reserved for nuisance animals.
He was very close, so we had to shoot him from the car.
 |
| Photo: Scott Stevens |
 |
| Lunch (probably stolen) |
The first time we saw him, he was walking through a pullout area.
The second time we saw him, he was leaving the same pullout, where he crossed the road and walked down to a ravine. We stopped to take a look and realized he had an apple.
Obviously, he was either being fed or he was fishing treats from the trash. Either way, that is bad Bear behavior.
 |
| But he looks so innocent |
One place we stopped, we saw two red Adirondack chairs sitting above a beautiful overlook.
 |
| Red chairs |
It turns out that that’s a thing. Parks Canada has placed over 200 of the colorful chairs in peaceful and scenic locations throughout many of Canada’s “most unique and treasured places.” There are 11 sets in Banff National Park, three sets in Kootenay, two sets in Yoho, four sets in Jasper and four sets in Waterton Lakes.
As we were driving along, we saw something jutting out the side of a mountain that resembles a spaceship. Turns out that it is the Glacier Sky Walk, which opened in May 2014 and is run by the same company that does the glacier tours.
 |
| An interesting structure; Right photo: Tripadvisor |
Similar to the Grand Canyon Skywalk, it is a glass-floored observation platform that juts out over the canyon below. This one is 918 feet over the Sunwapta Valley. And, similar to the Grand Canyon Skywalk, I read some reviews that said it wasn’t worth the $25 admission fee.
I am glad it's not a "must see" because we came by too late in the day to do it anyway.
Since it was early in the season, some of the few side roads off of the Parkway were not yet open. Regardless, it was fun to travel up and down the road in changing light and weather conditions.
 |
| Fortunately, we had lots of sunlight |
And, it was fun to see an occasional Bear (I mean, I was up to around 50 Black bears at this point).
 |
| A very fuzzy Bear |
Just a pleasant drive all around. See it here.
Trip date: May 19-June 2, 2022
No comments:
Post a Comment