Jasper, Alberta, and heading south 9/6 - 9/9, 2011

Jasper Nat'l Park is the largest of Canada's seven national parks, and the Town of Jasper is located in the heart of the park. This is as far north as we'll camp. We wanted to spend the Labor Day holiday here, but the campgrounds were full. OK. Yet, when we arrived on Tuesday (the day after labor Day), all the campgrounds had closed for the season, except Whistlers! So, Whistlers it was, though no hookups were available, thus dry camping it was for three nites (no problem for us). Nice site, too. This is elk rutting season in these parts and warning signs were posted to stay out of their way (again, no problem!). Hearing male elks bugling is quite a sound - wow! Quite a few elk around, too.  We were fortunate to have sunny and warm weather for our entire visit.

Jimmy already in the pool (left of the black pole)!

Here's looking back atcha, Jimmy! (foreground, right)

We wanted to raft on the glacial-milky Athabasca River (which runs thru town at a pretty good clip!), but the rental outfit timing didn't jell with ours, so we said "no thanx." After Labor Day, services and recreational opportunities narrow quite a bit in the north. We did, however, drive the spectacular Yellowhead Hwy east 60km (36 miles) to soak in Miette Hot Springs Pools - two big pools with hot (100-104F) water temps. So relaxing. Almost tripped over the big horn sheep on the stairway as we were leaving!

They're everywhere!

The next day, we hiked (upper and lower) Malign Canyon, an awesome, deep and narrow chasm, cut by raging Malign River 150' below. We hiked from Sixth Bridge to First Bridge and back, along and peering down at the tumultuous river - with its countless waterfalls. I took a whole lot of photos... and then accidentally deleted the whole shebang the next morning, (sigh...) except for the two pictures above, near Sixth Bridge where the river levels out. OH WELL! Trust me, the photos were great!

 Sign next to one of the many salmon habitation tributaries!

We also stopped at Jasper's indoor Farmer's Market on Wed afternoon (bought a cantaloupe; not much fresh produce available), and the town library. Ate a yummy pizza in town after hiking! We both liked this small alpine town better than Banff - less crowded and more open - friendlier somehow. Lots to do here, for sure. 

However, it's time we thought about returning to the States, as prices in Canada - camping fees, gasoline, groceries - are more than we want to spend, esp with the USA losing dollar-to-dollar ratio. Unless things somehow, sometime, turn around, price-wise, sad to say, this may be our last Canada sojourn.

Amazing Icefields Parkway - September 6th, 2011

The Icefields Pkwy – one of the world's most beautiful roads – from Lake Louise to Jasper, Alberta, Canada. This breathtaking pkwy parallels the Continental Divide for 143 miles! Here is the largest accumulation of ice south of the Arctic Circle, straddling two Canadian Nat’l Parks and two provinces, with meltwaters flowing into three oceans:  Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic. Cool beans!  The Pkwy passes within viewing distance of seven icefields (large upland glaciers) and about 25 smaller but still notable glaciers!  Melt water from the glaciers is a stunning turquoise blue - photo above is unretouched. 

Wonderful sights abound along this pkwy.  Below is an animal overpass, with shrubs and small trees planted atop. This gives wild animals access to the other side without endangering motorists or the animals.  We saw several of these while in Canada.  Not sure if the states have any yet.

There's not an inch on this road that lacks scenery.  I wish there were more places to pull off, but we appreciate each one we can get into (as above).

Not too much traffic, either.

The centerpiece is the massive Columbia Icefield, the largest in the Rocky Mountains. These glaciers and icefields dwell in the mtns of the Continental Divide – the North American backbone – with over 40 named peaks, most well over 9,000’. 

Except for about 50 miles of frost heaves on the roadbed (jars the jaws), the drive is truly a tour de force. This is our second time on the parkway.  Three years ago we drove as far as the Columbia Icefield where we climbed aboard a big red Ice Explorer that took us right onto Athabasca Glacier – a 20 minute foot-freezing experience. This year we stopped at the Icefield Centre to eat our lunch (in the parking lot), before driving on to Jasper (another 60 miles) … a place we’ve not been to before. 

You’d think it would be cold or at least cool this far north AND next to ice for miles. False: We enjoyed 80° temps. Jimmy donned his long-sleeved shirt for the Icefield Centre photo because strong winds were blowing off the glacier, but I was fine in shirt sleeves. Amazing. We are looking forward to being in Jasper. Whistlers is the only C/G now open; all the rest closed yesterday for the season.  Short campground season this far north.

I think we spied some fall color on today’s drive…. Can winter be far away?

Banff, Labor Day wkend, Sat/Sun/Mon, Sept. 2011

Overlooking Banff, a train, and the Bow River.

Do you think we hike all the time, every single day? Or hop on our bikes if we’re not on foot? Not so! We have found that the best way to see anything in the great outdoors is to get out of the vehicle! Jimmy and I enjoy going places and doing different things, obviously – or we wouldn’t be on the go as much as we are! We like hiking and have seen some spectacular sights while Out and About, as evidenced by the photos we post on this blog. Same for biking. This lifestyle suits us – I guess we have restless feet! However, we don’t spend every day hiking thru wilderness or biking out-of-the-way paths, and we plan in advance for the outings we want to do.  Most of the time....

That being said, we wanted to climb to the top of nearby Tunnel Mtn (5543’), which offers beautiful views of Banff, Mt. Rundle and the Bow Valley… and so we joined quite a few others on a fine Sun morning. Ate our PBnJ sandwiches overlooking the town of Banff and then hiked the mile down. We changed clothes back at Tergel and drove to gorgeous Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel – a castle-like hotel set amongst the evergreens with planters of flowers placed everywhere about the grounds. We sashayed in and had coffee and “biscuits” (Jimmy had an apple fritter, I had strudel) in this enormous and elegant establishment. And when we finished gawking in the shops, esp Mountain Galleries, we strolled down to Bow Falls for a look-see.

Jimmy at Bow Falls.

On Saturday, we donned bathing suits for a visit to Banff Upper Hot Springs and parboiled ourselves in 102° water (ahhh). No pictures.  Fact is, we’ve visited quite a few natural hot springs in our travels. We like museums. And libraries. Love farmer’s markets with local produce/products and always find goodies to buy. Some evenings, we’ll catch an interesting program on TV, but that’s pretty rare, or we’ll go to a movie. Downloading and filing the many pictures we take and blogging takes up a heap of time, too. On this trip we’ve taken up Yahtzee and some evenings we’ll play till bedtime. Jimmy is keeping track of who’s ahead, but I’m afraid to ask.

Actually, we’re sort of normal! While we drain a pot of coffee every morning, we’ll watch a news show such as Good Morning, America if we’re hooked up to electricity and if we have a station to watch – and there are plenty of mornings we don’t have either. We both read and can easily bury our faces in a book. We shop for groceries and do laundry, same as if we were NOT in a motor home. We eat most of our meals in; I’m the chief cook in the family and Jimmy is the clean-up man. 

Today (Monday) we joined the international throng of tourists walking along the streets of this small town, and sat outside with a cup of coffee people-watching ... almost as good as Disneyland! After that, we strolled lovely Cascades Gardens with tiers of annual flowers, rustic bridges and flagged walks.And now on Labor Day, the long summer holiday is over – thank goodness (for us), as camping should be easier. Less people and more spaces. But, back to hiking, a favorite activity – we go and enjoy. Feels good to lace up the shoes and breathe in fresh air and stretch those leg muscles. Good for the body and the spirit. And at 66, as the saying goes, it’s use it or lose it. There’s a time to “do,” and then there’s a time to rest. Balance isn’t always easy to achieve, but we try, and diversity is the key.

09/02/11 Johnston Canyon in Banff Nat'l Park

According to the AAA Tour Book, Johnston Canyon is one of the most popular short hikes in Banff Nat’l Park, and it sounded intriguing: Catwalks are the highlight, allowing hikers to walk along the canyon face and above the rushing water of Johnston Creek to two waterfalls (Lower and Upper). AAA must be right – the parking lot was full. We soon saw why. This short uphill hike (1.8 mile/one way, 400’ elevation gain to Upper Falls) follows a paved pathway through a wooded area along one of the most beautiful creeks we’ve ever seen. The water color was a brilliant, clear aqua-marine blue – like an icy blue Listerine!

The catwalks that are literally attached to the canyon wall weren’t scary, tho. Stepping onto steel grating at the top of Upper Falls gave us pause .... We walked thru a tunnel in the limestone bedrock at Lower Falls carved by water long ago and now high and dry except for mist from the thundering waterfall. Upper Falls is another mile up, but we were glad we made the effort – it’s most impressive because it cascades thru a narrow slit in the canyon walls. Banff had rain the night before and a large conifer had come down from high above and smashed into the pool at the base. The canyon wall opposite our viewing platform was covered in Travertine Algae – it looked like slime, but according to a signpost, the deposits accumulate in a “travertine drape,” magically building new limestone out of the old. Maybe so, but it still looked like slime!

Me and a friend!

What a dizzying hike!

 

Lower Falls,

 

and Upper Falls.

 

Lotsa moss and interesting rock formations.

Jimmy on the catwalk next to the Travertine Algae cliff wall.

At the end of this excellent hike, hunger sent us in to the (strategically placed at trail’s end) Johnston Creek Lodge café where we warmed up with delicious coffee, listened to moldy oldies on the sound system – laughing and reminiscing (what year? and who sang that one?) and gobbled up bison and brie burgers. Fun and yum! Outstanding day!

8/30/11 Waterton Lakes Nat'l Park, Alberta, Canada

We spent nearly a week in Glacier Nat'l Park, often referred to as The Crown of the Continent. Tucked in the northeastern corner of the park, Many Glacier is a hiker's paradise.  In fact, most of the people we saw were garbed in hiker's duds. All ages were represented: Blue hairs and gray beards, younger people, and families with small kids hiked the moderately strenuous trails with their unmatched subalpine scenery. We certainly had a great time!

Another stellar, castle-like hotel.

The view from our Townsite campsite (nice, eh?). 

We left Glacier on Sun., 8/29 and drove the Chief Mountain Hwy north across the border to Waterton Lakes Nat'l Park and had a different kind of experience altogether. This Canadian side of Glacier Nat'l Park seemed more relaxed - lots of families with little ones riding bikes.

We put in one hike on the 30th to Red Rock Canyon and Blakiston Falls. The drive along Red Rock Canyon was as good as any we've done!

Blakiston Falls.

The black bear we encountered crossing the road was also the biggest black bear we've seen! (photo taken from Smartie). We spotted that guy twice. Wednesday, the 31st was the first whole day of rain we've had since starting out this year (on April 28th). We spent it wisely and enjoyed it very much. We did laundry and I made chili and we visited Pearl's Pantry to use her free wifi and so on. The low temp this day was 47. The high temp this day was 48! Great park to unwind in. On to Banff on Thursday!

Canada has great descriptive signs! (don't mess with deer or the deer might mess you up!) 

Back in the good ol' USA -- Sept 1, 2008

We chose to travel back into the states today from Canada via Waterman Lakes National Park, across the border from Glacier National Park, in and out of rain.  We made it to Cut Bank, Montana, dodging stupid ol' cows actually on the road!  Some had yellow earrings.  Now we can honestly say, "Yes, we've been to Cut Bank, Montana."  But, really, there's no need to mention it!

Tomorrow, we go to Great Falls, Montana.  Good to be "home."

Happy Aug 31st, 2008 - Banff, Alberta, Canada

Yesterday we spent the morning soaking in Banff's outdoor hot springs pool (39C or 102.2F), and loved it, tho the pool got a bit crowded and loud after we'd been immersed for 20 +/- minutes. In the afternoon we walked around Cave and Basin NHS, which commemorates the birthplace of Canada's National Park system, circa 1885. From that, Banff National Park was born. Banff NP spans 6,641 km (2,564 sq miles) in the Canadian Rockies: Valleys, snow-capped mountains, glaciers, forests, meadows and rivers ... in short, one of the world's premier destination spots. We can vouch for it.

Rain began falling about the time we got in for the night, but quit sometime around 3 AM, or so we thought. Actually the pitter-patter of rain turned silent because the drops had turned to SNOW. And we awoke to the images you see below! The temperature was 1C (33.8, just above freezing) when we got up. Holy cow, Happy Labor Day wkend - wow! Surprise, surprise ... we certainly didn't expect to frolic in snow on the last day of August!

Today we are kicking around Town of Banff, enjoying the brisk mountain air and wintry weather. We are concerned about our loved ones on the Gulf Coast, but the contrast is hard to grasp. Hope and pray that all will be well for the Gulf Coast people.

Spectacular Columbia Icefield & Athabasca Glacier -- 8/29/08

It’s roughly a 2-hour drive from Banff to the Athabasca Glacier on the Icefields Pkwy – a spectacular experience from beginning to end, even on a windshield-wiper day, as we traveled in and out of clouds and misty rain bands. Blue-hued glaciers and ice fields were visible atop craggy peaks. Imagine, walking on a glacier – an experience of a lifetime ... and the mountains are simply beyond words ....

Here's the stats:  Athabasca Glacier: 2.5 mi² in area, 3.75 mi in length, 270’ to 1000’ in depth. The Ice Explorer, above, is a giant six-wheeled, all-terrain vehicle, which drove us right onto the glacier.  Elevation where we were standing -- 7000 ft. The temp at midday was about 2.7C (or 37F), with a wicked wind blowing off the glacier.  Ice drops pelted our jackets (and camera lens). Thank goodness for Big Blue (my rarely used parka), which kept me toasty-warm, initially. We were given 20 minutes to explore a pre-selected section of the glacier; anywhere else would have been too risky on unstable ice. We were aghast at the ominous, but brilliant blue, crevasse we saw nearby. Twenty minutes was too long for most people, anyway. The driver did not have to call out “All Aboard” -- his frozen passengers were already on board!  Except for the guy in the shorts (above) ... none of the rest of us could believe our eyes. 

Athabasca Glacier is receding at a rate of about 16 feet per year.  It's receded approx one mile in the past 125 years, and it's lost over half its volume.  Not an unfamiliar story for glaciers everywhere.

Cones delineate okay, and off limits.

The Icefield is the largest body of ice in the Rocky Mountains – highest point is 12,284 ft. Melt water drains into the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. The Icefield is immense, covering an area more than five times that of Manhattan. Ice is up to 1200 ft thick - deep enough to bury the Empire State Bldg.

Toasty warm might be a stretch.  We were all freezing!

On the terrace of the Visitor Center, you can see the ribbon (road) each Ice Explorer travels to deposit people onto the glacier (at right, mostly out of sight).  Mountains make their own weather, and we experienced all kinds of weather this day -- sun, clouds, rain, drizzle, ice, snow, and ... did I miss anything?  We were glad to step into the VC and warm up.

Yes!

I know this looks completely out of place, compared to all the other pictures.  I took this pic on our return to Banff, and it was on the opposite side of the road.  This is one of many waterfalls we saw while traveling the Icefields Parkway.  We didn't have enough time to "see it all," darn it.  So, we'll just have to come back.  Double thumbs up today!