May 31, 2009

Today we drove further into Banff National Park. The road between the towns of Banff and Jasper is considered the most beautiful drive in Canada – and we were not disappointed it was beautiful with high snow-capped mountain peaks on both sides of the road. The Icefields Parkway starts at Lake Louise.


ICEFIELDS PARKWAY

Hector Lake




Crowfoot Glacier




Bow Lake



Waterfowl Lake



We took a short hike to Mistaya Canyon where the river has worn a deep, twisting gorge. It was a gorgeous view and well worth the short hike.





Weeping Wall – driving North you could not see the water falls until you looked behind you, consequently, we almost missed this beautiful scene.



Bridal Veil Falls




JASPER NATIONAL PARK

The North end of Banff NP and the South end of Jasper NP meet at Sunwapta Pass, which at 6,676 ft is the highest point on the Icefields Parkway. We stopped at the Icefield Centre which has some very nice displays about the Columbia Ice Field. Directly across the road is the Athabasca Glacier, which you can hike to or take a Snow Coach Tour out onto the glacier. Although we did not take the tour, Rex thinks this coach would be great to go 4-wheeling in when we are in Arizona.


Athabasca Glacier



Snow Coach



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