Souvenirs From The Road: Jasper, Banff and Glacier National Parks

Day 110 – August 19 Once we left Prince Rupert, we took a very pretty drive down Highway 16 – The Yellowfoot. It follows the Skeena River. Stopped for the night at Tyhee Lake Provincial Park. It’s very nice – between Smithers and Telkwa. Weather is cool, cloudy and there’s fresh snow on the mountain tops.

Tyhee Lake

Day 111 – August 20 Heading past Prince George to Purden Lake Provincial Park. It was a good 6 plus hour drive. This is a very pretty lake and campground. Our driving scenery was beautiful – hay fields and cows. And lots of lakes.

Day 112 – August 21 If the weather was clear, we would have been able to have seen a partial solar eclipse. But there are clouds and smoke from the British Columbia wildfires. Still a beautiful drive. Made it to Jasper National Park and are pleasantly surprised with Whistler’s Campground – full hookups and decent scenery.

Day 113 – August 22 It’s a beautiful, clear blue sky morning. Sent Ron to get us lottery tickets to drive the Mt. Edith Cavill road tomorrow. Today we (each couple) decided to do our own thing. First we went to the Jasper Tramway – Sky Tram – to almost the top of Whistler Mountain. It afforded a great view of the town of Jasper. The trail in some parts is difficult and the altitude is pretty high. Beautiful scenery!

Heading to the top of Whistlers Summit

Such outstanding views way up here!

I don't think we are going to get lost....

Beautiful view looking down on Jasper.

Next we drove the Maligne Lake Rd. This is a beautiful drive! There are lots of tourists, so some pull outs we couldn’t find a place to park. Medicine Lake was a pretty view. This lake “seasonally” disappears. The road ends at Maligne Lake, the largest natural body of water in the Canadian Rockies. Had dinner at the Jasper Brewing Company, which was nothing to brag about.

Medicine Lake

Check out that reflection!

I like to think that these Canadian geese are about ready to head south to Texas!

Maligne Lake

Day 114 – August 23 The best thing today was our drive to Mt. Edith Cavell. It takes a lottery ticket to be able to drive in. Worth it! A beautiful, winding road that leads to the mountain. We took the Path of the Glacier hike to the viewpoint where you see Angel Glacier (resembles the University of TX longhorn to me) and Ghost Glacier. One of the prettiest vistas yet and not so crowded due to the lottery. The natives refer to this mountain as the White Ghost for it’s snowy peak. It is named after a WW1 nurse (British) who was executed for helping POWs escape German occupied Belgium.

Neighbors in our campground

Words can't explain the beauty.

Mt. Edith Cavell in the distance.

The Angel glacier that resembles a UT Longhorn

Reflection off of Ghost Glacier.

We spent the afternoon seeing Edith, Annette and Beauvart Lakes. Then took the drive to Miette Hot Springs, which was very disappointing. The biggest bummer was the hour road work delay, and just way too many people.

Athabasca River

Found the red chairs at Edith Lake

Across the river is where Jasper House was located.

Punch Bowl Falls (not too punchy!)

The most exciting thing during our hour stop for construction.

Day 115 – August 24 Leaving Jasper, our first stop was at Athabasca Falls – a beautiful, must see! Pictures do not need captions.

Next stop was the Icefield Centre. Enjoyed their movie. Lots and lots of folks wanting to ride the snowmobile on Athabasca Glacier. Not us!!! We’ve done it twice before.

You will have to zoom in to see the snowmobiles

We are staying at Tunnel Mountain Trailer Village in Banff the next few days. Great views! We are also waiting to see what Hurricane Harvey is going to do to our neck of the woods back in Texas. Our daughter did move our big 5^th wheel to a safer location for us, just in case. Banff is sooooo busy.

Tunnel Mountain has the red chairs too!

Not only delicious food, but check out our view of Tunnel Mountain!

Day 116 – August 25 Our destination today is Moraine Lake and Lake Louise, which requires a very early start to try to beat the crowds. OMG! The traffic! The crowds won. Ron let us out of the truck while he circled the parking lot at Moraine Lake.

Yep, do you see a place to park????

Moraine Lake

Lake Louise is beautiful, but has definitely changed. My first time here I was a youngster, back in 1969, on vacation with my traveling cousins. Yep, that glacier has receded, even a lot from when we brought our kids here in the 1990’s. We treated ourselves to the breakfast buffet at the lodge. Yummy!

Lake Louise

Unbelievable breakfast buffet.

Drove down to see Lake Minnewanka and Two Jake Lake. All such a beautiful turquoise. We canceled some days off of our stay here (don’t need 5 days with the crowds). And Hurricane Harvey is at home, making us ancy to get closer. Ended the day with an awesome salmon dinner. Enjoying these cool temps!

Found a yummy recipe for salmon - mayo, sharp cheddar, green chilies and ritz crackers.

Canadians talking about Hurricane Harvey!

The finished product!

Not looking good back home....

Scenery through this part of Canada looks like the Texas Panhandle.

Yes! Our last border crossing! And he even said "Welcome Back to the USA!"

Day 117 – August 26 Moving on down the road to Glacier National Park. Staying at the St. Mary KOA which isn’t that bad, just way expensive. Took a drive up to Many Glacier. Enjoyed the beauty there. Also saw our biggest bear of the trip – a grizzly on the banks of Lake Sherburne. The flooding from Hurricane Harvey is weighing heavy on us.

Check out the size of this grizzly who was moving fast!

Many Glacier Lodge

Inside the lodge

Have to have a signature drink at the bar!

Day 118 – August 27 We took a drive on the “Going to the Sun” road. There is lots of traffic and lots of smoke from fires. At Logan Pass, again Ron kept circling the parking lot while we got out and checked it out. Our neighbors tonight were so fun to meet and lean about. Brenda and Jeff and friends Chris, Sara and Alexis and Wolf from Germany are on journeys to sail around the world. During hurricane season, they travel by RV. Fascinating! We will be keeping up with them! You never know who you are parked by!