Alberta
Travelling along Trans Canada, Highway1, we crossed the border into Alberta at Walsh.
Alberta is another prairie province, rich in oil, dinosaur findings and agriculture.
The rolling hills, and long, treeless drive into Calgary.
Family Time in Calgary
Calgary is a vibrant, cosmopolitan city, situated along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains . The world renowned Calgary Stampede is a highlight in July, and the former Olympic venues are also a hit with visitors.
Some of the most spectacular sights and scenery, like Banff and Lake Louise are within an hour or two driving time from Calgary.
Our primary reason for this visit was to catch up and visit with our son Adrian, his family and our nephew, Andrew.
DIY handiwork, and son Adrian is nowhere in sight!
Fun times with family.
3 generations - Adrian, Derek & Alan
Someone is off to play golf.
After our Calgary visit, we headed north east to Cochrane, to visit Alan's cousin Carol and husband Gary. After enjoying Carol and Gary's wonderful hospitality, we departed Cochrane and headed east to the Rocky Mountains and the Columbia Ice Fields.
Departing Cochrane, our route took us along the picturesque highway 1A, connecting with the Trans Canada highway1 at Kananaskis.
Beautiful scenery along Highway 1A
Heading north west on the Trans Canada Highway.
Just beyond Banff, surprise, surprise, more rain!
July being peak season for visitors in the Rockies, meant that crowds and traffic congestion were the norm not the exception. Having lived in Canada for 35 plus years, we have enjoyed several visits to Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper, and given that we do not enjoy crowds, decided to give them a miss this visit.
Rain was intermittent and interspersed with short bursts of sunshine.
These overpasses appear on the highway to allow local wildlife safe access across the highway.
Just north of Lake Louise, we intercepted Highway 93 north towards Jasper. Lakes and rivers followed the highway for many miles. Even on this dull day, the waters were a gorgeous, vibrant turquoise color.
The waters get their color as the melt water from a glacier feeds a lake and starts to flow in the spring time. It carries with it glacier silt or rock flour. The silt is created when rocks underneath the surface of the ice are grinding from the movement of the glacier. The rock flour is very light and stays suspended in the lake water for a long time. The sunlight that reflects off this rock flour is what gives the lakes their spectacular turquoise blue or green color. The bright blue, green hue is more prevalent during spring and early summer.
Travel north on highway 93 requires a Canada National Parks Pass, which can be purchased at the park gate. A valid park pass, purchased at any other National Park in Canada permits entry into Jasper and Banff National Parks.
Highway 93 to Jasper is also referred to as the "Icefields Parkway".
The Columbia Icefield is about 325 square kilometres (125 sq. mi) in area, 100 - 365 metres (330 - 1198 ft) depth and receives up to 7 metres (280 in) of snowfall per year.
Located in the Canadian Rockies, along the border of British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, the ice field lies partly in the northwestern tip of Banff National Park and partly in the southern end of Jasper National Park.
The Columbia Icefield was formed during the Great Glaciation, or Illinoisan period (238,000 to 126,000 BC).
The icefield feeds eight major glaciers, including:
Parts of the Icefield are visible from the highway.
The Columbia Icefield is a surviving remnant of the thick ice mass that once mantled most of Western Canada's mountains. Lying on a wide, elevated plateau, it is the largest icefield in the Canadian Rockies. Nearly three-quarters of the park's highest peaks are located close to the icefield; ideally placed to catch much of the moisture that Pacific winds carry across the British Columbia interior. Most of this precipitation falls as snow; up to 7 metres a year! Since more snow falls in a year than can melt during the short summer season, it accumulates. As time passes, the snow transforms into ice and begins to flow outward through gaps in the mountains surrounding the icefield, creating great tongues of ice called glaciers.
The Athabasca glacier is the most-visited glacier on the North American continent. Situated across from the Icefield Centre on highway 93, its ice is in continuous motion, creeping forward at the rate of several centimeters per day. Spilling from the Columbia Icefield over three giant bedrock steps, the glacier flows down the valley like a frozen, slow-moving river. Because of a warming climate, the Athabasca Glacier has been receding or melting for the last 125 years. Losing half its volume and retreating more than 1.5 kms, the shrinking glacier has left a moonscape of rocky moraines in its wake.
Athabasca Glacier
This is a view of one of the parking lots at the Ice Fields Information Center. RV parking is available at the back of the parking lot for $15.70 per night. This is for dry camping only, no services. We shoe horned the motorhome into a spot, unable to completely open our door, but sufficient room to squeeze in between us and the next RV. Thankfully, most of the vehicles departed after 4 or 5 PM, leaving about 25 RVs overnight.
It was our intention to take a trip up onto the glacier in one of the snow-coaches, but given the huge crowds, line-ups and long waits, we opted just to view it from below.
It was a pretty spectacular view from our overnight camping spot. The dots you see on the glacier are the snow-coaches that travel on the glacier. If you have the patience to brave the crowds and $150.00, you can experience the glacier up close and personal.
High mountain flowers
Columbia Ice Fields to British Columbia Border
A cool, cloudy morning
Highway 93 from Lake Louise to Jasper (Icefields Parkway)
More showers
Rest stop on highway 16 heading to BC border and Prince George.
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