DAY 7 - CANADA

CANADA – DAY 7   JASPER TO LAKE LOUISE

We first head off to walk through the stunning Maligne Caynon a short distance out of Jasper.

The group is split into 2 and we are handed over to our respective guide.  We have Wes who has 40+ years experience in the Parks and Wildlife business.  He was very knowledgeable especially about the wildlife having worked on research papers concerning Bears.

He covers the time when the park was initially opened and shows a picture-board of the complex in the 1920s where one of the visitors was the writer Arthur Conan Doyle.  He then takes us to where the Gorge area starts, with the limestone worn down….ideal photo opportunities.  He also shows us examples of fossils in the rock walkways, squirrel middens to store food and live under a metre or more of snow, then gave us lessons in how to identify a range of tree species. Finally we were shown beaver pelts, antlers & horns off the caribou/deer and mountain sheep, as well as footprint casts of different bears.

The Tour Group then leaves Jasper proper and heads down the Icefields Parkway, acclaimed as one of the most spectacular journeys in the world.  We have been most lucky with the weather….conditions are perfect   bright sunny and very clear.   Helen & Ian have prime spot today being in the front off driver’s side seat.  We travel down a highway with majestic snow-capped peaks either side along with glaciers trapped high up the mountainsides.  Unfortunately the photos taken will not do the scenery justice.

We make a stop at the Columbia Icefield, which is North America’s largest sub-polar ice park.  We rug up with coats & beanies before climbing onto another bus for a short transition to Ice Explorer bus vehicles, which then takes us up to and onto the 300metre thick Athabasca Glacier.   We spend up to 40 minutes walking around on the glacier before we return to the Park facilities.  We have lunch in a very busy cafeteria.    Just before leaving the Park,  Michael counted over 60 tourist buses from all nations, sitting in the car-park.   With global warming and the volumes of people visiting the ice park, it is no wonder the glacier is decreasing in length.

Since leaving the Icefield Park, operated solely by Brewsters, we start to see a milky smoky haze in the sky, from Forest fires in nearby Washington State.   This impacts on the clarity of photos for the rest of the day.

We call in at Peyto Lake for a quick visit.  This is a glacial fed lake which determines the colour of the water to a milky green.

We the head off to finish the day at the famous “Diamond in the Wilderness”, the beautiful Lake Louise.  We stay at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, one of the most stunning and historic properties in the Rockies.  We walk to the end of the Lake, taking photos of the Fairmont, before returning for a refreshing drink inside as the outside balcony as a 30-45 minute wait, pre Group photo and dinner in the Ballroom.  For dinner Dot & Helen had the pre-ordered Alberta steak……it was a 1000% better than Michael & Ian’s steak of the previous evening.  The drinks at the cash bar were very expensive …$12.50 for a glass of wine, $62.50 for a bottle of basic wine, compared to $35 - $40.00 a bottle elsewhere.

Another warm evening to sleep on top of the sheets in a very large bed.