Well, today has been an interesting day..... It started out with rain, but by the time I was half-way to Jasper I was driving in a snow storm!! From Banff, the road climbs into higher elevations and the Icefields Parkway is a good description. The mountains were awesome and there were real massive glaciers at the tops of some of them.
The highest elevation is at the Icefields Center where the Athabasca Glacier is. Unfortunately, I couldn't see any of it because it was snowing so hard! It was beautiful wet snow and was sticking to the evergreens but not the road (thank goodness!) My car temperature gauge read 33 degrees. I stopped at the Icefields Center where you can ride a snowcoach out on to the glacier and it was packed with people. No way was I doing that today! I asked at the Park Information Desk if they knew the weather report and what might be happening in Jasper. They said I was at the highest elevation and Jasper was much lower - it probably was not snowing there. Very helpful..... When I walked back out, I snapped a picture of a picnic table that had at least two or more inches on it.
This was the first time on the trip I had major nerves!! But, the roads were not slick and I had to go on. I was back into rain within a few minutes. WHEW!! I was glad I had my four wheel drive and I did feel safe. There were amazing lakes and waterfalls all along the parkway. Also, I got a glimpse of a black bear. Cars were off the side of the road, so I knew some animal had been spotted. I saw him walk into dense woods and then he was gone - no time for a picture. He was big and shiny black.
As soon as I arrived in Jasper, the rain had eased. I decided to try the tram ride up the mountain slope. It was snowing at the top (!!) so visibility was not good. But it was a fun ride and I saw a cute little Pika (looks sort of like a big hamster) at the top.
The B&B where I am staying is called Raven House. It is close to downtown and the owners are very friendly and helpful. There is another couple staying also and believe it or not - the wife grew up in Owensboro!! She and her husband live in Virginia now, near DC. We had dinner together this evening. Tomorrow, it is off to take a boat ride on Maligne Lake - the reason I wanted to see Jasper. I love this little town. It is not so touristy as Banff. I needed to do some laundry and even this was a pleasant experience. The place was an internet cafe and coffee bar, as well as a laundry!! You could surf and sip while your clothes were getting clean.
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| Glacier on top of the Mountain |
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| Driving the Icefields Parkway in snow.... |
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| You are supposed to be able to see a huge glacier here somewhere..... |
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| Peyto Lake - it was cloudy so the beautiful color was not as visible. It is fed by a glacier which causes the beautiful blue. |
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| Sunwapta Falls |
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| Athabasca Falls |
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