Now this was my kind of tour group. We had so much fun together! There were Americans from all over the country, Australians, Brits, Irish, and our driver guide was Canadian. Oh and a family from India (that's what the driver said, I didn't talk to them). We all shared stories and just had a great time seeing all the sights. There were 25 of us and every time we got on the bus, Raymond, the driver, would count us. I was sitting in the front row and often took over the counting. In fact, at the ice fields, he waited for one couple and I kinda took charge to make sure the rest of us got to the right bus. It's what teachers do, he said :)
A few of us got on in Banff but the majority were picked up in Lake Louise (see Monday's post). At the Chateau - we didn't actually visit the lake again. They all said it was a very nice stay. Still well out of my budget but it's good to know if I ever hit the lottery.
Some shots from the road. (I didn't edit at all so excuse the bus parts and other cars and such)
Our first stop was Bow Lake, with Bow Glacier above it. It was stunning.
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| a wedding had just occurred |
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| the pic doesn't show the brown of the head but the body was a blue black and he was not all scared of us - he's right at my feet! |
The second stop was Peyto Lake. After waiting in a line of cars trying to find parking. Luckily, there is special parking (at most places actually) for commercial busses so we scooted on by and were at the lookout before those cars were parked probably! It was... you guessed it... stunning.
More pics from the road. I am sure that Raymond told us what these mountains and glaciers were named, but I, of course, do not remember.
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| I think this is the Seskatchewan River |
We stopped for a picnic lunch along the way.
Then we headed to the main event - the icefields! Raymond dropped us at the Centre where we got another bus which took us to the ice explorers. Apparently there are only like 28 (?) of these beasts in existence and most are at these icefields. There are only 4 female drivers and we had one of them! Shawna from Ireland. The Columbia icefields are home (?) to 6 glaciers - Andromeda, Columbia, Athabasca, Skydome, Stuttfield and the one I can't remember (hey, 5 of 6 ain't bad!). Athabasca is the one that I got to walk on. Columbia is behind it so we didn't see it. Andromeda and the other one are to the left (in pics) of Athabasca and Stuttfield is further down the road so pics later. But first, as the shuttle got to the explorers, there were mountain goats!
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| under the dirt is the hard ice of the glacier |
Sadly, it is predicted that all glaciers (here?) are expected to have totally melted in the next 40-60 years. Stupid climate change.
The end of the ice fields tour included the famous skywalk. Obviously not that famous though cuz I totally thought that it was over a glacier. It was in fact over a river. I don't have pics of what was below because I barely got onto the glass, took a picture and went back to land. Also, I wanted to get back to the Centre with time to use the facilities, get a snack, and shop before Raymond was ready to leave. But mostly, yikes it was high up and scary!
More pics from the road, including Stuttfield Glacier. And more mountain goats!
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| out the front window of the bus |
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| Shushwap River |
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| Stuttfield Glacier |
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| falls that I don't remember the name of |
Our last stop was Athabasca Falls.
In July 2024, the Jasper area was devastated by a fire. 60,000 sq miles burned. Much of the city of Jasper was destroyed or nearly destroyed. There is an invasive beetle that has killed a lot of trees; it had been several dry years in a row; it was a hot summer - the trifecta for disaster.
On our way to drop off some folks at the fancy Fairmont outside of town, we saw a GRIZZLY BEAR and her two cubs!!!
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