One destination always stirred my inner Ansel Adams – the Canadian Rockies, Banff to Lake Louise and Jasper. Maria and I got the chance to go this summer and jumped on it.
We went on a Tauck Tour, one that we knew covered everything well. But it was our first time with them and we weren’t sure exactly what to expect. We started off by flying into Calgary and stayed overnight at a beautiful resort where the G8 Summit was held in 2002. Calgary is a lot like Denver, a decent sized city at the edge of the Rockies.
Elk Herds and Photo Opps
The first morning we went to Lake Louise and rode up the Icefields Parkway. Right away we saw some animals – a bear, a lot of elk and mountain goats.
Once we settled in we realized that the scenery was spectacular and – with our digital camera – we could take pictures of all of it. My favorite photo spots were Maligne Lake in Jasper and Peytoe Lake, near Banff. Peytoe involved a little hike to get to the best view and photo opp point. But it is worth it. The blue water in the lake is a different blue than I’ve seen anywhere else.
We also walked most of the way around Lake Louise, which is another bluer than blue bodies of water.
Athabasca Glacier and Athabasca Falls
Another highlight and great photo opp was the Athabasca Glacier and Athabasca Falls. We were near the continental divide, 5,000 feet up. It was a short walk on the glacier – not too slippery where we were. It was cool on the glacier, but a sweater was enough. The falls and the glacier are about an hour apart on the bus, so we had a chance to rest for a few minutes. Then we needed about a half hour to get to the falls, take pictures and get back to the parking area.
Bison Dinner in Jasper
We ate well on this trip – the highlight was the bison dinner in Jasper.
Just Active Enough For Us
This trip was just active enough for us. You could do a little hiking and we went on a bike ride in Jasper. It was just enough exercise that we enjoyed the short break before cocktail hour and dinner. That seemed pretty typical. Most of the people in our group were 50+ and weren’t going to go for the river rafting option – but one couple did and survived to tell us what we had missed.
Longer Trip Next Time
We had only one vacation week for this trip and concentrated on the Rockies. Some of the people we met were going on to Vancouver on the train – vintage cars from the 50’s. Vintage and 50’s doesn’t sound quite right –I was commuting on “vintage cars” when I started working in the 60’s – but VIA Rail Canada has saved their good cars. Maybe next year?
