Thursday - On the Road Again

Thursday we left Banff for Jasper.  We mistakenly continued west on Rte. 1 and ended up in Golden, BC before we realized we needed to backtrack to Lake Louise (about an hour!) to get on the Icefields Parkway, but weren't all that bugged as we got to see the Kicking Horse Valley again, albeit in the rain.  The Kicking Horse Valley spans the Continental Divide!  Saw the famous Spiral [railroad] Tunnels, built to compensate for steep grades through the valley Kicking Horse Pass Spiral Tunnels.

 

Spiral Tunnels, Kicking Horse Pass, British Columbia, Yoho National Park

Sprinked all the way to Jasper.  Listened to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire en route.  We saw numerous elk and Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, and one bear - couldn't miss the bear, as there was a traffic jam of buses, RVs, cars and trucks stopped to view it, and the intrepid (stupid) people out of their safe vehicles to photograph it.

Stopped at the Columbia Icefields to climb up to the Athabasca glacier - think cold and rainy, but beautiful.  Canadians are apparently not in denial about climate change and global warming, as there are numerous signs indicating the glacier's retreat since 1925, and kiosks noting the impacts of climate change on glaciers. 

Athabasca Glacier, Alberta

 The photo below shows that the glacier has retreated from the marker in the foreground to its present location since 1992.

Glacial retreat at the Athabasca Glacier, Alberta

Luke at the Columbia Icefield, Alberta

Encountered light snow near Nigel Pass!  Made it to Jasper in time for a fast food dinner (sorry, Kink) and a quiet evening of television (TV?  Moi?).  Gorgeous views from every point in town, much like Banff!  And very nice accommodations at the Miette Guest House - a completely different type of hostel from the Hi Alpine Center.