Banff and Jasper National Parks

Today we were all over Alberta's national parks, Banff and Jasper. It started off too foggy/rainy to do much, but later in the day we were able to take some short hikes. The weather was a bit of a shock, going from our usual 75 or so degrees down to 45 because we were in the mountains. I even had to bust out my winter coat at one point. Besides for not having blue skies for pictures, though, it actually made for better hiking.

We're in Canada! (I'm still excited; this is my first time in Canada. My clearest impression, other than the beautiful scenery, is how nice everyone is. I mean, like super nice. It's awesome.)


I can't remember which mountain/lake this is, but it's pretty!


Bow Lake below. [Edit: I got the name of this lake wrong; it's actually Peyto Lake.] We hiked up an enormous hill (the path was paved, thank god) and kept huffing and puffing and hoping it was worth it. Needless to say, it was. The glacier that feeds the lake is to the left, receding so much that you don't even notice it until an exhibit points it out. To the right, far in the distance, you can see other glacial lakes as well. The water is so turquoise because of all the silt from the glaciers.


Athabasca Glacier on the Columbia Icefield. The little black dot on the glacier is an ice tour bus you can take. We didn't stick around here because there were way too many people and we've already seen glaciers, and are going to see tons more in Alaska.


Athabasca Falls:


Mount Robison, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies at over 12,000 feet. Unfortunately, we couldn't see the top through all the clouds, but it still made for a nice view.


Today was the last day we had any serious sightseeing/touristy things planned. After this, it will be mostly just driving driving driving until we reach Alaska. Internet access may get less reliable once we reach the Yukon, but I'll update as much as possible.