Icefields Parkway – incredible mountains
My plan yesterday was to reach my daughter’s in Airdrie (a few miles north of Calgary) by noon, so I was away from the Mount Robson Inn at 05:30.
The last time I was on the Icefields Parkway was about 1970, so all I really knew about it was that it had great scenery and relatively gentle grades. I’m no stranger to great mountains, but the rocks along this highway are incredibly beautiful and powerful. The next I do this route will be with Cathy and at least 2 days to spend on the 233 km between Jasper and the junction with Highway 1 west of Banff.
A herd of elk was a nice start to the day.
It’s actually a good thing that the weather wasn’t great or it would have been extremely difficult to rush through. There were some wonderful glimpses of the possibilities, and lots of “moody mountain” photo ops, though.
Columbia Icefield, with my Outback sitting in front of one of the snowcats that are used to drive tourists across the glacier. I didn’t go into the magnificent Icefield Center but there were already 7 tour buses there.
This wild thunderstorm hit just as I was getting out of the mountains.
Heading east to hit Highway 1A, a very scenic shortcut to Airdrie. This picture was taken 12 minutes after the one of the thunderstorm!
Highway 1A.
I arrived at Andrea’s at noon as planned. During our afternoon wanders we went to a new Bass Pro store a few miles south. I’m sorry that I hadn’t brought my camera – the place is mind-boggling. Have a look at the photos at the store’s site.
Last night, Andrea and I went to a lacrosse game, the first for both of us. It was an NLL Western Division Final between the Calgary Roughnecks and the San Jose Stealth. Calgary pounded San Jose 16-3 (it was 13-0 at the start of the 4th quarter). It’s a good sport to watch (as good as hockey), and the performance is very cool – lights, loud music, fans screaming. I’m a looooong way from the Yukon right now.
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