Icefields Parkway to Calgary

We had a lovely night at the local pub, the atmosphere was convivial and upbeat.  Not sure whethere they we travellers or locals congregating.  It felt like locals.  Up at 8am and on the road again, today we do the same road in reverse, so we travel back to Banff and take a left to Calgary - where we will catch a flight to Winnipeg.

You would think that the road is a bit same same, but you are looking at the view you had in the rearview mirror so quite different.  The day is cold and clear.  

Leaving Jasper, we are reminded of the devastation of the wild fires, the snow storm that we drove through yesterday has sprinkled it's whiteness all over the charred landscape and the contrast is quite beautiful.  Chuck is on again, and he does his commentary in reverse.  Most of it is repeated but easy to skip.  The Athabasca Glacier and Columbia Icefield, is the only "must do" according to Chuck that we missed yesterday - due to the snowstorm.  Our luck with the weather is with us again and the sun is shining.  We are quite early, so no buses are running but as a result we have the place to ourselves.  It is freezing, as the Icefield produces it's very own weather system with the katabatic winds making the real feel about 6ºc lower.  Brrrrrrrr.

Mum took the bus onto the Glacier and loved it, we make the walk half way to the Glacier toe, observing how much it has receded in our lifetimes, it is quite shcoking.  This image below shows you the lines where it came up to in the respective years.

Then it is back on the road again, Chuck is very pleased that we stopped here.  We soon exit Jasper National Park and enter back into Banff National Park.  The roads are quiet, however, we are driving into the sun which makes it really glarey and quite difficult for John to drive.  I am pleased to report that he did an excellent job and we made it safely to Banff, for a lunch stop.

As you can see there has been quite a bit of overnight snow - the gritters are out and it is cold outside.  After those katabatic winds, we have our seat heaters on and John has the steering wheel heater on - lush!  As we leave Banff, it isn't long before we meet Canada's three sisters.  For those not in Aus, we have three sisters in the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney, which looks similar to the Canadian version.  We then leave the mountains and have rolling hills and then flat plains.

This is the end of our Rocky Mountains leg of the trip, we have all absolutely loved it and it has exceeded our expectations in every way.  We now fly from Calgary to Winnipeg.  The flight has been delayed an hour as planes couldn't land due to extreme winds.  Bring on the 2 day train trip to Churchill with no internet or cell reception - so it will be all quiet for a while.  

Hope you enjoy the peace and quiet.