#113. One More National Park...and a Glacier!!

As if we hadn't seen enough already, our final couple of days were packed with more adventure!  Six gorgeous lakes (Minnewanka, Moraine, Louise, Emerald, Bow, Peyto) clearly weren't enough so we decided to check out...

Day 6 (Jasper National Park):  Maligne Lake 

...Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park!!

We opted for the morning boat cruise...

...and hopped on this vessel and headed off. 

The early morning light...

...made for some majestic scenery.  

You know you're in Canada when...

the views are this breathtaking.

We eventually reached our destination of Spirit Island and learned alot about the sacred significance of the area to the Stoney/Nakoda indigenous tribes.

What an unbelievable backdrop!

From the shore we could see a beautiful mountain range in view,...

...but the highlight was taking in different vantage points...

...of the tiny island and the alpine scenery surrounding it.  

I swear this picture isn't photoshopped!

Isniyes (prounounced ish-nee-ish...Stoney for 'thank you') Spirit Island for a great morning!!

Back on shore, we met some of the movers and shakers of this part of Jasper National Park...

...before we headed out on a hike to search for moose.  

We tiptoed quietly (moose are elusive and often require silence to be seen), despite other obnoxious hikers on the trail!

The scenery was lovely...

...but, sadly, this is the closest we got to seeing a moose.  

After wrapping up the highlight of the day...

...we headed back to Jasper Town.  Sadly, we the canyon we planned to visit was still closed due to the 2024 wildfires...  

...but we did see a bonus 8th lake..Medicine Lake.  This lake fills from glaciers in the late spring and drains/disappears in the fall.  

We drove through one of the most devastated areas and saw the remains of a once vibrant forest.

It was upsetting to see 'black' mountains in the distance.  

Back in Jasper town, we parked the car...

...and toured the tiny town.  

We opted for a Jasper pub crawl with a first stop at the Jasper Brewing Company!

It was a lot of fun snacking outdoors in the middle of this mountain town.  

We had a bit of a walk to our next stop,...

...but soon arrived at Whisky Jack for leg 2 of the crawl.  

These two love a fun pub crawl!!

Our last stop was the Raven for dinner.  We dined al fresco, of course!

Day 7 (Jasper National Park):  Glaciers Galore!

As much fun as we were having in Jasper, it was time to head back towards Banff and finish off a great vacation.  With the help of ChatGPT, we set out on an early morning safari in attempts to find wildlife!

Within minutes, we came to an area (near a camper/RV park) with dozens of elk!!

Truth be told, these were the only animals we saw on our trek...

...but they sure were cool to watch as they grazed in the early morning.

We got pretty close to this one!!

After checking out of our hotel, we began the jounrey back towards Banff...

...and made a stop at the Athabasca Glacier.

Sad story, we learned this glacier once covered the majority of this photo.  It's shrinking fast.

They told us this parking lot (where we parked) once was the glacier.  

The best way to see a glacier is to get up close is to take the Terra Bus.  So, we waited our turn before boarding...

...this beast!!  Only 24 of these glacier climbers exist in the world, and 22 of them are in Canada at the Athabasca Glacier.  

We sloooooowly made our away up and down the STEEP terrain in vehicle #546...the one labeled with the goose.  

Once we reached the ice, we got out and enjoyed the windy & slippery surroundings.  

It was tough getting around, because a lot of the ice was melting and slick,...

...but we slid our way to the Canadian flag!

Sadly, this will all be gone in our lifetimes.  

Before leaving the area, we bussed over to the Columbia Icefield Glacier Skywalk.  

The skywalk is a bit of an unflattering structure, and several locals to us to skip it (but it was part of our tour package)!

We learned more about the glacier's recession,...

...and enjoyed the views...  

...from the elevated viewpoint.

We even spotted some wildlife on the steep terrain below...this little bighorned sheep!

Soon, it was time to say goodbye to the glacier and head back towards Banff.

So, we hit the road and enjoyed the gorgeous drive from a couple days before...

...(outside of nap time!).

Day 8 (Banff National Park):  One Last Day in Banff

You know you're back in Banff when you drive through town with the enormous mountains in view!

There wasn't much left for us to see...but we did tally another water fall!

A 20-minute walk to edge of town landed us at Bow Falls...

...and one last waterfall photo!

We spent most of the afternoon souvenir shopping, and pub crawling at places like the Elk & Oarsmen.  

The views were great,...

...the card playing was intense,...

...and the poutine was...as delicious a poutine can be!

For closure, we headed to the Vermillion Lakes to watch the sunset...

...and the gorgeous reflection of Mount Rundle in the lake.  

We enjoyed one last moment...

...to be spoiled by what was in front of us!!

The next morning we drove back to Calgary and headed home.  I'm not sure we will ever be somewhere with more beautiful landscape than the Canadian Rockies...but that won't stop us from trying!!