Ok so we have now been back from our trip for like a month, and I still have multiple days of trip to write about. I am hoping to slowly get these up since we already have another trip (BWCA) down and have another one (Yosemite) coming up this week. Hopefully the friends family and random people who are interested in our travel will find this blog interesting and useful if you plan a trip to the beautiful Canadian Rockies.
Day 5 centered around our drive from Banff to Jasper along the Icefield Parkway. Stops include Kootenay National Park for some short hikes, Bow Lake for the hike to Bow Glacier which is the source of the Bow River that runs through Banff, Peyto Lake, all sorts of random waterfalls and other lakes, Athabasca Falls and finally Patricia Lake Bungalows where we stayed in Jasper. Stats for the day is over 32k steps and 150 flights of stairs!
We enjoyed a very good breakfast at the Juniper Bistro with this gorgeous view of Banff. The food was amazing. Zach had some sort of egg dish and I had French Toast (somebody really needs to popularize a breakfast dish that has protein and isn't egg based!)
One last view from our hotel before heading out
Very strange sign in downtown Banff. Really do many people ask for help getting a PhD in physics?
Quick stop at Nesters for sandwiches. Nesters is for sure the better grocery store in Banff.
About an hourish drive later we entered Kootenay Park which is one of the lesser visited parks, but still just as beautiful National Parks in the area.
Stop one was the Marble Canyon hike. This was a short 1 mile hike that allowed great views of the super deep Marble Canyon with some interpretive signs. This area had a fire somewhat recently so the landscape was very interesting.
Remnants of recentish fire
Found the Canada Parks red chairs at the far end of the hike
Next stop not to far away was the hike to the paint pots. These were pools that First Nations used to dye clothing and such and that the first white settlers later exploited.
This is a paint pot. Notice all the really red dirt everywhere that was dug up and used for dye.
Final stop in Kootenay was the continental divide
One more time at the Trailhead cafe for some banana bread and coffee. The last place to get decent coffee until we get to Jasper
And this is pretty much what the view looked like the entire way. Lots of trees and mountains
This young bear greeted us as we pulled in for our long hike for the day. He was just hanging out pretty close to the road with a gathering group of people including a parks canada officer trying to prevent people from getting too close.
Bow lake at the start of our hike
First part of hike was flat along the lake with great views all around
Somehow we got really lost and ended up hiking randomly in the woods. Thank goodness for cell phones with offline maps with allowed us to get back to the trail. I think it was close to a total of a mile detour from the clear path we should have gone on.
Once we found the path again it was an uphill climb until we got to the Bow Glacier and Bow Falls. This waterfall is the source of the Bow River which goes through Banff and Calgary.
Dinky chilling near the water as we ate our picnic lunch.
We made it!
View of Bow Lake as we went back the same way.
Next on the stop list is Peyto Lake seen above. Not I didn't photoshop this or anything. This is really what it looks like. There was a short walk there and then a viewing platform. Once the large bus of Asian tourists left it was much more peaceful
Another lake view as we continued north
Next small hike was Mistaya canyon. I don't know how they get such deep canyons here, but it sure is pretty!
Brief stop at Saskatchewan Crossing for really overpriced juice. When I walked into the bathroom here the song Jolene started playing which was a little strange to hear in the middle of nowhere
Weeping wall. Hard to see but there are just waterfalls all over this wall which is right next to the highway.
We saw this mountain goat near the glacier skywalk and scared the poor guy to death. It is actually a sad situation because people warned this was goat habitat before Brewster built this stupid walkway that blocked them in. Both times we ended up seeing goats here and they didn't seem to appreciate being boxed in with the traffic.
Waterfall near the goat sighting just right next to the highway
More great views along the way, although at this point we were starting to hurry because we had to make sure to check in and get food before everything started closing.
Looking for moose and wildlife
Final stop before Jasper was the Athabasca Falls for a short hike. The falls were impressive with lots
of water flowing
A small herd of Elk greeted us as we entered Jasper
Hello Jasper, or base for the next 3 nights
Cute but skitish dog that belongs to owner of Patricia Lake Bungalows
Check in area
Our room seems great! Lots of privacy and room plus a fireplace!
We quickly unloaded then headed back into town for dinner (at this point it was nearing 10 pm). We ate at the Jasper Brewery which had lots of good beer options
Real Poutine which was pretty good, although anytime you have french fries covered in cheese and gravy it is bound to be good.
We split a salad and the brat dish shown below. Good choice as the salad was quite good and healthy while the brats were quite good but decidedly unhealthy.
Finally back to our room for the night to enjoy the fireplace and plan for the next day's adventures.
