~A Short Interlude (aka no strategy here, but please enjoy my beautiful country)~
Day 2 Sightseeing - Alberta's Mountains Edition
Our group's first stops today were exclusively geared towards the beautiful mountain parks of Alberta. Namely, Banff and Jasper with a small taste of the lesser known Waterton Lakes. Fun fact, each of these parks is home to a historic "castle" hotel built by the Fairmont chain to service luxury passengers on the railway tours around the turn of the century (Banff NP actually has two castles! The Chateau Lake Louise and the Banff Springs). Two of those "castles" can be appreciated below.
Starting from Banff, the coach wound it's way up to Lake Louise, which still falls within Banff National Park (Canada's first national park! Established in 1885 - 3rd national park in the world!). Lake Louise is one of the most photographed lakes in all of Canada, and 15000 people will come through every day during peak months. Not into crowds? During the winter they hold ice sculpture festivals along the lake shore, along with skating, to entertain more local visitors. The lake was originally named Ho-Run-Num-Nay (meaning lake of little fishes) by Stoney natives that had settled in the area. I would recommend against swimming! As the lake is glacier fed (hence it's beautiful colour!), it never gets about 5 degrees! If you're lucky and buy your tickets in advance, you might get a seat on the bus up to Moraine Lake. Many arguments have been had about which lake is truly superior.
After leaving Lake Louise, the group would head up the Icefields Parkway. This is often considered one of the most scenic drives in North America and is typically closed during the winter months. Along the way you can stop and see many waterfalls, appreciate the views, go for a hike, or hop in one of the glacier busses and go for a tour of the Columbia Icefields! It's truly otherworldly up there.
At the end of the Icefields Parkway, you'll find Jasper National Park. It is Canada's largest national park in the rockies and famous for Maligne Lake with it's Spirit Island. There are also almost 1000 km of maintained trails in this park. Wonderful to visit overnight, Jasper is part of a dark sky preserve and you can see more of the night sky here than in most other places. Some of the recommended sights are, of course, Maligne Lake and Canyon, Mount Edith Cavell, Athabasca Falls, and the Jasper Skytram.
Our final stop after a bit of bus hopping magic in the totally opposite direction is a personal favourite of mine, Waterton Lakes National Park. This park is well known as "where the prairies meet the mountains". Due to unique geography, there are no foothills in this area. So the prairies literally give way to soaring peaks. This has also created interesting geology and some of the oldest exposed bedrock in North America. The smallest park in the Rockies, don't let its size fool you. This is one of Alberta's most ecologically diverse regions. It has in the past few years been devastated by both a flood and a few years later a fire, but it's beauty is eternal.
Please enjoy these pictures and build a desire to come and visit when COVID is over:
Jasper National Park:
Icefields Parkway:
Lake Louise/Moraine Lake:
Waterton National Park:
