DrewE's Alaska Trip Travelogue
I returned about a week ago from a marvelous ten-week trip to and through Alaska (and back) with my dear mother. I went in a 32' class C, actually about 35' overall with a bicycle rack on the back, w...
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July 14th and 15th we travelled through Banff and Jasper national parks in Alberta, CA. This was some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere on the trip, and beautiful weather to boot. For July 14th we were fortunate enough to have a reservation for a campsite at Lake Louise, obtained a couple days previously. (It evidently had been a cancellation, as it was the only site anywhere for at least a few days.) July 15th we were in the overflow camping area at Jasper, a few big fields with a few porta-potties and several largish rocks and people plonked down wherever. It actually worked out just fine; the numerous other campers around were generally courteous.
We were also very fortunate to avoid having to deal with smoke or fire through the parks. It would have been a completely different story if we wanted to see them on the way home!
Click For Full-Size Image.
Bow lake, east of Banff (and outside the park); the industrial plant that looks something like a moon base is a cement plant, I believe.
The resort city of Banff has a magnificent setting among the mountains and not a lot of parking. We ended up taking the (free) shuttle from the Minnewanka park and ride lot/overflow camping area, but not after spending some time navigating the streets in hopeful search of an RV parking slot, which was a rather time-consuming ordeal.
Click For Full-Size Image.
Click For Full-Size Image.
From Banff, we took the Bow Valley Parkway to Lake Louise (rather than the main highway). This is a very pleasant drive, with several stops with informational panels along the way. The mountain views are not nearly so constant and expansive as along the Ice Fields Parkway, but they are far from lacking.
Click For Full-Size Image.
Pilot Mountain
Click For Full-Size Image.
Castle Mountain
It was evening when we arrived at the campground, so exploring the village of Lake Louise waited until the following morning. We were entirely content to use the shuttle service to get from the town proper (such as it is) to the Chateau and the actual lake. As in Banff and Jasper, this was definitely the high season for tourists.
Click For Full-Size Image.
Lake Louise (the postcard sort of view)
Click For Full-Size Image.
Lake Louise (what it actually looks like when you're there)
The rest of the day was spent very pleasantly, driving along the Ice Fields Parkway to Jasper. We did have to ration our time stopping somewhat; this whole area is really deserving of more than a couple days. Of course, even a couple of days is far, far better than missing it entirely!
Click For Full-Size Image.
Peyto Lake (from Bow Summit--fisheye view)
Click For Full-Size Image.
Peyto Glacie, which feeds Peyto Lake. The blue and green colors of the rivers and lakes are a result of very fine rock dust (rock flour) ground off by the glacier; this is something that informational panels in various places mentioned numerous times. The other "standard" information we saw repeatedly on various panels dealt with the importance of forest fires to the forest ecosystems.
Click For Full-Size Image.
A typical view along the Ice Fields Parkway. The mountains, if anything, are closer and larger and more magnificent than they look in the photograph.
Click For Full-Size Image.
Athabasca Falls, I think (another wide-angle fisheye shot).
We had a tasty dinner at a restaurant in the town of Jasper before heading in to the campground.
Click For Full-Size Image.
Jasper overflow camping; some smokey haze is visible. We did see a minor bit of smoke towards the end of the day.
We were also very fortunate to avoid having to deal with smoke or fire through the parks. It would have been a completely different story if we wanted to see them on the way home!
Bow lake, east of Banff (and outside the park); the industrial plant that looks something like a moon base is a cement plant, I believe.
The resort city of Banff has a magnificent setting among the mountains and not a lot of parking. We ended up taking the (free) shuttle from the Minnewanka park and ride lot/overflow camping area, but not after spending some time navigating the streets in hopeful search of an RV parking slot, which was a rather time-consuming ordeal.
From Banff, we took the Bow Valley Parkway to Lake Louise (rather than the main highway). This is a very pleasant drive, with several stops with informational panels along the way. The mountain views are not nearly so constant and expansive as along the Ice Fields Parkway, but they are far from lacking.
Pilot Mountain
Castle Mountain
It was evening when we arrived at the campground, so exploring the village of Lake Louise waited until the following morning. We were entirely content to use the shuttle service to get from the town proper (such as it is) to the Chateau and the actual lake. As in Banff and Jasper, this was definitely the high season for tourists.
Lake Louise (the postcard sort of view)
Lake Louise (what it actually looks like when you're there)
The rest of the day was spent very pleasantly, driving along the Ice Fields Parkway to Jasper. We did have to ration our time stopping somewhat; this whole area is really deserving of more than a couple days. Of course, even a couple of days is far, far better than missing it entirely!
Peyto Lake (from Bow Summit--fisheye view)
Peyto Glacie, which feeds Peyto Lake. The blue and green colors of the rivers and lakes are a result of very fine rock dust (rock flour) ground off by the glacier; this is something that informational panels in various places mentioned numerous times. The other "standard" information we saw repeatedly on various panels dealt with the importance of forest fires to the forest ecosystems.
A typical view along the Ice Fields Parkway. The mountains, if anything, are closer and larger and more magnificent than they look in the photograph.
Athabasca Falls, I think (another wide-angle fisheye shot).
We had a tasty dinner at a restaurant in the town of Jasper before heading in to the campground.
Jasper overflow camping; some smokey haze is visible. We did see a minor bit of smoke towards the end of the day.
