I teased this post May 21, last year…well better late than never ;). After a quick trip up to Edmonton after we sold everything for a specialist appointment and to see Chris’ Aunt and Uncle before we made our way to Jasper and ultimately down around the 93 back to Calgary. I’ve never been and I think Chris had maybe been when he was younger. The drive from Edmonton to Jasper was kind of meh but once we were there the drive was worth it. Jasper, to me, is much nicer than Banff. Maybe because it’s smaller and we were there between seasons and it wasn’t over run with tourists like us ;). The scenery is beautiful, the locals are nice and there is plenty to see, eat and drink. We went for a bike ride and rode past some wildlife then stopped for a hike which was interrupted by a bear in the area. As we were hiking up another couple was coming down and had come into too close for comfort proximity of a bear on the trail. Needless to say we turned around and headed down back to our bikes.
After a couple nights in Jasper we made our way down to the Columbia Icefields. I remember going as a kid and Chris had never been. This is by far the most scenic drive either of us have made (until we drive the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia :)). We took one of the big busses to walk on the glacier, the guide said the tours will only be possible for about another 8 years and then it will have shrunk out of reach. After the glacier we walked out on the skywalk platform, pretty cool and not too scary ;). If you haven’t been, do it!
