As we headed north out of Lake Louise we had to stop at Herbert Lake again – this time there was a lovely reflection. We only had 233km to go to Jasper, so no rush.
Next we stopped at Bow Lake for views of Crowfoot Glacier behind it.
Then onto the lovely turquoise coloured Peyto Lake – can you see the dog / wolf?
Then as we were driving through an open valley we saw a black bear cub running along the riverside. We pulled over which attracted others to stop but we couldn’t see it. Then as we’d all given up Pete suddenly saw the cub right below us. How gorgeous!
Next stop was following people down a river canyon, possibly called Coleman Creek. We got chatting to a fab retired couple who travel most of the year apart from when they pop back to Bend, Oregon for doctor’s appointments etc. And then the rain started.
We stayed at a campsite at Wilcox just over the Sunwapta Pass at 2030m in altitude so we both snuggled up under the duvet that night. It did mean that we got to see the Athabasca Glacier the next morning without too many tourists and blue skies. Just amazing, shame the glaciar is retreating so fast.
We saw how the Asian tourists did it – bus onto the glaciar followed by a walk around the glass skywalk. These tours are not cheap. We’ve walked on glaciers before so were happy to just watch from afar.
Next we visited the Sunwapta Falls and then the Athabasca Falls showing the amazing result of erosion by water.
We decided to press on past Jasper and visit Maligne Lake as we had a good weather window before a few days of forecast rain. We made some dinner in the picnic area and then once the tourist cruises had stopped for the day we inflated Rubber Duckie and off I set.
I planned to kayak up the lake a way but only a couple of kilometres into it I saw a mum and baby moose in the water eating pond weed.
They checked me out every now and then but seemed pretty relaxed. They’d take some time out on the beach to dry out and then come back into the water for more food.
The mum could hold her breath for quite a long time and the she’d resurface and give her head a big shake making her huge ears flap from side to side – so cute! I paddled a bit past and they were still there on my return. I found it funny that some people on the lakeside opposite, who could have seen these animals, were so busy doing star jumps for Instagram etc that they were oblivious to their presence. Their loss !
On the way back to Jasper we stopped at Medicine Lake to see lovely reflections but also an owl who was hunting for her evening feed.
The next morning we saw the chick in the nest of a pair of bald eagles and then headed in towards Jasper. On the way we walked around Annette Lake where there were some lovely reflections of the mountains.
It started to rain so after some lunch in the van we drove to Jasper. Just as we were leaving we saw some female and young elk just grazing and chilling.
In Jasper we caught up on things like laundry, supermarket and beer shopping etc and took chance to mooch about town. We may also have found a happy hour in a busy pub which made a change.
The following day, in a gap in the rain, we checked out Patricia and Pyramid Lakes. I hope it stayed dry for the wedding booked on the island in Pyramid Lake!
The museum in town was interesting but Pete preferred an afternoon nap.
We saw the Rocky Mountaineer train arrive – red carpets out and everything.
Later in the pub we got chatting to two Aussie blokes who had just been on the train for the day, straight through from Kamloops. They loved the experience but not so much American tourists right by them! We had a great laugh with them and they loved the pub’s men’s urinals!!!!
