Sam And Saundra's Year Long Adventure - Part 115

Sam And Saundra’s Year Long Adventure – Part 115

Canada

6/7/09 – The Icefields Highway, Alberta, Canada

We leave the campground here in Lake Louise and cannot help but compare it to National Campgrounds back home.  I think Canada is doing well by putting money into these parks, drawing people from around the world.  Almost every camping rig is rented by non-Canadians.  The cost is very, very reasonable for the services received.  We have not even seen a ‘washroom’ without paper of any sort.  Ever since entering Canada, we have seen bear-proof garbage cans on almost every turnout on the road and in the campgrounds.  Not a one is over-flowing, but they are regularly used.  We are very impressed. 

The Sign

Up Highway 93 we go – the Icefields Highway.  Just outside of town is a large Winter Travel Conditions sign.  The choices listed are: Good, Fair, Poor, and Closed. The green light is on good, so we are confident. Just on the other side of the sign it starts snowing.  Nice big flakes.  It is not 32 degrees, but it is still snowing.  Soon, it is sticking to the trees, bushes, grass, and ground. Not on the roads yet. Many of the mountains are just faint outlines through the snow screen. Stunning scenery all around. I start humming Christmas songs.  Sam just smiles. That may be because he was happy I was not singing. We pass lakes, ponds and creeks that are almost totally frozen. The Rocky Mountains at her best.  The road is open year round, according to a ranger, and as long as there is not snow sticking to the roads, a wonderful place to have your RV. You definitely would not see this by jet.

The Snow

The snow slows, but the clouds remain, gripping the mountain tops.  Once in a while, we see glaciers way up high, but the clouds are greedy today and not sharing.  It seems that where there are mountains with snow, beginning in the spring, you have many bodies of water.  Water is either plunging from the heights, trickling down the slopes, pooling at any low place, or raging wherever. We see lots of moisture. We start losing some altitude and see a sign “Saskatchewan Crossing Warden Station”.  We have no idea what that is or where it is, as we saw nothing else. The traffic has been extremely sparse.  Sam is not complaining. The mountains come out of hiding and are out to grab our attention from the road conditions.

Parker Ridge

Parker Ridge Climbers

We see a sign for the Rampart Creek Hostel, but the turn to it was blocked off. We see a few vehicles parked at a turnout with an information board, called Parker Ridge.  This area has hiking trails that go pretty much ‘up’ a snowing mountain right at highway edge.  We read the sign, looked up and could make out tree different hiking groups going up the snowy mountain.  I assume because it was there.  I was able to get pictures of all three groups and again, was glad I was getting back into the warmth Brutus provides.  We go on down the road, just to stop at a turnoff that allows us to get a good view of some of the Columbia Glacier Fields.  This is apparently the headwaters of the Columbia River that flows right by Portland, Oregon – pang of homesickness.  We were able to see glacier ‘buses’ that are set up to go right out onto some of the lower glaciers.  Needless to say – awesome it is.

Columbia River Ice Fields

We continue our adventure, stopping a few miles down the road to take about fifty pictures of a big black bear that was munching at the side of the road giving us the opportunity to take pictures.  So we did. We make it to Jasper and again choose to stay at the National Park Campground.  The road we have been on from Banff to Jasper – the Icefields Highway – is claimed by some to be the most beautiful stretch of road in the world.  My words just do not do it justice, as the beauty of everything just hits you visually all the time.  Not one foot of this road goes by without your eyes calling to your heart to “Oh!! Look at that!!!” You just have to see it yourself. 

Another Bear, An Another, Oh - Another