Athabasca and beyond !

From Lake Louise, we headed north towards Jasper on the Ice fields Parkway, retracing a journey Paul took many years ago in Winter.

The scenery was amazing, with the Rocky Mountains as the backdrop, however due to the continued haze from woodland fires, we really could not see them in their glory. There are hundreds of glaciers atop these mountains, but they were lost in the haze...

The stunningly beautiful Bow Lake was glorious, the colour of the water a vibrant ultramarine due to suspended minerals, and I sincerely wish I could paint, as this for inspiration would be amazing...

We had many stops by gorgeous fast running rivers, and waterfalls, such as the Athabasca Falls...a wide river that converges to a raging torrent through a narrowing, only the spill out to calm waters again only metres later...

By the roadside, we came across a goat, with big curly horns, grazing away merrily.

The Athabasca Glacier was quite amazing. Having cruised to the face of a number of glaciers, both on this trip,and in Patagonia, it was a unique experience to be able to walk to the face of the Glacier, albeit a strenuous one.

We kept driving north, and arrived in Jasper, the town linked with the big black-run dominant ski fields of Marmot Basin. The Rocky Mountaineer had just arrived, as well as a huge amount of buses, so the town was very busy. We stayed at the Chateau Jasper, which was very comfortable.

Cathy spent a few hours at the hotel, and Paul & I drove to Maligne Lake, another beautiful Lake. We did a hike around the lake, which was lovely, before returning to Cathy, and heading to a pub in Jasper for dinner.Read more