G'day All,
Today we left Lake Louise and packed up for two days in Jasper. This is the last leg of the trip with Samantha and Oliver before we catch the Rocky Mountaineer train across to Vancouver.
On the way to Jasper we dropped in on a few scenic places along the highway and pulled in for look at Peyto lake before doing the Columbian Icefields glacier tour.
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| Peyto lake |
The icefields are about 200km north of Lake Louise and 100km south of Jasper. We had pre-booked tickets but not a tour time and although we arrived around midday it was a mad house at the booking desk and it was a two and a half hour wait before our tour would depart. So we had a bit of lunch before heading up to stand in line for the tour. Met a couple of Aussie tour guides while waiting to board the coach and had a nice chat. The coaches take you out to edge of the ice field where you jump onto the heavy duty ice buses that take you out onto the glacier.
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| The Ice Bus |
Just as we were about to head down to the glacier the driver informed us that there was going to be a bit of a delay due to one of the vehicles losing some oil which required a clean up before tours could recommence. 30 mins later we headed off, the descent to the glacier is about on par with some of America's steepest, so another 'exciting' moment for Penny ;-) Had a wander over the glacier and learnt a bit along the way, also filled up our water bottles and camel backs with the purest water ever.
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| Standing on the glcier |
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| Looking up the glacier |
From the glacier the tour dropped us off at the skywalk, a viewing platform that juts out from the mountain over a huge void. To make the skywalk even more attractive the floor is made of glass. And Penny thought all the height activities were finished with!
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| The Skybridge |
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| Looking through the floor to the valley floor 1500 ft below |
To her credit Penny put her fears behind her and walked the entire length of the glass bottomed platform and even managed to take a few photos while at it. By about 5 pm we finished the tour and headed to Jasper to catch up with Samantha and Oliver as they left us to do the tour and went on ahead as they had previously done the glacier tour.
Accommodation was at the Bear Hill Lodge in Jasper and it has become obvious that the peak season in Canada is Summer and you pay a premium for the privilege of needing a roof over your head during the peak period. Might look at trying to do the next visit closer to the off season :-)
Cheers
Gary and Penny
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