Thursday 28th June - To Banff

Today was a glorious sunny day and we left Jasper in all its splendour for Banff. The drive along Highway 93 is 180mls/288kms miles and it is very important to get "tanked up" as there are no petrol stations, shops, restaurants, cafes or motels along this route. The only place to stop is the Columbia Icefield Centre. I read that it is one of the "National Geographical" top ten drives in the world. It certainly did not disappoint.We stopped first at The Athabasca Falls, the Athabasca River's blue waters funnel into a chasm and break into a rapid of white water, with Mount Kerkeslin as a backdrop.
Today we saw numerous bears foraging at the roadside, as appealing as they look you have to remember that they are quite dangerous.
Following the Sunwapta River, we  climbed the height of the Sunwapta Pass, 2035mtrs.(This is the southern end of Jasper National Park.) There was a trickle of water on the valley floor and he snow was thick on the mountains - the air was noticeably colder.  In a few short miles the landscape seemed so diverse from Jasper. The Columbia Icefield and The Athabasca Glacier left us in awe. The ice has receded 100metres since 1985. I was not dressed appropriately and so stayed in the car at the edge of the glacier.Neil walked up to it and the guide had declared the glacier to be as deep as the Eiffel Tower is tall. Staggering statistics. We lunched at The Icefields Centre, where tours can be booked for helicopter rides and the all-terrain vehicle which will take you on the glacier.

 

Check out the car park

After lunch we made our descent, the pass was full of hairpin bends that could be seen from the great 

height and the cars looked like they were on a Scalextric. A bear walked right in front of our car to cross the road and then we came across a herd of Bighorn Sheep. We stopped to watch the sheep for a while. One of the smaller ones was not as sure footed and as it tried to climb the shale it kept slipping downwards. Eventually, one of the older and wiser ones helped it by supporting it on its back. Quite a sight to see. A real family effort!

Our next point of interest on this magnificent day was Bow Glacier, which is around 23miles from Lake Louise.Bow Glacier is an outflow glacier from the Wapta Icefield which rests along the Continental Divide. Run off from the glacier supplies water to Bow Lake and the Bow River.

 

 We arrived at our next stop, Charlton's Cedar Court, at 6p.m. and we would stay here for the next two nights. We booked the hotel by phone from Jasper by opening a magazine and picking it at random. This proved to have been a good choice. After emailing family and freshening up we headed into Banff by bus to eat at Tommy's neighbourhood pub. The evening was bright and sunny and we ate outside. 

We returned to the hotel  by bus and once we got off we waited for the driver to move on before we pressed for the Pelican crossing. Well, the driver got off the bus, pressed the button and lights came on in the road surface which marked out a safe passageway! Almost like airport landing lights. The driver then stood in the middle of the road, stopping  any potential drivers and waved us across! Such service.

A fabulous day, with such diverse scenery all in some 180miles.