My Day 8 – Arctic Expedition – Icefields Parkway

Subject:  My Day 8 – Arctic Expedition – Icefields Parkway

Today we were on one of the most amazing scenic drives of all time.  This drive should be on your bucket list; plus it is way more fun doing it on a Jeep. The three of us in jeeps made for some great pictures not only by us but by many tourists that were somehow drawn to our tough looking jeeps – some even posed with the jeep in the picture.

The Icefields drive includes Banff hot springs, Columbia Icefield Athabasca Glacier, Jasper National Park and an amazing amount of wildlife and scenery to see.  The drive entry fee is about $9.00.  Earlier before getting to our hotel in Jasper (Sawridge) I saw an elk.  Earlier we saw a small herd of wild sheep by the road that entertained us with the little ones suckling their mother goat.  Also prior to that a bear stopped an entire string of cars and made for some good photo shoots. 

We also went on the great Columbia Icefield glacier adventure tour in a $1.2 million vehicle that looks like a bus but drives like a snowmobile on the glacier.  The Icefields Parkway showed us waterfalls, emerald lakes, alpine meadows plus the Great Divide of the Canadian Rockies.  The parkway follows the headwaters of three major rivers and is considered one of the largest accumulations of ice and snow south of the Arctic Circle.  Eight different glaciers feed this area plus the melt water that feeds the streams and rivers believe or not pour directly into the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific oceans.    

Last night I camped out but tonight I am sharing a room at a pretty luxurious hotel in Jasper, Canada.  At the Jacuzzi I ran across a couple from the UK who rode a sightseeing train for three days to get here.  Their journey by bus tomorrow will take them to Lake Louis then its back on the train they go. 

The broke down crew of Mike and John are now on scene after driving most of the night to get here to meet us.  Broke down because Mike had a little radiator hose issue and broke down before he had to be towed not too long before that due to a stuck thermostat. 

The Trawlercat jeep is still running great and gets lots of looks on the road.  I’m peppering up the side windows with bumper stickers from all the sights. 

See you on the trail! 

Trawlercat