Packed Day

This morning, we got up early and left Lake Louise to drive Highway 93 from Lake Louise to Jasper, the Ice Fields Parkway. National Geographic considers it one of the top scenic drives in the world. It's beauty is striking. As we drove, I kept picking up my camera to shoot out the window, then we'd round a corner and there were more towering peaks, each with its own distinct look. Some were sharp and jutting, others looked like castles with a stone wall fortress. I ended up not taking a single picture. We just enjoyed the ride. Our first official stop was the Glacier Skywalk, where glass is all that separates you from a 918-foot (280 m) drop:

There is a similar skywalk over the Grand Canyon, you know, the one that juts out into the canyon and makes you feel like there is nothing between you and the canyon floor? Yeah, same thing.

I am not afraid of heights, but this freaked me out a bit in the beginning. It also sways a little...not cool at all. Tim, who is not a fan of heights, got acclimated quickly! There have been many views that were better than the one from the skywalk. It was just fun to take on the challenge.

From there, we did the glacier walk:

It was a little chilly! 

This was the Athabasca glacier. We were surrounded by several other glaciers as a part of the Columbia Ice Fields. The claim to fame of these particular glaciers is that they flow into three different oceans--Arctic, Pacific, and Atlantic. There is no way, even when you're there, to take in just how big these ice flows are. Pretty cool.

On our way from the glacier walk, we caught our a glimpse of a couple of bear cubs playing around in a tree.

Supposedly, mama bear was down below the tree taking a nap, but we couldn't see her. There were some fools who got out of their car and walked toward the tree. I guess the mama didn't see them as a threat.

We pulled into Jasper, checked into our lodge, and strolled a few streets in town. We landed at Famoso pizza--a small chain in western and central Canada. The pizzas and salads were really good! The white pizza was shaved brussel sprouts, prosciutto crisps, gorgonzola cheese, dates, walnuts, and honey. The red pizza was Italian ham, roasted mushrooms, artichoke hearts, Kalamata olives, and EVOO. They were little seven inch pizza that came with a salad--gorgonzola walnut.

When we got back from dinner, we stretched out a little and started writing this post when the power went out...in the entire town of Jasper! It came back on after about an hour. Thank goodness the weather has been so mild that it didn't heat up the room! The silence was nice. That's it for today!