Banff and Jasper Nat'l Parks and into BC

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All six coaches gathered in Cochrane, Alberta, just west of Calgary. On June 18 we headed to Banff National Park. We spent two nights in the park campground, had a couple of happy hours and a pot luck dinner together; and everyone got to know each other a little better. The Banff area is just gorgeous with huge mountains, glacial lakes and lots of evergreen forests. We saw elk and a black bear.

On June 20, we headed north through Jasper National Park. The drive provided the most spectacular scenery we have ever encountered--the beautiful Canadian Rockies. Huge snow and glacier-covered mountains, wide river valleys with milky emerald and turquoise waterways coursing through. The milky water is from “rock flour” or glacial sediment that is suspended in the water. No billboards were evident and “traffic” was sparse. However, when we got to the Columbia Icefields, there were lots of tour buses and other vehicles in the Visitors Center parking lot. There are also snow buses that take visitors up to the glacier, where they can walk on the ice. We could see them with binoculars from the Visitors Center balcony.

On June 21, we headed northwest to just past Dawson Creek, BC, known as “Mile Zero” of the Alaska Highway. Again, we marveled at the gorgeous mountains and wide expanses of forest. We saw signs of gas drilling and logging along the way. We also spotted a grizzly bear on the side of the road. He didn’t seem too happy to see us as we slowed down to take a look, but he thought better of it and ambled away.
Of course, we weren't on point with the camera and missed the shot!

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Photos

Banff Black Bear
First bear spotted on this trip

Johnson Canyon
Mini-hike to a pretty waterfall

Crowfoot Glacier
One of the three "toes" is now missing (lower left area)

Five of Six Rigs
Parked at the Visitors Center of the Columbia Icefields

Canadian Rockies
Another glorious look at the mountains

Snow Buses on Glacier
Tiny dot is a snow bus; tinier dots in rear are more snow buses

Zoomed Snow Bus
This is a close-up of the bus from the previous picture

Cascading Glacier
View from the bus window as we drove past

The Alaska Highway
Following Dee and Kathy to Jasper