Icefields Parkway

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For our last full day in Canada, we decided to hire a car that we could drive to Calgary the next day for our flight. I was so keen for a car so we could drive the Icefields Parkway, one of the most scenic routes in the world. We were up early to pick up the car. Our two dorm mates (one Aussie and one French) both had planned to see Lake Louise the same day we wanted to drive the Parkway, so we suggested they come with us and it ended up being an awesome road trip.

Driving the car initially was one of the most trippy things I've ever done lol. Everthing in the car was opposite, and then I had to drive on the wrong side of the road. We were super lucky as I'd booked a compact car but we were upgraded to a brand new suv. So with my brain in overdrive trying to navigate the roads and traffic, we set off for Lake Louise. There'd been lots of snow up at the lake so when we arrived, we threw a few snowballs and ran through the white fluffiness. So pretty! And crunchy 😊 We trudged through the snow over to the lake and none of us clicked that it would still be completely frozen over hahaha. We had great views of a big snowy field lol. We got some pretty cool pictures though with the mountains in the background.

Our two dorm mates decided the lake wasn't enough to hold their attention for the day so they decided to come with us for the rest of the day. We got back on the highway and exited onto the parkway, number 93. Not far ahead we had to stop and purchase a pass as we would be driving through Banff and Jasper national parks. The Icefields Parkway is absolutely stunning. I cannot even describe the prettiness of this drive. We stopped often for photos. It was so cold and snowy, but we had so much fun. Winding through the mountains was seriously such a treat and we were all in awe. We saw glaciers, more frozen lakes, frozen waterfalls, canyons and mountains at every turn. We stopped by the Columbia Icefields but it was so windy snowy and freezing that we could only manage to jump out of the car for a few photos before piling back in. I would love to come back and see this place in summer.

We drove all the way to Jasper and looked around before we got a bite to eat, then made the long drive back to Banff. We didn't mind though, it was such a beautiful drive. We were gone the entire day, arriving back in Banff around 8pm. It was my first time driving on the right hand side of the road, plus through snow and icy conditions, so I am pretty proud of myself haha. We are planning on hiring a car again in America to drive from Vegas to New York, so this was good practice!

Ciao for now.

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