Author: Amy Kline

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Jasper National Park

Amy Kline

Thursday. We drove about 90 minutes north to Jasper to explore this awesome quaint little tourist town. We first ate delicious pizzas at the Jasper Pizza Place where we sat at their rooftop tables to enjoy the view. Next, we went to the historic train station and then boys relaxed and watched trains while I did a little shopping. So nice! We got some cinnamon rolls from the Bear Paw Bakery for the next morning, and each boy got a souvenir ring from the rock and gem store. On the way back to the campsite, we stopped at Athabasca Falls to see the continuation of the glacier that we saw yesterday. The power of water is amazing!

Once we were back, Carson and Jeff made pasta and then we packed up for an early start the next day.

  • I ate this entire pizza by myself! So good!
  • Carson trying to make his own duck lips as he mocks a certain rubber ducky.
  • Of course, The boys made Jeff pose with it too.
  • A steam train in Jasper. Jeff can post all the details for anyone interested.
  • We went to an awesome Rock and Gem Store. Here are some Jasper (not sure if these rocks are actually found locally though).
  • Jasper. Touristy shops but no where near the crowds as Banff.
  • It was actually quite a walk to look at all the places around the Falls.
  • Water carved all of that! Amazing!
  • Part of the abandoned channel at Athabasca Falls
  • The water still has a lot of rock particles in it from the glaciers so it runs kind of white and blue as the light refracts off the dust.
  • Athabasca Falls
  • Jeff taught Carson how to tell when the noodles are done. Al dente!
  • A totem pole. This one tells a story from top downward.
  • Steps downward in a side channel that the falls no longer goes through. So stairs were built so we could see the bottom of the Falls.
  • The layout of the Wilcox Campground. It is basically on the sides of a mountain so each row is about 10 feet above the row below it. We were on site 41.
  • We put the hammock up here and I sat and read for an hour or so until the mosquitos began to eat me alive.
  • View from the hammock.
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Columbia Icefield and very remote campground

Amy Kline

Wednesday morning we packed up and left the campsite to head north. The campgrounds we were hoping for were first-come, first serve so we wanted to get there early to get a site.

We stopped at Lake Louise for gas, but since we had the camper with us, we didn’t try to get to the lake because just the town was swarming with vehicles and people and parking would be impossible. So we added it to the future bucket list and kept going.

We scored a great site at the first campground we looked at, Wilcox Campground and got set up by 1pm. Then we headed a few more kilometers north to the Athabaska Glacier and Glacier Discovery Center. Amazing! We walked very near the toe of the glacier. In the Glacier Discovery Center, we learned that the Columbia Icefield feeds glaciers whose waters eventually run into the Pacific, Arctic and the Hudson Bay. Wow!

While we were there, we had a delicious meal and connected to WiFi for a couple minutes. Carson dropped his retainer, but realized it as we were browsing the gift shop and luckily it was on the floor by the table we had eaten at. Whew! No need to dig through the garbage!

  • Gratuitous train picture. The Railroad basically built up the western half of this continent, so the roads were built right next to the trains. Jeff loves it of course.
  • There were huge mountain ranges, many snow capped peaks on either side of the highway. Mountains as far as the eye can see.
  • The blue tint is the glacial lakes are the light catching on the silt in the water.
  • The trail to the edge of the glacier. All the land we are walking on was dropped by the glacier as it recedes.
  • Hardy little flowers growing up through the rocks.
  • Family photo by Athabasca Glacier
  • The glacier has receded quite a bit since 2006.
  • Cool rock.
  • Another cool rock.
  • The scraping on this rock was done by the water and rocks inside the glacier.
  • Strange flowers.
  • Cairn. Anytime you see rocks in a park, people build cairns.
  • The Colombian Icefield provides water for three watersheds.
  • The campsite was so remote. Not one bit of cell signal in the whole area. Very steep also, as each campground road was basically a switchback on the side of the mountain.

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Banff

Amy Kline

Exploration day in Banff. We started off the day going horseback riding. Carson has been wanting to for a couple years and there was a ranch just outside of the campground. What a fun experience! The guides were awesome and the horses were well behaved.

After that we drove into Canmore to pick up some groceries and had McDonalds for the first time on this trip. Then we headed up to Banff Town. Beautiful but oh so many people everywhere! We stopped at Banff Springs Hotel to recreate a photo of Jeff’s grandparents there in 1941. It is an actual castle as you can see. Wow!

Next, we visited the Banff Upper Hot Springs and dipped our feet in the hot water. Fascinating! One last stop to see the train station (Jeff loves trains) and then back to the campsite for “camping mac and cheese” for dinner.

  • Carson was beyond excited to ride a horse!
  • Carson’s horse was named Pinkie. She was a “sneaky snacker” and was really good at nabbing a mouthful of grass before Carson noticed and pulled on her reins.
  • Santana was my horse. Very sweet horse.
  • Spencer’s horse was named Chili. Santana is his mother.
  • Shanelle and Emily were awesome guides. Friendly and knowledgeable and very patient with the boys.
  • Such a fun time!
  • We survived! And now the boys want to go horse back riding again soon.
  • This horse saw us walk up and came right over to get a pat on the nose.
  • The boys were captivated by the horses.
  • The McDonald’s in Canada has Poutine!
  • Coolest crosswalk ever. The stop lights are fixed so all cars stop at the same time and all the walkers can cross, including crosswalks that go across the road diagonally. Much more efficient I think!
  • Nice Shower house
  • The view outside the shower house. The sun had set by us, but had not yet set on the mountain.
  • Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. Very castle like. And it has amazing views of the mountains.
  • Jeff’s grandparents were here in 1941. We recreated the photo in the same spot.
  • Jeff’s grandparents stayed here in 1941. We had the photo and found the exact spot we think.
  • The Queen’s portrait was hanging in the stairway.
  • One of the halls we walked by.
  • The view from one of the balconies
  • We dipped our feet in the hot springs on the little path in front of the building, right as it came out of the earth. It was hot tub temperature. Ahhhhhhhh
  • Carson loves this and wanted to stay a long time.
  • This was the hot springs pool. We spontaneously visited the upper hot springs so did not have our swimming gear with us. Definitely next time though! This water is said to have healing properties due to all the minerals in it.