Homeward Bound

Day 16 - Today we began our journey homeward. Unfortunately, the smoke was still hanging around and our drive down the first part of the scenic Ice Fields Parkway was filled with a smokey haze. We made a pit stop at the Columbia Ice Fields which had changed alot since I was last there when I was 3 years old. It was interesting to see where the Ice Fields had been over the years. We were not able to walk on them as it was too dangerous. After our stop, we continued on our way and made a picnic pit stop at Peyto Lake (bottom right picture). If you look closely, you can see that the lake is actually shaped like a wolf!!! (We only found out about this fact once we got home.) We continued on our way and made it to Aunty Kathy & Uncle Alvin's (east of Calgary) by supper. We spent a great evening catching up with them as well as my cousin Kristin, her husband Karl and their sweet little girl Madison. Thanks again for your hospitality and letting us crash at your place along the way.

Day 17 - The next morning, Kristin & Karl had us over for breakfast and then we were on our way for a quick stop in Drumheller. The kids loved all of the dinosaurs at the museum and had a great time exploring. After another quick picnic lunch, we continued on our way and made it all the way to Moose Jaw by the evening. We were all exhausted and ordered some pizza and went to bed!

Day 18 - Moose Jaw to Altona!!! We finally made it home just before supper. The kids were amazing travelers! Elroy also jumped into the back seat with them a few times to watch a movie and I successfully took over camper driving duties! After a long day, we were finally home! We had an amazing vacation - created so many wonderful memories, visited with lots of great people and saw a beautiful part of our country!!!
Now . . . where should we go next year?????

Jasper

Day 11 - Today was a travel day. We travelled from Sorrento to Blue River. Along the way, we stopped in Kamloops for some groceries, Clearwater for some fuel and to say hello to our old neighbour Jackson who managed the gas station and then onward to Blue River where we camped for the night.

Day 12 - We packed up camp quickly and got an early start in the morning. Along the way to Jasper we stopped in Valemount to watch the Salmon Run. We saw lots of salmon swimming up stream and also came upon 2 bald eagles looking for a feast. Our next stop before Jasper was Mount Robson. We stopped for a picnic lunch and then did some hiking along the Berg Trail. We arrived in Jasper just before supper and unfortunately the smoke from the forest fires in BC found their way to Jasper as well.

As we were getting some supper ready that evening, the kids were busy making a fort in our campsite using sticks they found on the ground, umbrellas, lawn chair s and blankets. We were all busy doing our own thing, when Mackenzie shouted out that there was an elk in our campsite. Sure enough, sauntering through our site was a young female elk. I quickly grabbed the fresh cantaloupe that was sitting on the picnic table and we all hurried into the camper. The elk walked right past us all and made her way across the road to some trees where she lay down for the night. I guess our campsite was on her route to her bed!!!! After supper we headed into town for some coffee and to do some exploring.

Day 13 - We woke up bright and early ready for our ride on the gondola up Whistler's Mountain. Unfortunately, the smoke from the forest fires was still hanging around, so the view from the top wasn't the best. We still had an amazing time though on top of the mountain. Once we got to the top, we had breakfast at the restaurant and then hiked all the way to the summit. Cole & Mac loved playing and climbing on all of the rocks along the way. It was also very windy up there. Once we got to the top, we found some snow to play in and the kids even built a mini snowman. We also received a call from Grandma Ann on top of the mountain, giving us an update on Grandpa Bern. Cole & Elroy decided to continue hiking to another vista, while Mac and I chose to stay at the top and build mini Inukshuks using the rock that were everywhere. After our hike back down (which was much easier than up), we rode the gondola back down the mountain and headed back into Jasper. My cousin Tab and her daughter Samantha, who live in Edmonton, joined us for lunch as they were passing through on their holiday. We had a great lunch and had a blast catching up.

Later that evening we went for a drive to Athabasca Falls, where we went on a short hike and explored the area surrounding the falls. It was a beautiful evening, and the kids still had an amazing amount of energy to burn off. The falls were extremely powerful and we were able to see how they had carved the landscape over many, many years. After a long and busy day, we headed back to the camper and crashed with a movie.

Day 14 - Today we had two destinations in mind - Maligne Canyon & Maligne Lake. Maligne Canyon involved another hike, which the kids were beginning to get tired of. We told them to suck it up and off we went hiking down into a beautiful canyon.

After our canyon hike we continue down the road to Maligne Lake. Along the way we saw a black bear along the side of the road eating berries. Apparently, most of the tourists did not know how to read and got out of their cars to take pictures of the bear, even though the signs said "Please stay in your vehicles!!!!" We used our sun roof once again, and had a great view of the bear. Once we got to Maligne Lake, we found a spot for a picnic lunch and then headed out on another hike along the shore of the lake. After all of that hiking, we were all pooped, and once again had a relaxing evening back at the campsite.

Day 15 - Today we ventured on a very twisty mountain road to Mount Edith Cavell to see some glaciers. We were not disappointed once we reached our destination. We first hiked through a glacial valley to a viewpoint where we could see 3 glaciers - Angel Glacier, Mount Edith Cavell Glacier (with a glacial lake in front of it) and Ghost Glacier. As we were hiking, we heard a thunderous crash and could see pieces falling off of Angel Glacier. Once we got to the Glacial Lake, the kids were eager to explore and touch the water and were fascinated by the chunks of ice floating on the lake. We heard another thunderous crash, and we saw a huge hunk of the Edith Cavell Glacier fall into the lake causing a humongous wave. The water first sucked back into the lake and then rose fairly quickly on the shore. We all stood there in utter amazement! It was very cool to see! When the trip was over and we asked the kids about highlights, this day was one of their top three memories!!!

If you look closely at the picture in the top left of this collage, you can see the wave beginning to form. The bottom right picture shows the piece of the glacier that fell off.