So today we have the long drive down the Icefields Parkway from Jasper to Banff. To set ourselves up for the day we cooked buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup, very naughty but very delicious.
First stop was the Jasper tramway which rises up to 4279 feet. The weather was beautiful, clear blue skies and brilliant sunshine, so as you can imagine the views were astounding. We could see Jasper where we had just come from and then down the road to the five lakes trail which we had walked the day before and miles and miles further on down the road which we would be driving along. I love places like this as I love being high up but sadly we had to move on.
Next stop the Athabasca Falls. These were quite sedate falls where a wide expanse of water flows through a narrow neck into a gorge, quite pretty but sadly spoilt by the 1960's concrete bridges they had built across them!
Further on down the road we went to the Sunwapta falls which were, to me, much more impressive and prettier and they offered the opportunity of a 2km hike down to the lower falls which I convinced Becky to do. Luckily it was along a wooded path so not too hot in the sunshine but it did have a few steep bits that were not so much fun on the way back up. However the walk was well worth it as the lower falls were in stages and, we both thought, extremely pretty.
So the rest of the day was spent in the car doing the long drive to Banff, luckily the stunning weather combined with truly awesome scenery made it pass quickly. We also went past the Columbia Icefield centre and hotel where we will be staying on our last night in the area and hopefully going on a trip up onto the Glacier there.
Now I was doing all the driving here and will freely admit to having a complete freakout moment when we came of the Icefield Parkway and merged onto the Trans Canada Highway 1. There was virtually no slip road and the Trans Canada was only one lane at this point so when I looked in my rearview mirror an saw a lorry nearly sitting on the back seat a few expletives excaped my lips and I slammed on the brakes on the hard shoulder and waited until I could actually get on the road and my heart had replaced it self in my chest!!!!!
Anyway made it to our next accommodation in one piece and the place is huge! A large lounge, dining and kitchen area, two vast bedrooms and a bathroom - easily one and a half times the size of my old flat!!!!
