We got off the Alaskan Ferry on October 3, 2015 in Prince Rupert, BC and headed East to Jasper National Park on the scenic Yellowhead Highway (16). As a Canadian seeing the Rockies was pretty high on my bucket list.
On the way we found a wonderful spot to boondock (free camp) in Boer Mountain in Burns Lake, BC.
Boer Mountain Recreation Area in BC caters mostly to mountain bikers.
Beautiful morning view from our camp site at an elevation of 4,134 feet on top of Boer Mountain.
Scenic Yellowhead Highway (16).
Mount Robson Provincial Park, in British Columbia. Elevation: 12,972 feet.
Jasper National Park, Alberta
Joe posing with the mascot of The Alpine Village in Jasper National Park, a vintage GMC truck.
Jasper National Park. The Athabasca River originates from the Columbia Glacier.Beautiful cabins for rent at the Alpine Village in Jasper National Park, Alberta.
Jasper National Park. We watched this elk eat for about 15 minutes, he did not mind the audience.
The welcoming town of Jasper, Alberta.
The Athabasca River.
Banff National Park, Alberta
Canada’s oldest National Park, established in 1885
We traversed the vast beauty of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks on the Icefields Parkway (Highway 93) between Jasper and Lake Louise.Simply breathtaking!
The Columbia Icefield, the largest in the Canadian Rockies.
The iconic Lake Louise, with the Victoria Glacier in the background is just a magical place.
Moraine Lake in the Valley of the Ten Peaks is in some respect even more spectacular than Lake Louise. The color is due to the refraction of light off of the rock flour deposited in the lake on a continual basis.
Happy hour at the Banff Springs Hotel. We can’t afford a room but we can certainly enjoy a cocktail and appetizers.
Another glacier lake along the Icefields Parway.
The former Canadian Pacific Hotels are truly a Canadian heritage worth preserving.
Now operated under the Fairmont name they remain some of Canada’s most exclusive hotels. Every time we have a chance, we like to stop by for a drink or at least a picture.
Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise built in 1890. Lake Louise is renowned as the birthplace of Canadian mountaineering.
The Fairmont Banff Springs. The first building was built in 1888 and replaced by the current structure in 1928.
Dinner in our XPCamper overlooking the Rocky Mountain at the Tunnel Mountain Village II Campground, open year round and only 2.4 km from Banff.
We hicked Tunnel Mountain in Banff and admired the view from these red adirondack chairs reminding us of the ones we left behind in Blue Sea. We were home sick for just just a few brief moments.
We traded a filet of Coho Salmon we caught in Kitimat, BC for 2 wild duck breasts which were hunted in Saskatchewan by a nice couple from Maine who use two amazing German Wirehaired Pointers that Joe fell in love with. We met them at the Campground in Banff and saw them again in Glacier National Park in Montana.
