Icefields

While our choice of Field as a base for our stay in the Rockies may have been more luck than judgement, it has proved to the ideal place. We are away from the hordes of tourists in places like Lake Louise and Banff but still within easy access to all the main attractions.

This morning we decided to check out the Alberta Icefields and heading up Highway 93 towards Jasper, we stopped off at the Icefields Centre at the Columbia Icefield - about 130km from Lake Louise.

We had read that it was a popular destination but figured that it was a good point to get information from the Parks Canada staff and after 2 hours on the road also a good coffee stop.

Luckily the 'cash only' coffee bar didn't appeal to the coach parties who had left their Calgary hotels at 6.15 am and were looking for something more substantial. With the exception of the Parks Canada Information desk and basement gallery the place felt more like a cross channel ferry terminal on a bank holiday weekend - a temple of Mammon with only one god - Brewster Travel.

Thankfully we were able to get a good view of the Icefields and make a plan for a couple of stops on our way south.

 Along the way we came upon a Black Bear ambling along the roadside trying to get away from the traffic jam that had stopped to photograph him, and continued first to the Waterfowl lakes

and then  to the Bow Summit - 2135m above sea level - and the Peyto Lake.

where it wasn't as warm as it looked - a cool breeze blowing across all those icefields made Linda very grateful for her new jacket.

While we have seen lots of mountains, lakes and snowfields over the last few days, like trains for me and RVs for Linda (more on this later) you can never get enough of them, this was our last view before we headed home after another great day in the Rockies.