Farewell to Banff and hello Jasper.

Well, it always has to happen.  Your stay comes to an end and you leave.  We were particularly sad when we turned onto the highway heading north to Jasper.  We felt like we had unfinished adventures to be had in Banff but life goes on and other areas beckon our arrival.  Maybe, just maybe we will return.  To anyone wondering, yes, go there.

So onto Jasper we go.  Just over 300 kilometres with a stop at the Columbia Icefield and a walk on the Athabasca Glacier.

The roads we have travelled on are pretty good but speed limit is 90 and best with lots of 70 kph areas.  I feel this is because of winter as most cars are travelling around 100+ so you know how it goes, when in Rome :)

I haven't mentioned the car we hired yet so a little plug for Volvo here.  We were upgraded to the Volvo xc60 because they didn't have a car ready for us on the day we were supposed to take delivery.  Not that it mattered to be honest as we travelled around Calgary and it would have been a nuisance to tell you the truth.  That didn't stop me from suggesting an upgrade would be in order and we got one.  The car if very comfortable with leather everything, AWD and other modern features you would expect but I love the active cruise control with driver fatigue and safety features.  So here's how it works.  You lock in your speed and as you approach a car, it slows you down.  If the car in front comes to a stop so do you.  But, it won't start you up from a complete stop.  Hmmm, might have to send in a suggestion on that one.  It also has, what I call the Frank Feature.  As you doze off and drift out of your lane it sets off and audible alarm that wakes you up.  How cool.  It only works if you have lines painted on the road though.  Which is pretty much everywhere.  Needless to say it was tested out late this afternoon heading into Jasper and came through with flying colours.

Anyway, enough on the car.  Trip to Jasper or anywhere in the rockies for that mater is a smorgasbord of natures delights.  Flowing rivers and streams, trees, mountains and waterfalls of all types and sizes.  People stopping everywhere to take photos and simply take in the best nature has to offer.  The sheer size, shape and types of rock we encounter never ceases to amaze us.

So now, what about the glacier I hear you ask.
As far as glaciers go, it's our first and it was worth the trip.  We were ferried out in huge trucks that travel at a top speed of 18kph but can get up the most incredible inclines.  Not as cold as we thought it would be on the ice although it did get a bit blowy and Connie was wearing her thermal pants.  We filled up our water bottle with glacier water and just like the water from the streams of Banff, it was amazing.  Chilled to 4 degrees Celsius with no contaminants.

When you look at the photos of us on the glacier, keep in mind there is over 300 metres of ice below our feet.  Sadly with global warming, not that I want to start a debate here, the glacier is due to disappear in just under 200 years so don't put your visit off for too long... Apparently recedes at around 10 metres for year but that figure is increasing.

Connie has now awakened from her slumber so might be a good time to go out for dinner.  Poor girl had a big headache so took a couple of asprin and went to sleep.

We'll let you know how Jasper is over the next couple of days so stay tuned and post those comments.  We do take requests if you have something in mind.

Some fun facts we picked up on our tour today.
BANFF is an acronym: Be Aware Nothing For Free
JASPER is an acronym for: Just Another Stupid Place Extracting Revenue.
Cars registered in Alberta don't have to have a front number plate fitted.

Ok, really need to get something to eat.  Bye for now.