From the Ice Field to Mile 0

After our trip to the Athabasca Glacier we boondocked in the parking lot, then a leisurely start  for Hinton, AB.  Here’s the view out of my bedroom window when I woke up.

The trip for the remainder of the Ice Fields Parkway was great, we still listened to our “tour guide” and stopped dozens of times.  We saw plenty of wildlife, waterfalls & lakes.

Bighorn sheep

A ladder glacier

The mountains are constantly evolving, landslides are constantly changing their look.

CC all hooked up.  She got quite a workout in the mountains. 

Big brown bear?

This is Goat Lick.  The tour guide explicitly told us not to lick any goats.

Actually, the goats are known to come to this area of the river because of the high concentration of salt & minerals.  They need them to round out their diet.

We then pulled off the route to visit Athabasca Falls.  Pulling CC through the parking lot was really challenging, but we SQUEEZED through and we were able to enjoy the area.  The falls are a Class 5 waterfall, with easy access to a number of viewing platforms, plus on the way out another wildlife sighting.

The parkway ends shortly after the falls, and we left the National Park.  After we skirted the edge of Jasper, Alberta. Heading to our campground we spotted a lone elk, eating along the highway.

We also passed a small herd of elks, seven or eight, but there was no time or room to stop….

We arrived at Hinton KOA for a relaxing evening.  The next day Mica & Pamela, one of the others in our caravan, went horseback riding.

We restocked our pantry, did some laundry & had a group cookout.  The weather started to change, nice rain & much cooler temperatures.  The next day we had the longest drive of the caravan so far, 285 miles.  Of course, it was raining when we left and we were going to climb some mountains, so guess what?  Snow!!

It only snowed for about an hour.  Then it just returned to a steady rain.  The clincher was we were driving through the oil fields of western Alberta & eastern British Columbia.  So, the roads were covered with dirt, we’ll mud for us.  This is officially the filthiest CC has ever been.  It was so crazy that the rear facing camera quit working because it was covered with mud.  As we arrived in Dawson Creek, the rain stopped & the sun came out.  What a day.

Our new green Tahoe was completely covered in mud, the running boards had an inch of accumulated mud.

Normally highly polished!

Got to the campground & “No RV washing”. It’s killing me she’s filthy.

We had another group meal; we’ll mostly snacks and then a presentation by Dawson Creek Visitors Center. The next day was a free day to prowl around Dawson Creek.  We chose to see Mile Post “0” run by the Bear Mountain Windmill Farm.

Mile Post 0!

We went to the windmill farm, there are 34 of them & after driving about five miles of rock & dirt road, you can get right up to them.  Each windmill provides enough power for more than 1,000 homes.  Standing alongside them the noise, the blades make sound like airplanes flying really close.  It was really cool.

If you look closely, you can see Rita & Mica.  These things are huge!

View of the valley feeding the wind.

After the windmills we drove to see the last existing wooden bridge from the original Alaskan Highway.  The route has changed to a newer modern bridge & this one is closed to vehicles, you can still walk across it.  Not only is it wooden, but it’s curved.

About 500,000 board feet of creosoted British Columbia fir had to be shipped from the coast.  The bridge has a nine-degree curve and is about 135 yards long.

Back to CC and get ready to start driving the Alaskan Highway!!

The Icefields Parkway & the Athabasca Glacier!

The rain stopped around 5am, allowing us to unhook & not get drenched!  Yea!

So we’re driving to the Columbia Icefields.  We’ll be boondocking at the Information Center parking lot.  To get there we left Banff, traveling in the Trans Canadian Highway to the Icefields Parkway.  But first let’s talk about the worlds most awesome app for National Parks, GuideAlong.  It’s an app that is GPS activated for certain parks in the US & Canada.  We had discovered it when we were at Moab.  Used it when we were traveling in Arches and Canyonlands National Parks it works flawlessly.

You purchase the parks you’re interested in, then download the park you're interested in and head to the park. Once you get close to the park, you merely activate the app and follow the directions. Cell service is not required. You get a personalized tour, geology, lesson, history, lesson, and points of interest. It’s unbelievable how handy and enjoyable it is.

We downloaded the tour for the Icefields Parkway and merely started the app as we entered the park. It explained how the Canadian Rockies were formed, oddly enough different from the US Rockies a little history of the explorers that’s discovered the peaks, mountains, and valleys, and eventually wound up at the Columbia ice fields.

The app suggested when to stop and take pictures and explained the significance of the stop.  One of them was the Snowbird Glacier.  If you look at it, you can see its wings and its long neck as it dives down the canyon wall.

We pulled over for a beautiful lake that reflects the mountain and learned why the water is such a beautiful shade of turquoise. As the glaciers melt the ice & water erodes the mountain, creating an ultra-fine powder called rock flour.  Funny story here, we heard the term before & thought they were saying “rock flower” so we were all confused.  Anyway, the rock flour affects the way light is reflected in the water creating the turquoise hue.  Important side note.  If you’re on or near a glacier the water you drink is safe, but…. If you drink the crystal-clear water on the glacier, yum ice cold & delicious.  If you drink the water from the lakes & streams beware, “If it blue, you will poo”. Apparently, the rock flour acts as a natural laxative.

So here is the picture of the mountain. 

It’s really hard to describe this highway.  It was waterfall, after lake , after mountain, so much so that Mica stopped getting out of the car to look.  On one of our stops there was a tour bus full of Germans.  More of them were taking pictures of CC & our hookup to the car than the mountain.  In fact, their tour guide came up and asked a bunch of questions for them.

Anyway, here are some of the pictures we took on the highway.

Plus, we saw a mule deer, a large black bear & a mountain goat.

We arrived at the Icefields, got CC level and headed for the Information Center.  First off was a short bus ride to Pursuit Pass and the Skybridge.  It’s a bridge that is built over the pass with a glass floor so you can see every aspect of the valley.  Rita was a little tentative about walking out on the glass bridge, but with a little encouragement from Mica did it.  Did I mention the bridge sways in the wind?

Looking straight down through the glass floor

Looking straight down.

After the skybridge we headed to the glacier.  

There is another short bus ride from Discovery Center. It takes you across the street to the glacier’s base, where you transfer to an Ice Explorer. These huge transport vehicles look like something out of a space movie and take you safely onto the glacier. There are only 23 in the world, one in Antarctica and the rest at the Columbia Icefields.  It’s hard to explain the road down the moraine to the glacier, steep isn’t even close. I’m not sure you could walk down its steep, rocky, & muddy all at the same time.  The Ice Explorer was geared down and went down at a snail's pace.

After arriving at the glacier, your driver gives you the time to meet back on the Ice Explorer, and you’re free to roam. We had about 25 minutes on the glacier, which was plenty.  It was a chilly time on the ice about 27*.  We did fill a bottle with “crystal clear” water. It paired nicely with my whiskey later.

Our chariot 

The tires last only two to three years & get pretty torn up…

Our motley crew!