We knew that to really get to experience the Rockies we would need to get out of Jasper, but given that it was early November we didn’t know if we would be able to drive the aptly named Icefields parkway. We took a chance and decided that if the weather permitted it, we would go and stay in Lake Louise and Banff. Well, lucky for us mother nature was on our side; sunshine was forecast for the duration of our stay, so we were off. The sunshine was particularly welcome as it made the frost sparkle and the occasional flurries of snow look like glitter falling from the sky. I feel like I’ve just spent five days in a winter wonderland.
The Parkway stretches just less than 150 miles and connects Jasper with Lake Louise. It winds through two national parks and lets travellers journey into a wilderness of mountain lakes, glaciers and broad sweeping valleys all set against the backdrop of jaw-droppingly beautiful, enormous mountains.
We stopped frequently along the way: sometimes to take short walks, but more often just to enjoy the majesty of our surroundings. At one stop we walked to the spectacular Athabasca Falls, where turquoise water rushes over stacked rocks with alarming violence and urgency but calms almost immediately upon reaching the pools.Â
