Banff and Jasper National Park

Deep in the rocky mountains of northwestern Alberta there lies a park of epic proportions. Jasper National park is an 11, 000 square foot epicenter of glaciers, waterfalls, lakes and mountains. The park was named after Jasper Hawes on September 14, 1907, who operated a trading post in the region for the fur trading company, North West. The park, however, wasn't granted national park status until 1930 and was instead firstly named Jasper Forest Park.

The commercial center of the park is the alpine city of Jasper. A mountainous terrain surrounds this small city of less than 5000, not to mention the two brothers totem pole which brings together 15 different regional indigenous communities, reminding us of our aboriginal roots.

Connecting both Jasper and Banff National parks is the world famous Icefields Parkway, a 230 kilometer blissful drive through epic mountains, thunderous waterfalls and breathtakingly pristine lakes. Where to stop for a picture is the only complaint heard from the everyday tourist in these parts. A typical day driving down this highway will usually find the driver feeling overcrowded with vehicles and RV's. A typical summer will see up to 100, 000 vehicles on the highway each month.

In 2019, the Luxury Travel Expert magazine named The Icefields Parkway number 4 in the top 10 most scenic roads in the world.

Of the many amazing aspects of Jasper National Park, the most prominent peak entirely within Alberta can be found for those wandering tourist eyes. In both the Athabasca and Astoria Rivers lies Mount Edith Cavell, named in 1916 after a British nurse, who was executed by the Germans. She was helping wounded soldiers escape from occupied Belgium to the Netherlands in World War I. Voyagers used it as a landmark, calling it the "Mountain Of The Great Crossing."

A short hike through Cavell Meadows shows the north face of the mountain.

Up the rugged path and around the corner is the full view of the north face of the mountain. Runoff from the hanging Angel glacier leaks down to a pool at the bottom of the mountain. The glacier is seen receding on the right hand side of the photo, and is named Angel glacier because it has the appearance of an angel with outswept wings. The ice is melting so rapidly however, that the glacier is almost unrecognizable.

Further south, I also had the opportunity to see Moraine lake in the Valley of the Ten Peaks in Banff National Park. Moraine lake is another glacial fed lake just outside of Lake Louise. Its unique color is from the refraction of light from the rock flour, deposited into the lake on a continual basis by surrounding glaciers. In June when the lake is at full capacity it is entirely azure blue.

Moraine Lake has made a number of appearances on the world stage, including on the back side of the 1969 and 1979 issues of the twenty dollar bill, and photo of the day on the October 8, 2013 issue of National geographic.

South of Jasper National Park, nestled in the Bow River valley and connected by the Icefields highway is Banff national park, established in 1885. Banff National park is Canada's oldest national park, brimming with dense forests and mountainous terrain. The town of Banff is, of course, its main commercial center, as seen here.

And just when a person thinks they are lucky enough as is, the witnessing of a bucket list item falls into a person's lap. An elk fight, or its official name, a Rut.

Elk hormones rage in the fall, and bulls will fight for both dominance, and of course ladies. They are fighting off rival bulls from their harem. Yes, even elk have harems. As the Elk antlers are made of bone, hearing them rattle as they strike against one another is truly something everyone should hear.

And so, with another of Canada's national parks, mountainous terrain, pristine lakes and breathtaking waterfalls, not to mention a once in a lifetime witnessing of Elk fending off each other in the name of their harems, all off the list, all that was left was to have a Happy Halloween!

In the words of all late great Canadians everywhere -

"Now I'm gonna go to Timmies real quick and grab me a box of Timbits."

Bailey Sue