The last post was getting pretty long, so here is more of the Icefields tour.
We were brought to a staging point by regular tour buses. Then we were moved to the ice buses. Obviously they are very unique. Top speed is about 10 mph, but they have 400hp engines that generate 4,000 pounds of torque!
48” tires that cost $6,000 each!A 32% grade was a challenge even for these behemothsVery little was level. In this shot, the level is the Icefields Centre in the back. The glacier extended that far in historic times!Athabaskan glacier from where we were dropped offCloser view of AthabaskanTwo unrelated glaciers not fed by the IcefieldCloser view of one of the orphan glaciers
Being a bunch of old farts, people were walking pretty gingerly on the slick, slushy surface. Anyone interested (which was pretty much everyone!) got a drink of the fresh, cold glacier water.
And did I say something earlier about waterfalls?
The truly adventuresome could sign up for a walking tour on the ice with a specialized guide. The guide provides coats, hats, gloves, walking sticks, and crampons. For some reason, none of our group chose to do this! The guides are important because their are deep crevasses.
“Icewalkers”Grooming the “road” with a grader
After a remarkably quiet night in the parking lot, we took off to head to our next spot the other side of Jasper. More on that later.
We stayed at a lovely campground called Riverview a few miles outside Rocky Mountain House. Fabulous place! It is right on the Saskatchewan River, though only a few campsites have a good view; we weren’t one of them! Big grassy sites that were quite level for grass.
After the exhaustion resulting from the Calgary part of the trip, we took it easy for a while. We did visit Tim Horton’s (great sandwiches) and Canadian Tire, both staples of Canadian life. We got to have a special activity at the Rocky Mountain House National Historic Park which I would like to spend more time. Rocky Mountain House was the westernmost big trading post for the Hudson Bay Company. There are actually four historic forts on the grounds, or at least the foundations are there. We just stayed at one end though, doing our activity (making moccasins by hand with Pendleton Wool blankets!), then spending far too short a time at another exhibit. There were docents everywhere, and we enjoyed the presentations about the Métis in the area.
Models of the Red River carts used by the Métis and others in the country, resting on a bison hide.A young docent talking about furs
They also had an enjoyable presentation about the music of their community. It was a combination of Scottish/Irish jigs with overtones of indigenous dancing – similar movement to jigs, but quieter with less pronounced foot movements. The Métis were persecuted in the later 1800s, and they were not permitted their language and dancing, but like most such groups, they just hid their actions and kept going.
The historic site was filled with lovely wildflowers.
We we’re headed to the Olympia Icefields the next day, but we were advised that most of the scenic pullouts aren’t big enough for motorhomes, so we drove the road in the car up and back. It was a great idea even though it was rainy part of the day. I think the sky and clouds gave a very gothic look to the mountains. We did see one bear by the side of the road, a two year old that was pretty skinny.
I think he misses his momma
The sun and rain alternated the entire day.
Glaciers were numerous, and the melt from the snowfields and glaciers fed waterfalls everywhere we looked.
“Weeping Wall” where water comes out of cracks in the rocksDistance view of a waterfall showing the scaleClose up of the previous fall.Full drop that hits a ledge and goes airborne before falling againYet another one from a distance
And of course there were wildflowers!
We then moved our rolling caravan to the Columbia Icefields for a overnight in the RV parking lot! Obviously dry camping without any hookups, but the views were impressive. We also took a ride to the Athabaskan glacier fed by the icefield on a specialized bus with MASSIVE wheels! Here is what the tour looked like from a distance (pictures taken before our trip).
The tiny dots in the last picture are the people in the first picture.
I think the pictures from the Icefields tour deserve their own post.
