Canadian Rockies - Banff and Jasper National Parks
Summer 1997
I took a trip with my family to Banff and Jasper National Parks in the Canadian Rockies in July of 1997. We spent 5 nights in the town of Banff, about an hour and a half from Calgary. The scenery is breathtaking. Mt. Rundle, rising near Banff townsite is seen here from the shores of the Vermillion Lakes. The lakes are a favored feeding ground for moose, who love the aquatic plants. Also, because of the geothermal activity in the area, some parts of the lake remain unfrozen in the winter, causing wildlife to congregate in this area when the surrounding landscape has frozen over.
One of the most magical sights in nature is the beautiful blue colors of glacial lakes. The surreal blue colors are due to tiny particles called rock flour which are suspended in the water, causing the reflection of certain wavelengths of light and not others. The shade of blue depends on the size of the particles as well as the density of particles in the water. Rock flour results from the grinding of the underlying rock by the movement of the glaciers as they slowly flow downhill. There are many such glacially fed lakes in the Canadian Rockies of which Lake Louise is probably the most famous. This is Moraine Lake, tucked away in The Valley of Ten Peaks, and in my opinion is more beautiful than its more well known sister.
The renowned Icefields Parkway connects Banff and Jasper National Parks. En route we saw countless glaciers, hundreds of feet thick and hanging off mountainsides, feeding water into the baby blue waters of yet more glacial lakes such at Bow and Peyto Lakes. We took a snocoach tour of the Athabasca glacier, a small part of the vast Columbia Icefield covering an area four times that of Washington D.C. and thicker than the height of the Eiffel Tower. We also witnessed an ice avalanche as huge chunks of ice crumbled off of Angel Glacier, a hanging glacier on Mount Edith Cavell, and thundered down the face of the mountain to the ground below.
At right is Athabasca Falls, one of many waterfalls along the drive. The massive amounts of water tumbling into the gorge made a deafening sound.
We saw much wildlife here as well including mountain goats, a black bear, and moose. This black bear was looking for some lunch near Jasper townsite. It was turning over every rock it could find, presumably looking for insects or some other food. It paid very little attention to me and the rest of the human audience that was quickly gathering.
More wildlife, although this extremely fat Columbian Ground Squirrel can hardly be classified as "wild". It is part of a colony that lives inside the Buffalo Paddock near Banff townsite. There are constantly tourists there who feed the squirrels even though it is against regulations. They have become so tame that they come right up to people and accept handouts. Never needing to work for food and never going hungry, they have become pretty fat!
This pika on the other hand, was busy gathering food near its home high atop Whistler Peak above Jasper townsite. In the cold alpine climate at over 9000 feet above sea level, there is precious little food for the wildlife who call this place home.
Winter 1999
I came back to Banff National Park in December of 1999 and found the landscape completely transformed. The Vermillion lakes were frozen over except for a few areas where geothermal activity kept the waters above the freezing point. Some parts of the lakes were covered with ice so thick that huge bull elk were confidently walking around on it.
The Bow Valley Parkway parallels the much busier Trans-Canada Highway, stretching from just north of Banff townsite to Lake Louise. Because it is less travelled, there is a better chance of wildlife sightings. Besides, it's much prettier, not to mention more peaceful.
The frost along the edge of a trickling stream formed into these beautiful crystalline patterns.
