The Beauty of the Canadian Rockies!

Beautiful Mount Robson

     I am sorry it has been so long since my last post. You get busy and before long the blog is forgotten. 

    We wanted to spent a week or 2 in the Canadian Rockies on our way home from Alaska. We had been there back in 2001 when 9/11 terrorist attack took place. We remembered it being one of the most scenic places we had ever been. We decided to camp at Mount Robson Prov. Park one night before moving on down to Jasper and then Banff NP. In addition to enjoying the great views of Mount Robson we were able hike to some nice water falls as well.

Pretty lake in the north side of Jasper NP

    We arrived at Jasper NP late morning and after paying around $125 entry fees for 5 days (ouch) we found a nice campsite that backed up to a whitewater stream. We drove around to Maligne sp? Lake that afternoon and spotted a mountain sheep and even a few elk as well. During the evening back at camp we began to notice the odor of forest fires in the air and saw the visibility drop off for distant views. 

The stream behind our campsite

By afternoon these crisp clear views became hazy

    The next morning we moved to another campground. We still noticed smoke in the air. We decided to visit waterfalls that day hoping the views would be good and that there would be less smoke to breath.

 Notice how hazy it is back in the trees beyond the falls

      The next day we headed south to visit Banff NP. We actually thought the hazy skies had improved when we first started out. By mid morning we noticed the visibility getting bad again and it was hard to even see the mountains on the sides of the road as we drove along. 

 Saw these 2 at a visitor center

  We saw these falls not too long after we left our campground

Notice the skies started out fairly clear in the early morning

By mid morning you could see the smoke roll back in.

Mid day sun

     We drove to a visitor center in Banff around 1pm and checked on the weather forecast. The winds were to continue blowing from the southwest for at least 2 or 3 more days. The smoke was blowing up from forest fires that were burning throughout Washington state. We decided we were tired of breathing the smoke and with no relief in sight to cut our time in Banff short and head for home. It was so sad to not be able to enjoy the beauty of the area but we will save it for another time! Thus ends our wonderful summer trip to the great state of Alaska. Can't wait to return again someday.

Thank you for following along!