Canadian Trip 2014 Day 6 - Jasper - Banff

Good morning Jasper, we will be back to explore you after our visit around your territory. Today is going to be a busy day with too many itineraries cramped together.

Jeff, our Tour Guide started the day with Pyramid Mountain a mountain named after its shape

Through the hundreds of years of craving by the glaciers it has formed the mountain into a pyramid shape and also a lake is formed.... de Lake Pyramid.

Pyramid Lake is such a beauty in a shape of a kidney and it is located in Jasper National Park,Alberta.

Wild Rose is the official flower of Alberta and is easily found in Canada.

The loon is an aquatic bird also commonly found in Canada. In fact the Canadian one dollar coin which bears an image of a loon and the $1 is commonly called the loonie.

The next was Maligne Canyon.

Maligne Canyon is measuring 50m deep with waterfalls, stream outlets and water spray. There are 6 bridges built over the years and the first one was built in 1914. This natural creation is truly amazing with footpaths and bridges built for easy exploration.

The waterfalls are beautiful and so peaceful to view at close range.

These are the public toilets found in Canadian National Parks like Jasper, Banff and Glacier.

Basically it's dry and a pit system.

We were lucky to spot a young black mother bear with 2 baby bears when we were about to board the bus.

It's dangerous to stay too close to the mother bears as they are very protective with their babies around.

Jasper town, is small in size but very popular among visitors during the summer and is located in the largest of Canada's rocky mountain, Jasper National Park. Jasper also has a rich history of the development of the national railway system.

Athabasca Falls is another popular waterfalls in Jasper National Park it has a powerful and breathtaking waterfalls in the Rocky Mountains.

The waterfalls is not deep but the force of the water falling into the gorge is magnificent.

The waterfalls can be easily viewed from various platforms with walking trails around the falls.

We were brought to this restaurant at Sunwapta Falls for our lunch.

I enjoyed this lovely chili stewed beef soup.... it's so thick and yummy.

A peep at the Skywalk from our coach which we have opted for icefields' experience instead of this new attraction. Apparently it was opened on 1st May 2014 after much delay in the construction.

Another lucky moment we managed to see a few mountain goats moving close to our coach when we were approaching the Icefields Parkway.

It is summer time the place was packed with tourists from all over the world. Though it was a short distance to the icefields from the car park we had to used 2 types of vehicles to get there.

This old World War 2 amoured car were used as snowmobile ferrying tourists to the icefields with some modification.

The first mode was a bus just to ferry us across the road which was a mere 5 minutes ride.

Then the ultimate snowmobile capable of going up and down steep and icy road.

Slow but powerful.

Finally I managed to land on the icefields. The feeling was great and exciting.

Collecting water from the glaciers.

The taste is rejuvenating and nice.

Yahoo but unfortunately the experience only lasted for around 25 minutes. It would great if we were given more time on the ice.

According to Jeff we were fortunate again to witness a massive forest fire occurred where such opportunity is very slim for a tour like ours. We were informed on the following day that the fire has actually burnt 1,500 hectares of timber tress and was caused by a lightning strike.

Our next destination was to view a popular bluish lake from a high elevation and it was to see Peyto Lake from Bow Summit and apparently this is the best spot for such view.

Peyto Lake is a glacier fed lake located in Banff National Park. During the summer fresh rock flour from the mountain flow into the lake and the suspending rock particles give the lake a bright blue colour. The lake is really beautifully so beautiful as if it's fake.

So much of the day activities, we saw too many mountains, glaciers, rivers and lakes and I have difficulty remembering which is which when I look back at the pictures but these are truly amazing natural creations and fantastically beautiful. One should see them if given a chance.