The drive from Banff National Park to the town of Jasper in Jasper National Park can be done in less than four hours, but not if you intend to appreciate the drama available along the way. First up is a glimpse of the Columbia Icefield, the largest in North America. The Athabasca Glacier, one of eight on the Icefield, is visible from the road, as are tiny ant-like dots on it that are actually gigantic snow busses taking people out to walk on the glacier. The size and scale of this glacier is hard to grasp without benefit of the familiar perspective of cars, which you may be able to see in the first photo.
We had to stop often along the route north to marvel at the colors and varieties of landscapes presented by Mother Nature, but it didn’t matter how late we arrived at our hotel and dinner location; it was light nearly to midnight.
My Time Too 