Today we are headed up the Ice fields Highway to Jasper, Alberta where the Banff National Forest ends. There were snow flurries quite a bit yesterday and today. I was able to take 2 pictures of a black bear today; but haven't seen any moose or elk yet. Daddy saw 2 big horned sheep on the side of the road when I had gone into the back of the RV to fix lunch.
This is the most spectacular mountain road in the world! It goes through 3 very deep river valleys beneath soaring glaciers and notched mountains. The dozen of peaks are horn like with permanent ice fields. All along this highway you can see ice capped mountains and glaciers. The largest of these is the Columbia Glacier which is 200 square miles and 2500 feet thick. This is the largest non polar ice cap in the world and the ice is centuries old. They have a specialized bus with track tires to transport you to the glacier. You can get out and walk on the glacier; but it is cold and you need really thick boots. We decided not to go because several people have fallen in crevices that are hidden by the snow. They die of hypothermia before they can be pulled out. The pictures of the glacier are good enough for me!
All of the streams, creeks and rivers here are very aqua blue in color because the water is from a melted glacier. It is lacking the large amount of oxygen that is found in regular streams. The animals known to live here are bighorn sheep, mountain goats, elk, bear and deer.
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