One of the things Bruce and I enjoyed on the small group tour we did to Slovenia and Croatia with Vantage Travel, and this tour with Odysseys Unlimited, is the flexibility to go off on our own at each destination.  We were given a deadline to be back at the bus, but how we spent our time was an individual choice.  Our guide would give us all the information we needed and wanted on the bus ride to each location.  For those who wanted to stay with the guide, that option was available as well. 

(For all pictures, click on the image to see full screen view.)

At Lake Louise, we opted to walk the recommended lakeside path; however, some members of our group hiked on alternate trails or visited the hotel.  It was a beautiful, calm morning, so the reflections in the emerald green water were breathtaking throughout our walk! 

We were thankful the blue skies stayed with us for our drive along Columbia Icefields Parkway to our next destination:  Athabasca Glacier.  The parkway was one of the prettiest I had seen, and I ended up snapping quite a few pictures out the bus window along the way:

Unfortunately, by the time we arrived at the glacier, it was a bit cloudy, windy, and a chilly 36 degrees at that high elevation.  It was not a good day for photography, because the white ice of the glacier blended in with the white clouds for a very flat appearance.  (Thankfully, that was not the case when we returned two days later!  Stay tuned…)

The Columbia Icefield, in Banff National Park, is a UNESCO site.  At an elevation of nearly 10,000 feet, this 125-square mile tract of snow and ice is the largest ice field in the Rocky Mountains.  It also marks a triple Continental Divide point—meaning waters originating from the 23 feet average annual snowfall ultimately flow into the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans. 

An Ice Explorer all-terrain vehicle transported our group to Athabasca Glacier—the most visited glacier in North America.  Equipped to drive right onto the glacier itself, the vehicle has 5-1/2-feet-tall tires especially designed for glacier travel.  Each one of these super-sized tires costs $6,000!  The vehicles were originally purchased for $500,000 each; however, when they were due for refurbishing, $750,000 was spent on each vehicle, for a total investment of 1.25 million for each Ice Explorer.

Walking on the glacier was slippery and cold, but it was an awesome sight!

Following our buffet lunch back at the base station, we stopped for a hike at Athabasca Falls and River after passing by this waterfall:

Finally, we headed north to another UNESCO site, Jasper National Park, our home for two nights in the town of Jasper.  We had a nice view from our room at the Whistler’s Inn!

The town is small, so I took a quick look around before Bruce and I met up with the group for dinner.  Opting for the salmon (again!), our streak continued!

Next up:  Maligne Canyon, Lake, and River in Jasper National Park