Day 47!!!!!

We left Jasper and drove through one of the most scenic parks I have ever been to called Banff National Park. We didn't know which way to turn first. There were dozens of glaciers and rugged mountains and green meadows and turquoise blue lakes and rivers and rushing waterfalls. In short, I would call it paradise!
Another real treat was the small town of Banff. Beautiful and quaint and serene, although it was buzzing with tourists. The centerpiece of the town is the castle hotel (Fairmont Banff Springs). It was built a hundred years ago and was at one time the largest hotel in the world.
We continued on in to Calgary to find a hotel. We arrived into the city just in time for the evening rush hour. It would not have been so bad, except we had not booked a hotel ahead of time and we had just decided to go ahead and wing it. I mean how hard could it be to find a hotel in a city with a million and a half people?!? Well.........hard. We drove around in circles for what seemed to be a couple of hours. Finally, we found the street with all of the hotels. Seriously, there are dozens of them lining this one street. So if anyone is planning on coming to Calgary soon, you will find a hotel on MacLeod Trail.
-Jason


Some more wildlife on our way to Banff. Some more mountain sheep along the road. Cute babies again.
Inside Jasper Park
What an awesome waterfall!! Me in front of the Columbia Icefields. The color of this water was just amazing. GOV this is for you!!!!! The Fairmont Banff Springs.

The rooms here were a bit too expensive for our taste.

Day 46!!!

We drove about 500 miles today. We left Smithers, BC and drove to Jasper, Alberta. Another beautiful drive. We realized yesterday that there has not been a day since we left Oregon that we haven't seen snow!! Crazy. Jasper is a beautiful little town in the middle of the Jasper National Park. We did not stop a whole lot today becuase we wanted to get some miles behind us. However, we did see a pretty cool thing along the way. We stopped at a rest area and there was a stone column. I had a minute so I walked over to it. Apparently the center stone is from the Tintagel Castle in Cornwall, England where King Arthur was said to have been born. Weird to see that in the middle of Canada, but pretty neat none the less.
-Jason

Maybe it will bring a little luck!!!
Entering the Jasper National Park at Mount Robson
Mt Robson
A new Province!!