The guidebooks said to get to Lake Louise by 9:30am in order to get parking. It’s so crowded, they now have shuttles but they take an hour each way for the stops and really I just wanted to see it and get one picture. We pulled in to the RV parking lot at 9:15am and there were plenty of spots left but vehicles of all sizes were pulling in fast. I told Mark, let’s go get our pic quick and get back here. He was quite concerned about being able to get out of the parking lot if cars pulled into the row in front of us. “Oh no, there’s no way they could put cars there,” I said. “None of these RVs could get out if they did. This is the RV parking lot.” It was overcast with low clouds so although still a stunning view, not the turquoise hues and spectacular glacier we saw 10 years ago. Last time, it was so warm out that after our hike, I wanted nothing more than to strip down to my underwear and jump in that gem of a lake. This time, I felt proud of the souls braving the wind and chill to kayak in famed Lake Louise. We took the pictures we wanted, stopped at the restrooms, and got back to the camper within half an hour only to find ourselves completely blocked in. The Europeans in the RV parked next to us took mercy after watching Mark attempt to exit about 3 times. They backed out of their spot to give us enough room for escape and then pulled back in. They didn’t have to, and it was an inconvenience for them, but saved us hours of sitting in a parking lot.
We drove (you guessed it, north) the Icefields Parkway. We stopped at Parker Ridge to get a picture of snow falling, in June. Little did we know we would see that quite a bit in the next 2 days. We stopped for chili cheese fries at the Columbia Icefields Discovery Center and enjoyed the snow, even though it blocked our view of the glacier we visited 10 years prior. This is as far north as we’ve ever driven before so from here on, we’re in uncharted territory.
We made it to Jasper with grand plans of hikes and mountain views, only to socked in by rain and clouds and cold. We stayed in the Snaring River Campground overflow which had been full 2 days before but maybe had 10 campers due to the weather, all night rain with no end in the forecast. Though scheduled to stay for 2 days, we knew our sense of adventure had been damped enough to just move on, knowing full well we will need to return to better explore Jasper National Park.
On the way out of the park, we decided to detour to Miette Hot Springs. Is there any simpler pleasure than slipping into warm water on a cold day? The road was 18km of curvy, 2 lane going progressively uphill. We were committed to the climb when we started noticing the cars coming down the road had 3 inches of snow on them. The higher we got, the worse conditions were. We first noticed the trees bending down across the road, then some snowflakes, and finally the snow was accumulating on the road. Our 4WD Ford F-350 dually handles pretty well but it’s still scary being on a hilly, curvy road, followed by a heavy 20′ trailer with no pullouts or options. We arrived safely at the hot springs but the snow was flying and with the temp at 33F, we were concerned about the road conditions worsening after an hour soak so we again abandoned our plans and headed back down the road to safety and lower elevation. Shortly after we made the turn around, a black bear crossed the road right in front of us. He had a gash on his back leg that was bleeding, but he did allow us to get some photos.
Our drive to Grand Cache was equally white knuckled as we drove the 2 lane highway, with no shoulders, alternating between snow and slush. We stopped to get gas, only to overhear about blizzard conditions on the way to Grand Prairie. The NOAA radar showed the storm has passed, yet we made a few unnecessary pit stops trying to kill time and hoping for improved road conditions. We hit a grocery store, hardware store, and made lunch. It turned out our stop wasn’t long enough as once again, Mark battled driving in snow and slush for kilometers. The temps all day hovered right at 33F and our only saving grace was that the roads were not icy at all. After arriving in the town of Grand Prairie, we decided to just stay in the Walmart parking lot as we needed to restock on DEF (which it turns out wasn’t available at this Walmart), but it was a bit sketchy so even though it was late and we hadn’t had dinner yet, we pressed on. It was after 8pm when we finally pulled over at the Hythe Municipal Campground. We celebrated the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, by driving long and late but thankfully safely. This little campground was nice and quiet and a much needed oasis to rest.
