May 22 Day 6 Banff to Jasper

We decided to get an early start, we left the campground by 8:30.  However, we stopped to shop in downtown Banff and to gas up.  By the time Linda and Diana finished shopping it was close to 11am.  We then went to the Banff Fairmont to see the hotel and view.  It was spectacular.  The hotel was originally built as a luxury vacation spot on the Canadian Pacific Railway.  It was built to look like a stone castle or palace.  It's quite a place.  Then we were off to Lake Louise which looked more like a snow covered ice rink than a lake.  They had a late winter and things were just starting to melt.  The view was stunning.  Finally, around 1PM we got on the Icefields Parkway which runs through both Banff and Jasper National Parks.  Again, scenery galore.  We stopped at the Columbia Icefield which covers over 300 square miles and includes 5 glaciers.  We took a tour that took us right up on the ice field.  Impressive isn't a strong enough word.  We were in the last tour of the day and 15 of us had the glacier all to ourselves.  Great idea Diana.  We left there around 6:30 PM and headed to Jasper.  The highlight of the trip, besides the waterfalls, rivers and mountains was a mama bear and three very small cubs.  We got into the Whistlers Campground around 8:30 for another long day.  Animal count for the day was: one deer, six bear, and two elk.  Total miles for the day was 187 miles.