Low clouds and impending rain as we made an early start from Canmore, following the Bow Valley Parkway all the way up to Jasper, the home of my maternal grandparents, aunts and great aunts and uncles! 
Matt was not not best pleased to be driving the ‘scenic route’ and would have preferred the main highway .. but the Bow Valley is a ‘once in a lifetime drive’ .. and just so magical!
My family travelled to the Rockies after wartime service in WW1 from Liverpool to New York City on The Aquitainia, but I think they may have travelled more efficiently and quickly than we did today!
We were making good progress up until Lake Louise when Matthew suddenly realised that the (expensive) Nintendo Switch that he had confiscated the night before was still in the drawer where he’d hidden it!😱 A quick call to the hotel confirmed it was still there! So the boys and I jumped out at Lake Louise and spared him our company on the return trip! We decided to spend the couple of hours we had at the wonderful Alpine Centre that we left just a few days earlier. What a welcome and chilled break we had! 😊
Once Matthew returned we continued the journey.. and our first stop was the ‘wolf shaped lake’… officially known as Peyto Lake. I was keeping my fingers crossed that we would be able to gain access – as any day now all access will be denied for Park Canada works to be completed.
An uphill hike on an easy ‘paved’ trail take takes you through a forest of Christmas spruce trees…up and up until suddenly you are afforded the most glorious of vistas!
Aquamarine… lined with an impenetrable belt of trees, Peyto Lake could easily be a strong contender for Canada’s ‘poster girl’ … She is understated… pristine, picturesque and practically perfect in every way!
It was soon time to hit the Icefields Parkway, surely one of the world’s most jaw droppingly spectacular alpine roads! Every curve of the road reveals a smorgasbord of snow capped mountains, sparkling glaciers, jagged peaks, lush pine forests and racing glacial rivers! 
We passed a suicidal herd of mountain goats 🐐 playing chicken on the highest of passes, staring defiantly at any motorist who tries to rush them 😂
I managed to persuade the crew to stop at the mighty Athabaska Glacier to marvel at the receding river of ice but I think it would have tipped Matt over the edge if I had suggested we spend almost $500 for a family ticket to drive out onto the ice … and, as they literally only drive a couple of hundreds metres in, it really is a license to steal money from unsuspecting tourists… the Skywalk ‘add on’ is even more of a rip off (in my humble opinion)…. with the overhang actually being a road level!
Spectacular to see but the short hike up to the start of the glacier or the panoramic restaurant views from the top floor of the visitor centre are almost just as good!
With just an hour to go on our journey we came across a ‘traffic jam’ … a large group had gathered on the hard shoulder and were clearly enjoying watching some sort of wildlife. Matthew nipped out to see what it was and waved us over… elk I assumed. I was bringing up the rear with Callum and giggling at Tom who was jumping up and down in excitement, gesturing elk ears! As I got level I realised the 20+ people were crowded around a boulder of a large black bear munching steadily on fire berries! Tom’s gestures had been claws not ears! I shouted to the boys to come straight back, telling them and the crowd they were way too close and to return to their cars! 
As we were heading back to the car, the bear charged angrily towards the crowd, warning them to back off. Almost all did… but a small, persistent group edged closer and closer. Back in the safety of our car, we watched nervously, mesmerised by the walking black boulder but horrified by the tourists who clearly placed no value on their lives – or the bears! Matt stood at our car door just as the bear made its most defiant run yet. The girl it was chasing deserved nothing less than the fright she was given.
It would have been a tragedy if the bear had attacked as it would most certainly have been put down – for no fault of its own! Tom and the boys were terrified by the scene playing out in front of us and we completed our journey in a sombre air… grateful to have seen the beautiful bear but, for the boys and matt, a valuable lesson learned…
We arrived in Jasper a little nervous… accommodation had been impossible to secure and a very kind gentleman had seen my request for ideas on Facebook where I’d offered our home in exchange for a few Jasper days. He and his wife had kindly offered us their ‘basement apartment’ at no cost… and in return we extended an invitation to our home when they return to the UK.
The kindness of strangers is always such a precious gift. As we pulled up to their welcoming smiles it felt like we’d ‘come home’. What a beautiful home and such a blessing to have space to relax, wash clothes and recharge! What a total blessing.
We slept so well last night that I fell asleep half way through writing this!
Jasper has always been my ‘other home’ and I can’t wait to get out and about and share it with the crew!
xx
Essex Boys in Canada 🇨🇦 