Drive the Icefields Parkway. At Least Once.

A few weekends ago (the August long weekend, to be exact), it was my 31st birthday. With all of the hoopla of the contest win the day after my birthday, I haven’t had a chance to sit down and reflect about that weekend. In a few words, it was very enjoyable, relaxing, and beautiful.

Robbie and I set out from Calgary en route to Jasper. I didn’t actually know what was in store for the weekend, which made it all quite exciting! First stop- kayaking in Banff. I had never gone kayaking before, and it was so much fun! Then it was on to the Icefields Parkway, making photo stops along the way, until reaching Jasper. The next day, we started the morning off with horseback riding, followed by a relaxing afternoon with a short visit to Maligne Canyon. The last day we headed back to Calgary, but not before seeing the glaciers on Mount Edith Cavell, admiring the Athabasca Falls, and taking in the bright turquoise of Peyto Lake. It was a fantastic birthday weekend 🙂

Now, I’ve done the Icefields Parkway drive before, and this second time was just as awesome as the first. The mountains are incredible, and the landscape changes from Kananaskis to Banff to the Icefields Parkway and then finally to Jasper. I don’t know a lot about the geology or the formation of the mountains, but something incredible occurred to make them look the way they do. And so, I wanted the take home message of this post to be this: If there is ever an opportunity to drive the Icefields Parkway, do it. It is one of National Geographic’s Ultimate Road Trips, and with very good reason. It really is one of the most beautiful and majestic drives. I acknowledge that I am quite fortunate to live so close to such amazing scenery, but it really never gets old. Every time I drive through the mountains, I’m lost and mesmerized all over again.