----- click on a photo to zoom in -----
The Icefields Parkway, about 230 kilometers long, goes from Jasper to Banff. The road below is the road we were on about 15 minutes previous.
Zoom in on this one. Ahhhh. I wish we were back there!
The Athabaska Glacier just off the Icefields Parkway. Going, going... It's receded about two kilometers over the past 100 years. If you zoom in on the photo you can see cars parked at the base of the glacier. Is it a catastrophe that the glaciers are melting? Maybe not. Some scientists say the earth is still warming up from the last ice age, and the glaciers should be melting. I'm good with that.
Gail and I took a lot of photos through the windshield and out to the side as we were driving. You don't have to "stop and snap." Zoom in on this one. Not a bad moving snapshot, eh?
This was taken through the windshield too. If you look closely you can see a bit of a reflection of the dashboard. And there were probably bug smears on the whidshield as well. I think Gail took over 2000 photos on the trip. That's the way the National Geographic photographers do it. Take thousands and a few will be good enough to publish.
The wild animals are very tame in the National Parks, where, of course, hunting is not permitted. These Rocky Mountain Bighorn Rams was walking by the side of the road and were completely unconcerned by us.
We saw some Pronghorn Antelope on our trip as well, bet weren't able to get a photo. There were a bunch of them, but they weren't playing with any deer. Bummer. (This photo was borrowed from the Web.)
We also saw a black bear within a stones throw of the road. Being in an open car we didn't stop to get a photo. We do not trust bears.
I never understood why some people in a convertible have their windows up when they have the top down. Now I know. It makes the drive both warmer and quieter. We were very comfortable for the entire trip in Gigi. Top down 90% of the time.Some people say a Miata doesn't have an interior - it has a cockpit. I'll buy that. The trunk is sort of OK though. We were gone for just over three weeks and I still had two clean pairs of slacks when we got home. And we even had room for a few souvenirs!
Lake Louise, near Banff. Any questions?! It's one of the most photographed places on earth.(And a big thank you to Gillian! She gave me the book, "1000 Places to See Before You Die" last Christmas. I think we checked off more than a dozen on our trip.)
Doug (and Gail)
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