Wehner Alaska Highway Trip 2013: SEPTEMBER 5: HINTON to CALGARY (CANADIAN ROCKIES)

I got an early start on my way back to Jasper and Banff National Parks via the Icefields Highway. The Canadian Rockies is a good place to visit. There is a lot to see in a relatively condensed space compared to the trip I have been. My stops in Jasper NP included Mount Edith Cavell, Athabasca Falls, Sunwapta Falls and the Columbia Icefields.

Further south I arrived in the Town of Banff. Banff is a small tourist town that is decidedly more upscale than Jasper. It seems like a popular place for Europeans to overspend. The sites around Banff are more developed for tourists and in my opinion take away from the natural beauty found elsewhere. Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, two of the more popular spots, was disappointing. I saw much more scenic lakes throughout the Northwest. These are popular because tourists can stay at hotels near the shorelines.

The sites visited in Banff included Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, Lake Minnewanka and Banff Springs Hotel and Bow Falls

Today's wildlife included elk, mountain goats, a coyote and a large rack white-tailed deer.

The pictures I have taken do not adequately capture the true beauty of the area. I have taken over two thousand on this trip but can obviously only choose a few for the blog.

From the Rockies, I headed to Calgary where this whole adventure started. After checking in to my hotel, I got dinner and watched some of the NFL season opener.

Tomorrow I will need to run some errands in preparation for the return trip and then tour the City of Calgary.