Road trip Calgary to Jasper

Flying from Heathrow with WestJet - who??? That was my thought before I booked this trip as I’d not come across them before ?? Can’t fault the journey across with them, landing in Calgary and pretty much off the plane and clearing customs in 10 minutes - boy does our border force need to take some tips from the Canadians! E-gates scan your passport, you fill in a few questions and that’s pretty much it - a couple of questions from Canadian immigration and then go grab your bags. We picked up our car from the airport and headed towards Banff - the scenery is just amazing! Arriving in Banff we dumped our bags and headed out for a bite to eat, stopping off at The Grizzly House - famous for its fondues - ranging from your standard cheese to the exotic with alligator and rattlesnake. A short wander around town before heading to bed as we were starting to feel jet lagged. Up early the next morning we headed out for breakfast and stopped at Touloulous for some French toast and pancakes. We then headed out to walk off the calories?? heading to Bow View Falls, and then a fab walk around Johnson’s Lake and a trip to Lake Minnewanka for yet more amazing views. A visit then to Banff Hot Springs and then the Banff Gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain, and dinner at Sky Bistro - the views alone are stunning and the food was outstanding. Banff itself is a gorgeous town with loads of amazing bars and restaurants and plenty of exploring to be done, a year round destination, perfect for hiking the trails in the summer and enjoying the piste in the winter.

Leaving Banff and head out West on the Highway 1a, I was desperately hoping to spot some bears along the way and thankfully I wasn’t disappointed ???? The journey to Lake Louise yet again was stunning and the lake itself is just breath-taking. Leaving there, and back in the car we had the long journey to Jasper ahead of us, what a journey along the Icefield Parkway and the Athabasca and Columbia Glaciers, never mind the numerous lakes we passed along the way as well - if only we had the time to stop and take them all in - the colours are just amazing. This is one of the most spectacular drives in the world, with stunning scenery. Along the way we were lucky enough to see another bear just happily mooching along the side of the road ??. Arriving into Jasper which is a total contrast to Banff, Banff is your cosmopolitan town and Jasper is slightly dated but perfect for white water rafting, canoeing, and trekking with again skiing in the winter months. We stayed the night at Tekarra Lodge which has the most amazing back drop of Athabasca River, no bears to be spotted but we did see some Elk along the way. A quick stop here in Jasper as we were then jumping on board Via Rail for our journey through the Rocky Mountains and heading to Vancouver.

Our next 24 hours was spent on the train traveling through the Rocky Mountains and our journey ending up in Vancouver. Yet again the views have been stunning with every turn, (well apart from the last couple of hours as we headed into the city ??). There is not much more to say about this leg of the journey so far, but I can't stress how fantastic the journey was - for me it has to be the highlight of our trip to Canada.