Life on the High Plains

 Some more photos of our recent Canadian trip.  This time north of the Columbia Icefield. Athabasca Falls was one of our favorite stops. The falls is only about 23 meters high, but the force of the water makes it one of the most powerful in the Canadian Rockies. The Athabasca River flows from the Columbia Icefield and is the largest river system in Jasper NP. There is a paved pathway from the parking lot to view the falls. The force of the water has carved through the limestone resulting in beautiful walls lining the river. We got to get very up close and personal with the falls.   Jasper National Park experienced a massive fire in 2024. 80,000 acres were burned. In the town of Jasper 358 structures were lost out of only 1,110 structures.  Devastating. Sunwapta Falls Before heading to the falls though we had a picnic lunch to enjoy.  Fortunately, we had bought sandwiches and chips at the hotel prior to departing.  No food stops would be available until...

We recently visited the Columbia Icefield in Canada.  It's located at the northern end of Banff National Park and the southern end of Jasper National Park.  The Columbia Icefield is the largest icefield in North America's Rocky Mountains.  It covers 125 square miles, is up to 1,198 feet in depth and receives about 280 inches of snow per year. We splurged on a hotel that is about a mile from the Athabasca Glacier.  Here's a view from the hotel lobby.  We arrived later in that day so didn't have time for exploring (although it stayed light until 10 p.m. or later). It is possible to park at the Icefield Visitor Center and walk to the base of the glacier.  We decided to splurge on a ride to the glacier on an Ice Explorer.  Originally, our trip was schedule for the afternoon, but we changed it to the first trip of the next day and it was one of the best decisions ever. These all terrain vehicles weigh 55,000 lbs. and can carry 56 passengers.  They can ...

A couple people have asked so I thought I'd post pics of our new ensuite bathroom.  It's finally finished! I still need to do some decorating and the contractor is coming back to install the backsplash, but it's pretty much complete. The shower is especially luxurious. We ended up returning the mirrors I'd originally purchased because they were too big.  I think the round mirrors look better anyway. The new bathtub is my favorite thing.  It makes the room look so fresh and modern. The contractor nearly drove me crazy.  We had to spend an entire day cleaning up after him.  He did a great job installing the new LVP flooring but then he didn't cover them up before he texturized the walls.  In addition to the flooring it was all over the window, toilet, outlet covers and the top of our new vanity. Hopefully I never have to remodel anything ever again!

 Time to document our trip to Banff and Jasper National Parks.   We arrived in Calgary at 1:00 a.m. following weather and mechanical delays in Denver.  We boarded the plane for an on time departure and then there was lightening in the area so the ramp closed.  Following the delay we taxied to the runway and then sat there forever.  Finally the pilot came over the loudspeaker and said the plane's comm systems weren't working.  Back to the gate we go and by this time we'd been stuck on that plane for nearly three hours.  I had my phone out googling and sure enough airlines cannot hold you on the plane for more than tree hours.  They finally let us deplane and we waited for a new aircraft to arrive. I'm not one to get mad at the airlines.  I prefer they are overly cautious.  Anyway, we arrived in Calgary 10 minutes before the rental car center closed.  We made the very long trek from customs to the counter and thankfully got there...