We woke to rain and heavy cloud cover on Father’s Day (6/18). We planned to catch the shuttle bus to Lake Louise, but the weather created poor viewing conditions. We decided to wait until late August, when we drive through the area again on our return trip. We headed north to the famed Icefields Parkway. Experts claim this drive is one of the most beautiful stretches in North America. The experts probably had better weather than us. But, road trips require flexibility. We were still able to enjoy the scenery, regardless of the weather.
Much to our surprise, the rain turned to snow on the Icefields Parkway. Yep, I saw a snowplow in action on Father’s Day. Laurie insisted we stop so that she could make a snowman. Lucy was glad for the chance to play in the snow.
We enjoyed our stop along the Icefields Parkways at Athabasca Falls. A short walk from the parking area reveals a fast flowing glacial stream cascading into a canyon. The weather couldn’t keep us from enjoying this stop!
After our visit to the falls, we continued north to the Whistlers Campground, near Jasper, AB. This is another huge, efficient campground run by Parks Canada. As we drove into our site, we were greeted by a few elk. The photos below were taken just a few hundred feet from our campsite. Elk wandered around the campground much of the evening.
The weather turned colder, and we awoke Monday morning (6/19) to several inches of snow, with more on the way. The heavy, wet snow turned the campground into a Christmas card-like scene. Lucy certainly let us know whenever elk wandered by. We packed up our things, but struggled to bring in the slide on our RV. The heavy build up of snow on the prevented us from being able to retract the slide. Thankfully, a kind gentleman in a nearby motorhome brought over his ladder and helped us remove the snow. Faith in humanity is restored once again, as a good deed from a neighbor saved our day.
We headed east from Jasper to Hinton, AB. This route will allow us to reach the Alaska Highway in a few days, after driving through Grande Cache and Grande Prairie. The snow switched to rain, but didn’t stop. Excessive rain and flood warnings were issued for our area. We were glad that we had scheduled a short day of driving. We stopped at a Hinton, AB RV park for the night, but the rain never quit. The video below shows you what happens when Lucy is cooped up all day and finally gets out to play in the rain.
Hope you had a great Father’s Day! Great pictures and videos! Glad Lucy is having such a great time.
You are getting the real flavor of Canada and the weather, even in June. Hockey season is over, however. The pictures are gorgeous, the elk wonderful and you both look extremely happy. We hope that the weather has warmed up somewhat for you by now.