The next day was a long drive day but we built in lots of exciting stops. The highway north was scenic beyond belief, which seems to be a pattern in this part of Alberta. We headed north on highway 3, which runs right through a valley between the Canadian Rockies. We had towering snow laden peaks on the right, and towering snow laden peaks on the left. This far the Canadian driving experience has been exceptional with everyone being courteous and all of the roads being in excellent condition. Most of the highways also have very wide shoulders.
Our first stop was for a short hike out to a view point. Finding parking for two trucks with trailers is a bit of an adventure in and of itself, but Mom had the forethought to ask at the park entrance which stops had ample parking areas. The total distance of the hole was around a kilometer so Dad decided to brave it. Unfortunately what the sign didn't tell us was that the (paved) trail was covered in snow and featured several very steep sections. The trip up was no problem. The termination point was a platform looking out over a crystal blue lake and several mountains. We took in the view and then turned around to head back down. The snowy slopes were very slippery, even for all of the hikers with two functional Achilles, so Dad decided the best option was to slide down on his butt. This resulted in a wet butt and very wet feet, which was decided to be preferable to a re-ruptured Achilles.
Back into the vehicles and onward we trudged. We drove for a few hours. Through rain, sun, and even some snow. Our next stop was the icefield center where we learned a bit about glaciers, glacier trucks, and animals of the Canadian north. We also navigated some very large crowds. The roads were pretty clear for the most part, but the stops were very crowded. Back to driving.
We considered another short hike but the parking lot was not conducive to trailers so we soldiered on. Another hour or so and we arrived at our campsite. This campground was huuuuge and incredibly nice. The previous site had the nicest campground bathrooms we had ever encountered and this one blew it out of the water! Hot and cold water in the bathrooms, hot and cold water on the dish sink. Showers with hot water. Oh my!
We put together a team effort dinner and made a mountain of tortellini soup with sausage. Delicious! The kiddos played all sorts of game in the tall grass between our campsites, and we saw a few elk and a whole bunch (or one very fast) ground squirrel. They chittered at is endlessly. After dinner we watched the sun sink behind the mountains (at 11pm) and headed to bed.
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