Parks Parks and Parks: Day 16 - Banff National Park and Jasper National Park

The Icefields Parkway is known as one of the most scenic byways in the world. It is part of the Canadian National Park system, being the road that connects Banff National Park to Jasper National Park. Luckily, we haven't gotten enough of mountains, lakes, canyons, waterfalls, wildlife, or glaciers, so this drive was the perfect way to spend the day.

The highlight of the day was, by far, the Columbia Icefield Adventure, which was an opportunity to actually walk on top of the Athabasca Glacier! We rode on an Ice Explorer, which is a vehicle designed specifically to ride up a mountain and onto a glacier. There are only 23 of them in the world! We were allowed to get out and walk around, which was a surreal experience. Afterwards, we walked the Skywalk, which is a glass walkway over a deep canyon. It was like walking on air marred by dirty footprints.

Besides these experiences, we had a great time just driving the Parkway and taking in the views. We stepped out to do some short hikes, but there is so much to see just off the road, too. We made it to the town of Jasper and our lodging by nightfall.