Following Drumheller and the Royal Tyrell Museum we spent a day and a half in Calgary where we did the zoo and saw Madagascar 3. Then we headed towards heaven! We made our way past Banff and headed north at Lake Louise up the Icefields Parkway to our next destination of Jasper. The Parkway is absolutely stunning! It takes about 3 hours from Banff and even longer for us as we stopped (it seemed) every few kilometres to take another picture.
We saw tons of cyclists - this would be an epic ride and is definitely now on the bucket list.
Here we are at Bow Lake - the glacier lake was a gorgeous blue and definitely cold.
This is Maligne Lake and it's about 45 minutes outside Jasper and incredibly beautiful.
In Jasper I decided to go for a run - I followed a trail behind our cabin, despite the post warning of wolves in the area, and climbed above the town where I took this shot looking down on Jasper.
From the trail looking in the other direction.
Because it was summer solstice there was a ton of daylight hours available. The sun rose at 4:45am and got dark at 11:15pm. It's amazing because with the extended daylight my energy levels were totally different. I went for a ride at 10 pm one night and it was completely light out. The next day Sara, Logan and I went for a bike ride.
We followed some river trails that were awesome.
And more mountains.
We ended up riding for 2 hours - Logan held up well. Here's Sara and Logan heading back towards town.
I like to try local coffee places when I travel and Jasper did not disappoint. I opted for the "red eye" - double espresso plus dark coffee (it was like jet fuel!).
We left Jasper (but will definitely be back) and headed back towards Banff where I would be working an Urology Conference. On the way we hit up a couple of stops we missed on the Parkway. First up - Athabasca Falls. WOW!
Second stop - the Icefields. The picture doesn't do it justice. These things are huge! Surrounded by mountains and the icefield made us feel small.
In Banff we got settled and I had a free morning before the conference got going so we decided to head to Lake Louise and take a canoe out - something I've wanted to do for years.
Although it wasn't the greatest of weather it was still amazing.
The water was the most unique colour of blue, like a milky blue.
The historic Chateau Lake Louise.
With my work duties now on, Sara and Logan got their hike on by climbing up Tunnel Mountain. For Logan to make the summit was impressive. In the background is the town of Banff.
One of the locals.
Here's Logan hiking up Summit mountain on our last day. We really pushed the envelope on activity while traveling with an eight year old but Logan toughed it out. Notice the hiking stick complete with bear bell to ward off, well, you know, bears!
At the base of Summit Mountain and across the street from the Rimrock hotel where we were staying was the Banff Hot Springs. 
Here we are at 10:30pm relaxing in the hot springs - a nice end to our wonderful trip. We got a few hours sleep and woke up at 2:30am to head back to Calgary for our 6:00am flight back to Toronto. We had a great time overall and will come back in the future.
Everyone should make the trip out west at some point - trust me you will not regret it!
Cheers!
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