Starting from Banff, I took 1a for the Bow Valley Parkway. At Castle Junction, I jumped over to 1 as I had ridden 1A north yesterday. The northern section of 1A has much less traffic, but the trees are close to the road for much of this section.

 

The weather was perfect for today’s ride – although temperatures ranged from 11c (51f) to 31c ( 87.8). There are simply too many viewpoints along this road to mention.

At the Columbia Icefields Center, I stopped hopeful to do a tour. While I arrived relatively early, the tours were sold out until 3:30;PM. I have walked to the toe of the glacier during my last trip. I don’t think I would enjoy walking this with the high-season, Saturday tourist crowd. I enjoyed the views and moved on.

Jasper, and the surrounding campgrounds were slammed. While the last two nights camping have been fine, the campgrounds are designed for the large number of tourists they support. I enjoyed a quick stroll in Jasper and moved on.

Just outside of Jasper on Yellowtail Highway, the Athabasca River opens up across the valley. At this time of year, the river is perfect for sunbathing and playing. It is just knee deep, perfect temperature, with a nice sandy bottom. This was so cool, with cars parked everywhere, and people in beach chairs enjoying the weather and water.

I started up scenic 40 and camped at a small campground along a fishing river. There were very few campsites occupied. I put up my hammock right next to the river and relaxed for hours.