Epic Icefields Parkway 🐺 Jasper's Incredible Recovery • Canada RV Travel

We are leaving Banff. Kind of sad, but kind of exciting. We're fixing to go on the Icefield Parkway. If you haven't seen that, it's something you've got to see. Part of it connects to Banff, part of it connects to Jasper, and it's just a very, very scenic route with a lot of pullovers, a lot of pullouts, a lot of parking lots. You could really spend about eight hours on the parkway if you stopped at every stop and did some hikes, did some walks. We're going to do several, but we're going to get to Jasper, but we're going to hit some of the highlights and show those to you. Woohoo! We are officially on the Icefield Parkway. Hey, I just want to give you a few tips for the Icefield Parkway. Number one, there's no cell service. You might want to have walkie-talkies if you're traveling in a group. Number two, download those maps. If you're using RV Live, Garmin, Google, download those maps so they work even without data or cell service. And number three, watch out for those frost thieves. We already hit two, was well marked, no issues. We slowed down and had no problems, but that was our first official frost thieve. And number four, be wildlife aware. There's a good chance, especially according to what time of day you're there, you might, there's a good chance you'll see wildlife. Packed up the RV, left Tennessee behind. This first stop is called Crow's Foot Glacier. We'll show you a picture of that. It's, you'll see the three toes of the crow's foot. One, the bottom toe is kind of melted away some, so you can only see partial of it, but it's pretty cool. And I hope you can see the lake because it is full of ice and this is probably the coolest stop we've Yeah, and I will say this, this is the most beautiful drive we have ever been on. Can't wait to see the rest of it. So this right here is the section that's the crow's foot. So we thought the first stop on this high school trail was amazing, but this beats that. So if it gets any better, I don't know what we're going to do because this is just simply amazing. I've never seen a lake frozen over the way this one is. It's so super cool. So this is Bow Lake. It is amazing. You'll see some of this amazing, the ice still in the water and the snow in the mountains from the smoky mountains. We rolled with a cheer and us near. Oh, RV America wheels on the road, mountains and valleys where stories are told from Tennessee's green to Alaska's where we go. We're looking for a lake. We're looking for a lake that looks like a wolf. This is supposed to be the most iconic spot on the entire ice field parkway. It's on the bank and I will say it smells super good down through here because of all the pine trees. So along the ice field parkway, we are currently at Pato Lake and it is the highest point of the entire parkway. I think it was 6,800 plus meters. We're at the highest point. There was a little bit of walk up, but not crazy. Not bad. There was snow and that was kind of cool. Slippery in spots, but let me say it again. We thought the last spot was the most beautiful we would see on this, but we stand corrected. This is like amazing. And it's a wolf head. Who ever heard of a lake shaped like a wolf head? It's just amazing. I stand amazed at the beauty God has created for us. Yes. If you look up higher, you'll see the Pato Glacier. We'll show you a picture of where it was over a hundred years ago during the little ice age. Of course, the world was colder during the little ice age, so it was farther down, but check out the blue glacier blue lake with the wolf head. So our milepost is coming in handy along the ice field parkway. It's telling us where the stops are. Also, I have had AI tell us where RV friendly pullouts are. So we've got a list about nine pullovers, ten pullovers, I think it was, so that have enough room for three rigs since we're traveling in this caravan. So they're waiting for T-Tuck Travels. Made it to Great Falls, Montana's embrace. The Misery River shining in that wide open space. We camped by the stars, felt the cool hawkies with no cares. This is Saskatchewan Crossing. It's the only place where you can stop and get gas or a convenience store. There's also a restaurant here. So it's always good to fill up before you get on the ice field parkway, but just in case you needed it, here it is right behind us. And the view, the sun's not the perfect spot, but hopefully you can see the views of these mountains all around us. We're almost surrounded 360 with mountains. That was an amazing waterfall. I'm so glad there was a huge space at the top to pull over and get out and get video. Turquoise lakes and glaciers made our spirits fly. Elk roamed the meadows, the air so crisp. Every mile a memory, every view a gift. We made it to Jasper National Park and we're staying at Whistler's RV park and campground, which happens to be inside the park. Whistler is Jasper's largest campground with over 780 sites. Whether you're in an RV or cozy tent, they've got you covered. There's full hookups, electrical sites, or if you want to rough it, unserviced spots. The campground is just four kilometers or a quarter of a mile from Jasper town or village. It is super convenient. Now I want you to make sure to be wildlife alert. You might spot elk wandering through the campsites. We did on most nights and maybe bears. There was another bear with two cubs that so many people saw inside that park. The amenities are top-notch. Brand new showers and restrooms. They even got A-frame cabins with tents. They're called O-tent-kins for if you're looking for that glamping vibe. And let me end with a pro tip. Book early on the Parks Canada site. Spots do fill up fast. Here's a tip for you. When you're setting up, always, always, always check behind your slide. You never know what has rolled there during your drive. And if you check behind the slide, you won't ruin a whole bunch of stuff or possibly your slide. This one has slid during our drive. It's day 21 of our Alaskan adventure. Nope, not made it to Alaska yet. Nope, we didn't make it as we said yesterday into Jasper National Park. It's wet. It's been raining. It's cloudy and dreary. Yeah, but when you only have, you know, about three days in the park, you've got to get out and explore. So we're exploring things that are shorter trips, shorter hikes, and hopefully dodge the raindrops. Yep, so we are at Pyramid Lake at right at Pyramid Mountain. So we're hoping to see a little bit of that. I don't think we'll see the reflection that's it's famous for across the clouds, but we'll see. So there's the view from the red chairs. You get to see the mountains, the lake, all the scenery. Red chairs always indicate a beautiful place to sit and relax. It's cloudy. It's dreary, but guess what? With the help of Devon Joel, we're making our own sunshine. Nope, she almost fell. If you want to learn a lot about the area that you're currently in, just take time to visit the visitor center. So on rainy days, what do you do? We are exploring the famous Jasper Park Lodge here in Jasper. It's so rainy, I got my shades on. No, it is warmed up now, but that was on our schedule to short hikes, uh, see the... It was supposed to be raining. Yes, it should be raining right about now. Yeah, according to Joel's weather app. So, but you can always find something to do when it's forecast to rain. Yep, this lodge is really cool. So if you come to Jasper, take the time to go over and walk through the lodge, see the big fireplace, and have a cup of coffee or something. What can we do, Deb? Find your own sunshine. It worked. Look at that. Good job, Deb. Yep, well, we're chasing our sunshine. It's day 22 of our Great Alaskan Adventure. We had campgrounds figured out until we got to the Canadian National Parks in Banff and Jasper. That's the last place we had campground reservations until we have them in Denali and over the Fourth of July in Alaska. Everything else, we're flying by the seat of our pants. So today we are meeting up with three, including us, of the four in the caravan to discuss where we're going to stay because we're going to try to boondock at least five days a week, six days a week, and find a campground along the way to catch up on laundry or do video editing or whatever the case may be. But we're excited. We're still in Jasper. We'll be here until Tuesday morning, so a few more days. But I thought I'd let you know what we had planned as far as campgrounds and what we've got to do. So we're having the group come in this morning. We're going to have a little bit of a planning session and decide like how far we want to drive and where we think we might want to stop just because we want to all be on the same page. And this is something I recommend with you if you have a group. Get together every so often and make sure you're all still on the same page so that it all goes well. Now right over there is the glacier. Okay, so let me give you a word of advice. We drove back up the Icefield Parkway because we wanted to go see a glacier. We wanted to get out and walk on the glacier, and we get up here and it's snowing. Did we bring hats or scarves or gloves or even a thick pair of pants? No, we dress for summertime because that's what it was at the bottom of the hill. So, don't do that. If you drive anywhere to get on a glacier, dress appropriately. Don't be like us. We couldn't go to Utah. We couldn't go to Arizona. We went to Canada where there's snow on the ground, but we think it's summertime. So, we're on the Milan Valley Scenic Drive. It is one that's been mentioned to us as we go to Jasper. We must see. It's on a lot of people's bucket list as being one of the most beautiful drives there is. Unfortunately, as you've seen, so much damage is done to the trees. It's great to see the life coming back in the mountains and the green coming back, but it's still sad to see. I'll show you pictures as we can get them, video as we can get them of the Milan River. It's a very fast flowing river and the Milan Lake. We believe that's it behind us, but unfortunately, the sign that shows you where everything's at did not survive. It's just all bubbled up and we cannot tell if that's the Milan Lake down there, but it's supposed to be very turquoise color and that matches the description. I'm standing here on this mountainside and if you look way over there, I'm going to zoom in the best I can, you will see there is a little village or the town or whatever you call it. Jasper. Right down there's the valley. It's way on down. Pretty cool. This is Medicine Lake, one of the gems of the Milan Valley Drive. Yeah, there's a pull-off, so definitely pull off and see this. This is the lake that they describe it as the open bathtub, no drain. During the winter, the water just disappears, drains out to other areas and then as the creeks and other waters fill it No, it's not a Ponderosa. If you find a Ponderosa Pine, it'll smell like vanilla. We really, really wanted to at least get to the first lake, but we think the water is pretty high. There's our sign and it's surrounded with water, so there is just no way. Then the Alaskan highway through forests and tundra flowing like streams. So if you go anywhere in Jasper Park, we're at the lake, but if you go anywhere, be sure you have your park pass with you. If you don't, you might get the same thing this guy's got. There's a gift shop and a cafeteria that you can grab a lunch. Smells good. Okay, so this is our first time we are having mosquitoes and they are all around us here next to the lake. I don't know that you can see them in the video, but they are absolutely everywhere. Hundreds of them. You got to keep moving or you'll just be swamped with them. Where's the bug spray? Where's the bug spray? In the camper, not where we're at. So that's Danny right there in front and apparently he is not happy at all. The mosquitoes are gone and Deb and Joel are in front of him and they're not too happy. Everybody's putting their hats on because they're so thick here and I've got mosquito netting and a really good hat, but I didn't bring it. We did not get tickets to the boat ride here, but if you want to go to Spirit Island, you definitely have to get a boat ride or rent a canoe. We're saving our money for tours in Alaska, so we did not get that. As we pulled up, we were hearing that it was $140 Canadian to get on the boat, so make sure you check online. It's cheaper online. I think it was about $100 Canadian. The Malign Lake is the largest in the Rockies, including the U.S. and the Canadian Rockies. It is over 28 kilometers long. I'm going to let you sit in the red chair today and see what I see. So this trail right here beside the lake started out being real level and for the last little bit we've gone straight uphill. What do you think? Ah, as we would say in Wisconsin, oofta. I'd say holy guacamole. We're ready for level ground again. Who wants to come this way? Oh, the car's here. The Malign River is a very beautiful river. A lot of colors. The blues. A very spirited river. A lot of fast flowing water. I've got the Korean chicken sandwich and it looks great. We're at the Jasper Brewing House and looking forward to this food. Be sure to join us next week as we finally make it to the Alaskan Highway. And if you're enjoying this series, don't forget to hit the subscribe button. You don't want to miss anything. Don't forget to give us a thumbs up if you like this video. Until next time, God bless and many safe travels. And go RV America!