This is my sixth and final post about my trip to the Rocky Mountains of Montana and Alberta. You can read my previous posts about Glacier National Park, the Cowboy Trail, Lake Louise (the lake), Lake Louise (the village) and the town of Banff. In this post I’ll share photos of Yoho National Park in British Columbia, the Icefields Parkway in Banff and Jasper National Parks, and the Bow Valley Parkway in Banff National Park. I was only in each of these areas for a small portion of my trip, so individually, I did not have enough photos to warrant separate posts. That is why this post is called the Best of the Rest!
Takkakaw Falls in Yoho National Park is our first stop. Unfortunately, it was raining and overcast that day, but that just makes the photos more dramatic. I preferred the above shot with the bridge to the shot I got closer to the falls.
Looking back from the falls, you have this above sight.
Emerald Lake, also in Yoho, has the most beautiful blue hue. It reminded me of the Munchkinland scene in The Wizard of Oz.
After crossing a foot bridge, you come to the Emerald Lake Lodge. It was still raining when I took these photos, but you can’t really tell.
Now onto the Bow Valley Parkway in Banff National Park. Above is Bow Lake. Across the lake you can just make out the Num-Ti-Jah Lodge, which I photographed close up below.
The view was even better on the other side of the lake.
After Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, Peyto Lake, pictured above, is probably the third most famous. It’s hard to imagine from this photo all the people that are standing next to you when you go to look at these locations.
Johnston Canyon offers some scenery that’s a little different than what you see in the rest of Banff National Park. The water still has that signature teal tint to it, though.
It’s no surprise that this gushing waterfall is one of the pictorial highlights of the visit. I didn’t bring a tripod, so I balanced my camera on a ledge (with the strap around my neck) while taking these long exposures with my neutral density filter.
The vegetation above was killed off as a result of a prescribed burn and was just starting to grow back. It made for an interesting scene.
The Bow Valley Parkway is known for its wildlife. I was lucky enough to be able to photograph this elk munching on some greens near the side of the road. It’s not a bear, but I guess I can’t get too spoiled since I did see two grizzlies during the trip.
Finally, let’s have a look at some photos from the Icefields Parkway, which extends from the northern part of Banff National Park all the way into Jasper National Park.
Pictured above is Sunwapta Lake, at the foot of the Columbia Icefield.
Pictured above and below is the Columbia Ice Field. Many visitors like to take a huge bus out onto the ice field (you can see one just left of the center of the photo – a small speck).
