Inspiration: Glacier Water Blue…- 09.14.14
This post is part of our special NOTCOT Alberta Great Escape series thanks to our friends at Travel Alberta. In Part I, Shawn, Bucky, and I are loaded up in the NOTFZJ80 spending a week in Alberta roadtripping, camping, and exploring all that we can fit in… follow the series here to see what inspires us along the way!
This trip I may have found a new favorite color: that magical Glacier Water Blue! My first taste was the incredible Moraine Lake. And then i’ve shown you the powerful Sunwapta Falls! Well on the drive up the Icefields Parkway from Banff National Park into Jasper National Park, almost anytime we saw the word lake/creek, we tried to pull over and check it out. Sure, it made the drive a bit slower, but each and every one was worth it! No matter how many we saw, the color really doesn’t get old. The varying shades of minty turquoise of sorts… a greenish robin’s egg blue? a saturated Tiffany blue? As for what causes the unique colors, it comes from the light refracting off the rock flour suspended in the water from the melting glaciers. It varies from lake to lake, depending on the not only the rock flour, but also the lighting/weather/time of day… but the color is always spectacular. See some of the incredible Glacier Water Blues we encountered on the next page.
So far you’ve seen my favorite - Moraine Lake!
… and the powerful Sunwapta Falls!
Here’s the famous Lake Louise - with their iconic red canoes!
We rode the gondola/ski lifts up at Lake Louise in hopes of spotting their grizzlies who often appear below, but no action that day.
… we did however get a stunning view of the lake from up the mountain! From afar you really get a feel for how these glaciers melt into these beautiful lakes between the rockies.
Here’s Bow Lake!
See the Bow glacier behind it?
Checking it out from the Num-Ti-Ja Lodge side…
Peyto Lake! There’s Bucky posing like a tourist with the dog like shape of the lake.
Exploring Silverhorn Creek… still working our way up the Icefields Parkway!
This one had the cutest little bridge over it…
Another look at Bow Lake when were heading back south.
A look south at the Athabasca River as we headed out of Jasper.
To experience this magnificent glacier blue water for yourself - check out The Icefields Parkway Driving Guide - you can see how MANY creeks, falls, and lakes there are to stop off and see! We could have spent weeks exploring it all.