2014 Summer Tour! Banff and Jasper.

Today we bid adieu to our lakeside home away from home and headed across the eastern part of British Columbia towards Banff and the Canadian Rockies.

We arrived in Banff in the early evening, had dinner, and experienced a bit of a thunder and lightning storm.  Not a usual experience for us So Cal folks.

In the morning we awoke for our first official day of sightseeing in the Canadian Rockies.  The Sulphur Mountain Gondola is the place to start.

We had our lunch up at the Gondola and then descended and headed over to Johnston Canyon, a beautiful place the AABC has been visiting and hiking for decades.

There are basically three \”stops\” when you hike Johnston Canyon:  1) The Lower Falls (about 1 mile round-trip); The Upper Falls (about 3 miles round-trip); 3) The Ink Pots (about 7 miles round-trip).  And so the boys broke into groups accompanied by staff members and we were off!

A record number of boys and staff members made it all the way to the Ink Pots.  It was a tired but happy bunch that headed back into Banff for a good night\’s rest.

The next morning we\’re off to Jasper via the famous Icefield Parkway.  Spectacular views all the way and our stop at Peyto Lake was super.

 

We stopped for a quick picnic enroute from Peyto Lake to the Columbia Icefields.  We arrived a little bit early and everyone hit the restrooms and the gift shop!

We met up with a group of parents/families and everyone went up to the Athabasca Glacier.

On to Jasper!  After a quick dinner in town at a really cool pizza place (which included watching Paco and Pierre engage in a serious game of pool), we arrived at our lodgings; located right on the banks of the Athabasca River.  What a beautiful spot.  We checked in and watched the sunset (around 10 pm).

 

Tomorrow is our concert in Jasper!