After reading this article on The Icefields Parkway, I was determined to experience one of the most beautiful road trips in North America. I planned a road trip from Montana, up through the Canadian Rockies, through some great places in Alberta, and then back down.
“One of Canada’s most treasured road journeys, the Icefields Parkway is a 144 mile stretch of highway which runs through the Canadian Rocky Mountains and takes travelers past incredible mountain views, iconic lakes, and seemingly-endless photo opportunities.”
Baby Infinity, at age one, wouldn’t have done very well with many long hours in the car, so Mommy and Infinity stayed home while Daddy, Zhenya, and Princeton set off.
We flew into Missoula, Montana, rented a ‘19 Dodge Charger, and headed North. By the end of this trip, we had traveled 2000 miles and spent over 40 hours in this car!
This is the first time I brought my new drone outside of the USA. Check out this short video of some aerial footage on both sides of the border.
After heading up past the biggest lake West of the Mississippi (Flathead lake), and visiting my high school bro, Chad, in Kalispell, we made it to Glacier National Park.
Glacier National Park is truly one of America’s wonders. The Going-To-The-Sun Road is a highlight!
Following in her mother’s footsteps, Zhenya took a glamour shot before leaving Glacier.
After a short and friendly interrogation at the Canadian border, we made it to Alberta! I appreciate that border security was doing their job and making sure that I had Mommy’s permission to take our children into another country.
Our first stop on the Icefields Parkway was Lake Louise. The turquoise color of the water comes from rock sediment carried into the lake by melted water from the glaciers that overlook the lake.
These Southern Californians were blessed by some spectacular wildlife encounters.
This was our first time seeing beavers and their beaver lodge in the wild.
We also saw some extraordinarily clean and beautiful cities. The first was the Northern capital of Edmonton.
It was great to see Z and PJ getting along so well!
The drive down to Calgary was filled with some amazing countryside views.
We were able to experience Canada Day for the first time!
Daddy even managed to embarrass Zhenya by taking part in the festivities!
We traveled in the summer, so even though it rained a little most days, the weather was perfect for exploring.
We spent a few days exploring the parks and streets of Calgary, making friends with some real Canadian geese!
Alberta is known for some of the greatest dinosaur fossil discoveries in the world. Princeton, deep into his dinosaur stage, was overwhelmed when we visited the Royal Tyrrell Dinosaur Museum.
We had the double pleasure of not only visiting Canada on Canada Day, but also visiting Calgary during the world class, world famous, Calgary Stampede, “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth!”
On the way home, we visited the Youth With A Mission (YWAM) campus in Lakeside Montana. They just finished construction of this new meeting hall!
There has been lots of incredible changes (besides my hair style) since I attended the School of Worship here back in 1993.
Until next time,
