Day Ten--Calgary, AB, to Hinton, AB

Today we drove through some of the most spectacular scenery in the world--really.  We left the Calaway RV park west of Calgary, and drove further west to Banff to pick up the Glacier Highway, from Banff, Alberta, to Jasper, Alberta, which has been named the most beautiful highway in North America by several travel companies.  Banff National Park and Jasper National Park are adjacent and the highway passes through the middle of both parks.  Officially, the highway's designation as the Glacier Highway ends in Jasper, but the road continues through the national park.  We were expecting to see much wildlife and didn't see much.  But we did see the magnificent Canadian Rocky Mountains, and glaciers and ice fields, rivers, lakes, and more mountains.  Our destination was Hinton, Alberta, which I had never heard of before I started planning this trip.  But it looked like it was an appropriate distance along the highway, but who knew what to expect from a small Canadian town you've never heard of. 

The most exciting experience along the way was the tour of the Glacier Skywalk at the Columbia Ice Center, which is about halfway through the two parks, but actually is in Jasper National Park.  You may have seen the Skywalk advertised this year, as it just opened last month.  It's a glass walkway that literally extends out over a river canyon.  It comes with an educational component concerning the glaciers, how they form and move, and how they are receding.  In particular, the Athabasca glacier is the focus of much of their exhibits.  You can buy tickets on a "bus" (with tank treads) that takes you out onto the glacier, but we didn't have time for that.  The ice on the Athabasca glacier is hundreds of feet thick.  We did see a bighorn sheep and some mountain goats further on in the park. 

 We found the Jasper Gates RV Park, with a Hinton address, but actually just outside the national park, and about 6 miles from Hinton.  It was a nice park with lots of trees. Tomorrow, we leave civilization and head for the wilderness:  Dawson Creek, British Columbia, and mile zero for the Alaska Highway.