Last Updated 12/08/2003

 

Tomhave Family Vaction - August 2003
=== Page One ===
(Click any picture for the full-size image.)

In August 2003, my parents came to visit us in Montana for the first time since we had moved here in Aug./Sept. 2001. The original plan had been to extensively explore Glacier and Waterton National Parks. Unfortunately, Summer 2003 saw one of the worst fire seasons for Glacier, and Montana in general, that had been seen in a long time. As a result, I rearranged our schedule to head farther north to Banff and Jasper National Parks in Alberta, Canada. While there were fires to the west of the divide in Canada, the impact at Jasper was minimal. The above picture is taken from just outside of Banff and shows the large smoke plume that affected our visit there. We were very perturbed to find the majority of trails in Banff NP closed due to "fire danger" even though there were no fires within the park. Bloody brilliant, if you ask me!

Due to the large number of pictures presented here (out of the even larger number taken), I have broken this travelogue into multiple pages. Below is a trip itinerary overview with links to each day's pictures.

A look back south along highway 93 as we make our way toward Jasper.
Mount Kitchener in the distance with the Columbia Icefield pushing up and over the top of the mountain peaks. Photo taken along the way south to the Columbia Icefield from Jasper.
A close-up of Mt. Kitchener and the edge of the Columbia Icefield.	Looking back to the north-northwest from highway 93 within Jasper National Park.
A look due south from highway 93 in Jasper National Park en route to the Columbia Icefield.
This is a panoramic shot of the Saskatchewan Glacier valley, constructed from four individual shots taken from roughly the same position. This picture shows just how far the glacier has receeded over its lifetime.
A shot of the Saskatchewan Glacier.	Mom and Dad on the trail near the Saskatchewan Glacier.
A zoomed-in shot of the Saskatchewan Glacier.	A photo of some of the many wildflowers growing along the trail for the Saskatchewan Glacier
Moraine Lake - the most turquoise blue lake that I've ever seen in my entire life. The sun combined with smoke from the nearby fires to create and almost heavenly presence in the upper-right corner.	Some people canoe about Moraine Lake.
A close-up of Moraine Lake.	Another close-up of Moraine Lake. It strikes me as likely that the coloring is a result of glacial silt in the water. Either that, or perhaps oxydized copper?

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