Banff - Jasper Trip

[toughguy]

The wife and I took a vacation to Banff/Jasper last week. I was blown away by the landscape. Every time you turned your head there was something worth taking a picture of. I only wish I had the skills and equipment of some others that regularly post shots on this page. Here are some of my best efforts. If you ever have a chance to go to Banff/Jasper I would take it. It's something everyone should put on their bucket list. Truly Awesome

[toughguy]

[gatorhunter]

Wonderful photos of Canadian Rocky Mountain scenery.

FYI, if you put a space/between your photos, they'll show even better!

[fishinchicks]

Awesome series! I've been to Glacier National Park, but not to Banff. We'll have to add that to our travel list by the looks of it!

[toughguy]

spaces added. thanks for the suggestion

[dockothebay]

Beautiful! We haven't been there for 40 years - it may be time to go back!

[Dbl]

It is a beautiful place, and you have a nice representation of it!

[finnbay]

All very nice, but particularly like the sheep and goat shots!

[jeffreyd]

toughguy, my wife and i did the same trip in early June. Flew to calgary, drove to banff then up to jasper, spent 4 days in jasper then drove to kelowna bc for 4 days. It is just amazing, and luckily my company has operations in BC and AB so there is a good chance i can transfer up there when my son graduates. Great pictures. Jeff

[toughguy]

Thanks for the kind words everyone. It was a great time of the year to be there. I would wait a week or two more if I were to go again. The leaves were just starting to change and the temps were still in the high 70s most days with lows around 35-40. The locals I talked to said to avoid late June through August. It can get overcrowded at many of the stops. Some of the areas were still very busy in Mid September. It was funny to me how many people popped off a bus or a car, took 5 pictures in 5 minutes and left. I could sit at many of the sites for hours just watching the clouds float by. Such a relaxing place.

[toughguy]

Jeffryd - I told my wife several times I could move to the area in a second. Even Calgary would be great. Only an hour away from paradise and a booming area too.

[pulsar_nx]

Gorgeous photos!

[eyeguy 54]

Dandys!

[jeffreyd]

Where did you stay at in Jasper? We were in the park at the lodge, which was nice cause we had a small kitchen so i would go into town and get something for the day and make it at home. The best breakfast i had was at the steakhouse/bar, don't remember the name but man was it good. We did not see as much wildlife as you did as it was calving time for the elk, saw a few cows, no bulls, several sheep and a couple wolves. No bears, it was warming up so they were off the roads. We go up there every year.

I think next year tho we will do a week in Kelowna on the lake. What a great place, if you ever get the chance to go there, the lake is 80 miles long. I will try and fish it next year.

[Ufatz]

Ahhhh...yes. Makes a guy yearn for the old days seeing that kind of country again. You should have seen it in late 50's early 60's: not so many people and all the wild was still REALLY wild!

You'll go back. But remember: Calgary can be a blistering hot #$#%% in July and a frigid wind swept #$%@#%% in January!! LOL.

And Jasper in February will teach you the true meaning of "cold and lonely."

[toughguy]

We didn't make it to Kelowna. We only went as far west as Yoho. We only drove up to the town of Jasper so no overnights there. We spent 5 of our nights in Banff with 2 in Calgary (one on the way in and one on the way out). We had several good black bear sightings. There is a berry that grows well in the clearings along the roads. They say the bears will eat 200,000-250,000 of these berries a day. We sat and watched the one in the photo for about 20 minutes. He just destroyed bush after bush stripping each one clean. We also saw a grizzly but it was too far away for a picture good enough to post. No wolf, coyote, mountain lion or Caribou sightings for us.

[MuleShack]

Nice pictures.

It looks like an awesome place to go to see the scenery and relax.

I think it just made my short list. Thanks for sharing.

[Steve Foss]

Excellent photos. I've been told by quite a few people that Banff is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

[solbes]

Great pics!

My wife and I went to the Banff area for a week of tent camping; this was prior to having kids. One of my all time favorite vacations. We made Lake Louise our base camp since it's centrally located. Spend time in Banff, Lake Louise, Yoho, and Jasper. Great hiking, great wildlife. The whole vacation was about $500 for us then, and most of that was gas and camping fees. I have to agree its one of the most beautiful places I've seen.

[Brooky]

Awesome series TG.

[MuleShack]

We didn't make it to Kelowna. We only went as far west as Yoho. We only drove up to the town of Jasper so no overnights there. We spent 5 of our nights in Banff with 2 in Calgary (one on the way in and one on the way out). We had several good black bear sightings. There is a berry that grows well in the clearings along the roads. They say the bears will eat 200,000-250,000 of these berries a day. We sat and watched the one in the photo for about 20 minutes. He just destroyed bush after bush stripping each one clean. We also saw a grizzly but it was too far away for a picture good enough to post. No wolf, coyote, mountain lion or Caribou sightings for us.

Just curious if you did any organized tours or anything like that or if you just drove around and hiked?

[toughguy]

We rented a car and hiked. My wife broke her leg this last winter so we didn't do any hikes over 3-4 miles.

[Canon Guy]

Beautiful photos of a beuatiful location!

[IA4PATS]

Thanks alot toughguy I showed your pictures to my wife and now I have to come up with the money and vacation time to go there next September She loved your pictures and has always wanted to see the Canadian Rockies. The good news is she knows that our next big vacation gets me a new camera.

[toughguy]

lol. Glad I could help. You won't regret it. I've been planning our trip for about a year. My wife isn't a huge outdoors person. If it were totally up to her we would have gone to NYC or San Francisco. She had her doubts about the trip selection but was quickly won over by the beauty of the area. She loved it!