*The beauty of the Canadian Rockies speaks for itself. This is Lake Maligne, an out-and-back day trip from Jasper.

At left, the tram from Jasper to the top of Whistler Mountain. (Another Whistler, the famous ski area, is in British Columbia.) Above, the view from the top.

After staying in Jasper for a couple of nights, we set off on the Icefields Parkway toward Banff. We camped most nights and stayed a couple of times in hostels. Above left, our first campsite, on the shores of Honeymoon Lake, below. We saw numerous elk wandering free around the campsites, though the one in the photo above right was in a fenced enclosre.

The Icefields Parkway roughly follows the course of the Bow River, so a good deal of the cycling is fairly easy, at least by Vermont standards. Then, there's the Athabasca Pass. At the top of the pass, above, it was snowing on July 24. Right, the Icefields Parkway heading south, down from the top of the pass.

Following the course of the Bow River.