Radium Springs to Jasper; Hotelling it
Yesterday was a long wet day.We started off from the campground outside of Radium Springs -- Redstreak campground -- and headed Lake Louise.We've been there before. It was wet. When we got there today it was wet as well. Unlike last time, however, we couldn't find a parking space. Chatting on the intercom we decided that we've already seen it when it was raining and we're not missing much.On the other hand if it was an awesome sunny day, well, I think both of us would have braved the crowds. As it was all it was getting us was wetter with an engine that was nearing overheating.We decided to move on.The next thing on the agenda was heading up the Icefields Parkway again. This was one of the few legs of the trip that was the same as last time. In both cases we were heading north from Lake Louise to Jasper.Like last time we stopped by Athabasca Glacier.Like last time the weather was kind of inclement.Like last time we climbed up the slowly shrinking glacier's path.Unlike last time, the glacier was 300-500 feet shorter. :-( Soon there won't be a glacier at all. It'll be Athabasca Meadows or something. Maybe they'll rename it to the Icefields Memorial Highway.As we were climbing down it started spitting down rain. At the bottom it turned into a full fledged gail rain with the ice cold (some bits of hail to make it real) rain hitting us horizontally. We high tailed it out of there as fast as we could.Towards Jasper we flip flopped about camping or not. We were even in line for a camp site with all the RVs that were clogging things up. Near the front of the line I realized that the clouds above were moving from the south. Moving from where we were just pummeled.Turning back (nearly getting taken out by a truck going on the wrong side of the road! WTF?!) we decided to hotel it.And get a burger.And beers.And wine for the hotel room....the dry hotel room... where we watched rain move in and out throughout the evening.But we did get to see a complete horizon-to-horizon double rainbow. By the time we got out to take pictures it was just a one-horizon double rainbow. But it was still spectacular.