After finishing the bikepacking trip and a well-deserved recovery meal, was headed back up North for a few days in Jasper National Park. Situated a few hours North of Banff, Jasper is a more quite and remote park in the Canadian Rockies. The drive takes you through Mountains and Glaciers, with many places to pull over for views and a short hike along the way. A highlight is Athabasca Glacier, where you can walk right up to an real live glacier!

Breakfast IS the most important meal of the day!

Athabasca Glacier, slowly receding into the distance

I spent a few days of exploring the hiking and mountain biking trails in Jasper, and one excellent night soaking at Miette Hot Springs. Overall I preferred Jasper to Banff – it doesn’t have the rich resort feel in town, is less crowded, and nature feels closer by.

Back into the United States and a quick stop in Glacier National Park for a day hike and overnight camp.

Wildflowers below a Glacier in Glacier NP.

The next destination was Lander, Wyoming, directly in the path of the total solar eclipse on August 21. Luckily, a friend grew up in Wyoming and her house was directly in the path of totality! Her parents were kind enough to let a few friends and I spend some time on their ranch to see this once in a lifetime event. On the day, we camped out ahead of time with snacks and drinks and waited for the moon to eclipse the sun….

Sunglasses AND eclipse glasses. Take that solar rays!

A few seconds of night during totality

I didn’t take any photographs of the sun during the event, but if you didn’t get a chance to see the eclipse in person you can find way better photos online. I can say that totality was unlike any natural event I’ve experienced – the rapidly darkening sky, chilling air, and hushing environment around you. Look up and see the rainbow effects around the moon and complete eclipse of the sun. 30 seconds I’m not going to forget any time soon.