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The journey on the Glacier Adventure started at the Columbia Icefield Glacier Discovery Centre where the two RV Gypsies boarded a shuttle and traveled towards the Athabasca Glacier. As the glaciated terrain became more rugged, everyone transferred to the snowcoach. Karen took photos out the side window of the snowcoach. |
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Along the way, the driver shared information about glaciers and ice fields and their impact on our environment. Even the dirt area is actually part of the glacier. |
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The red arrow in the photo below is pointing to the RV and toad of the two RV Gypsies in the parking lot of the Icefield Centre, as seen from the traveling snowcoach. |
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The dots seen on the 'road'
in the photo below are snowcoaches. |
Below: One snowcoach in the dust
and one on the 'road' ahead. |
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Below: Alongside the snowcoach path, Karen photographed a small, slow moving river of ice that goes 30 stories deep. |
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Time for the two RV Gypsies to exit the snowcoach and walk on the glacier. |
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The two RV Gypsies head for the water flowing down the bank of the Glacier. |
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Karen Duquette did not bring her water bottle with her to refill with the pure glacial water that was flowing by in rivulets, so she decided to cup her hands and get a few sips of the water anyway. She had to be careful not to fall into the crevice while reaching for the water. |
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The water tasted great, but almost froze Karen's hand off. |
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Below: A close up of the water as it reached the crevice area, and the water on the floor of the glacier. |
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There were people everywhere. Suddenly there was a bit of a commotion because a hole opened up where a lady had stepped and when her friends helped her get her leg out of the hole, her sneaker was still in the hole. So someone reached down into the hole to get the sneaker for her. She dumped the water out of the sneaker and had to wear it again. Bet her foot was frozen for real! |
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Lee Duquette and the Canadian Flag. |
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Karen Duquette's foot sank into a small hole as she was holding the Canadian flag, but she moved quickly enough not to get trapped in the hole like the other lady did. |
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Below: Another area with water flowing down into a crevice. This water was flowing faster and wider than the other section. |
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Karen Duquette had a harder time reaching for a drink of water this time. |
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Time for Karen Duquette to get back on the snowcoach. |
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Below: View from the side window
of the snowcoach. |
Below: One dot on the 'road' ahead
- another snowcoach. |
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Karen Duquette stuck the camera out the small opening in the side window to get photos of the snowcoaches. |
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Glacier Definition: Glaciers form where more snow falls in the winter than melts each summer. As the snow get thicker and heavier, it compacts into dense glacial ice that slowly flows downhill, like a river of taffy. Water flows to three different oceans from this area, known as a hydrological apex. On the British Columbia side of the icefield, meltwater flows into the Columbia River and eventually into the Pacific Ocean. On the Alberta side, the North Saskatchewan and Athabasca Rivers feed into the Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean, respectively. These rivers provide fresh drinking water for millions of people and are crucial to agriculture and countless ecosystems. That's why their source is protected in a national park. |
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