Glacier Trekking along the Icefields Parkway in Jasper National Park

The carful of kids trek across the North American continent to Jasper National Park from Texas.

The carful of kids spent a day and a half in the glorious Banff National Park marveling at the lakes and mountains of the Canadian Rockies. We are headed north now after packing up our cabin at Two Jack Lakeside in Banff National Park where we enjoyed two nights in a Parks Canada oTENTik.

The carful of kids say good-bye to Banff, in the background you see a pair of Parks Canada's Red Chairs suggesting to sit and enjoy an epic view.

The carful of kids are halfway through our road trip adventure that started in Central Texas with the goal of driving to Jasper National Park and back. I made a reservation for another oTENTik--part cabin, part platform tent, in Jasper's Whistlers Campground for the evening after we explore the scenic Icefields Parkway.

The Parks Canada's oTENTiks ( $ 120 CAN a night ) are great for families with platform beds for six people and a table with four chairs inside; though eating inside the oTENTiks is prohibited due to the wildlife encounters within Jasper National Park. The kids love them and I love that I don't have to pitch a tent after a long day of driving and exploring. Just grab the sleeping bags and cooking gear, presto--you're camping. 

Our oTENTik--kids love them and I love the roof if it rains.

After loading up our gear we catch the Trans-Canada Highway 1 North to Lake Lousie, where we stop at the Lake Louise Visitors Center to turn in the Parks Canada X'plorer booklets for a collectible dog tag that the carful of kids receive after finishing theirs. This is also a great stop to load up on supplies and gas because the Icefields Parkway is a desolate stretch of scenic highway.

Back in the SUV the carful of kids turn onto Highway 93 North or Icefields Parkway as it's commonly known--completed in 1940, it's 140 miles long and parallels the Continental Divide. You should give yourself a full day to drive to Jasper National Park especially if you stop along the way.

Along the Icefields Parkway, one of the most scenic highways in North America.

Jasper National Park ( daily admission is $ 19.60 CAN for a family or $ 136.40 CAN for the Discovery Annual Pass) is the largest national park in Canada encompassing 4,200 square miles. This park, in my opinion, is even more beautiful than Banff NP but a lot less crowded.

The mountain scenery is unmatched on the Icefields Parkway so take your time. The road is well maintained but the driving can get slow if you get behind a lumbering RV--it's a two-lane highway the majority of the way except for the occasional passing lane. 

The carful of kids stop for a photo in front of the vintage Sno-Cat, we won't be touring the Athabasca Glacier in that today.

This is farthest north the carful of kids have traveled in North America and we're all excited. There are pullouts and hikes along the Icefields Parkway but one activity not to be missed is the Columbia Icefield Glacier Discovery Centre. 

Columbia Icefield Glacier Discovery Centre, 80 miles from Lake Louise, is open from mid-April until mid-October for 10 a.m to 4 p.m. most days, during the summer, it's open for 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The admission for adults is $ 54.95 CAN and for kids 6 to 15 is $ 27.50 CAN with children under five free.

I have a kid photographer posing his brother in front of the Columbia Icefield Glacier Discovery Centre.

I made reservations for this excursion before I left on vacation and I advise you to do the same. It is a very popular activity and when we arrive the huge parking lot is at capacity with cars and motor coaches. Be advised, the only way onto the Athabasca Glacier is on an organized tour through Brewster Travel or Glacier Ice Walks, a guided walking tour.

The carful of kids arrive a little early so we take advantage of the picnic tables outside the visitors center for lunch but there's a cafeteria upstairs if you prefer a hot meal. We also visit the restrooms before we get in line for our tickets, there's plenty.

You can see the Athbasca Glacier from the deck of the Discover Centre.

The tour starts at the Columbia Icefield Glacier Discovery Centre where we get our tickets to board the motor coach that takes our group across the highway to the Ice Explorer Transportation Hub. Brewster Travel, a Canadian Tour Operator, owns 22 of the 23 Ice Explorers on the earth, the other one is on Antartica transporting scientists. 

Each Ice Explorer vehicle costs 1.5 million dollars with six towering tires that cost $ 5,000 a piece. They're especially designed to transport visitors to the Athabasca Glacier, the 3.5 mile long tongue of the Columbia Icefield. The Columbia Icefield is the largest ice field in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, it's 125 square miles, but is largely hidden by the mountain peaks.

The "Happy Bus" takes us to the Ice Explorer Hub for our excursion to the Glacier.

After climbing abroad the massively cool-looking Ice Explorer, we meet Dan, our student driver--not that he's a new to driving, he's been driving the Ice Explorer for a few weeks now; he's a college student working here for the summer. He starts up the Explorer and tells us a little about her.

It's a climb up into the Ice Explorer.

She's capable of handling a 38% grade and the grade to get to Athabasca Glacier is 32%, the second steepest commercial grade in North America (the steepest is Pike's Peak Highway in Colorado). We're lucky as we have the newest Ice Explorer in the fleet and we'll get to the bottom of the hill the fastest, Dan tells us as he tries to slip her into the right gear. 

As he backs up his Explorer, he asks us to fasten our seats belts and when we reach down to get them, we realize there are no seat belts. Dan cracks a grin and laughs as he reassures us he's a professional--what kind of professional he doesn't know just yet. He has a few more years in college.

All smiles aboard the Ice Explorer, you can see in every direction.

"Just close your eyes if you get scared. That's what I'm doing," Dan tells us and the jokes keep coming.  He looks sideways and tells the first few rows of passengers that he still can't believe that they gave him the Ice Explorer to drive for the summer. 

All kidding aside, Dan maneuvers his Ice Explorer with ease as he takes us on a 3-mile journey to the midpoint of the Athabasca Glacier. He tells us how the glaciers were formed hundreds of thousands of years ago and we learn about blue ice, it's formed when the snow is compressed.

I won't lie, it's COLD but it's one of the coolest things we've done!

After a bouncy and slowing moving ride, we get to the stopping point on the Athabasca Glacier where we can get out and explore--even sampling the glacier water if we want. The carful of kids put on their gloves and their hats and climb down, we're not missing this.

As a part of the tour you have about 20 minutes to explore and that's not enough for us. The glacier terrain is rugged, fragile and treacherous all at the same time. It's an amazing opportunity and even though it's raining when we're on the glacier, we run around like crazy kids.

You feel like you're at the North Pole--the kids love the adventure!

Dan honks his horn and rounds up the stragglers before we trek back to the Ice Explorer Transportation Hub to get onboard our motor coach headed to the visitors center. The carful of kids are a little wet and a little cold so head walk upstairs for hot cocoa and coffee.

One last shot for the kids back home!

The Ice Explorer journey takes about an hour and twenty minutes roundtrip from the visitors center and it doesn't disappoint. It's a signature Jasper National Park adventure and one of the few places you can tour a glacier unless you are headed to Alaska. 

You even have the opportunity to taste real Glacier water and it's AWESOME.

The carful of kids load up and continue onto the town of Jasper where we walk around and check in with the Jasper National Park Visitors Center located downtown. There are lots of services in the town of Jasper for travelers and we stop for gas and groceries before heading over to Jasper's Whistler Campground, located 3 and half miles outside of Jasper, for our campsite.

After a day of Glacier Adventuring, the carful of kids enjoy dinner at the campsite at Whistlers Campground.

Know before you go: The weather is variable from moment to moment and the carful of kids had ice cold rain on our visit but the sun was shining at the visitors center. The carful of kids layer up for the tour and I suggest taking a waterproof and fleece layer. Be sure to pack some gloves and hats and wear hiking boots or other shoes with traction--it's slushy on the glacier.

The camera didn't like the cold, wet conditions and refused to operate and the iPhone required one hand ungloved to operate. Mom's not a complainer, I just warmed up in the cafe after the tour. 

Jasper National Park has 21 oTENTiks that are reservable for 2016 season starting in January. These are highly desirable sites and fill up quickly for the summer season.

Up next: Kootenay National Park in British Columbia