Ice machine: Canada's Columbia Icefields Parkway is a cool place to visit

BANFF NATIONAL PARK, Canada — Snow falls. Snow, snow and more snow. So much snow, piled so thick and so deep, that even when the summer sun blazes in the sky, the snow does not melt. It packs down, creating layers of pressure-laden ice and deep, deep snow. A glacier is born.

Glaciation is one of nature's amazing processes. Over eons and millenniums, it has shaped various parts of the planet — scooped out valleys, formed sharp mountain peaks, left boulders strewn in random patterns.

It's a process that is still going on today. Every continent except Australia has glaciers. But one of the most accessible places to see them, explore them, fall in love with them is the Columbia Icefields Parkway in Alberta, Canada.

This road, connecting Banff and Jasper National Parks in the Canadian Rockies, is considered by many to be one of the most spectacular drives anywhere. This 143-mile highway tracks the spine of the Continental Divide. It winds along breathtaking mountain scenery. It may offer sightings of wildlife, including elk, mountain goats, bighorn sheep and raptors, maybe even moose and bears. And it offers unparalleled views of mountain glaciers.

The parkway itself has an interesting history. In the early days, most visitors came to Canada's national parks by railroad. The first road along here was started in 1931, when the Canadian government put out-of-work men on the project and paid them 20 cents a day. Crews started at each end and met in the middle at the Big Bend area. It took nine years to complete a single-lane gravel road, which opened in 1940. At its height, the project employed more than 600 men; more manpower than machine power was used, due to the difficult terrain.

When the 1950s-60s automobile-tourist boom came along, the road was finally paved, widened and smoothed out. As you drive along it, however, you can appreciate the engineering feat that it is.

There are numerous scenic spots to stop along the way: viewpoints and trails that show off Bow Lake and Crowfoot Glacier, Sunwapta Falls, Athabasca Falls, Peyo Lake and Parker Ridge, to name a few.

But for a close look at glaciers, you'll want to stop at the Columbia Icefields visitors center, which offers unique chances for adventure.

There you will learn about the breadth and scope of the Columbia Icefields — dimensions that are enough to boggle the mind. For example: The icefields are the largest accumulation of ice south of the Arctic Circle — covering an area of about 130 square miles: five times larger than Manhattan; more than twice the size of Vancouver, bigger even than some countries.