March Newsletter

This past month has been a whirlwind of activity once we got the green light for the trip to go. We have been busy nailing down reservations, sending rooming lists and putting together the most recent newsletter with your bios. We've also added some information and pictures on our lodging in Jasper and a hike to Edith Cavell Meadows, one of the highlights of going to Jasper. We also added one more family from the same town as us (the Biels). We have two returning families from our 2015 trip - Maggie, Don, Steve, Stephen and Joe - and a bunch more people who were supposed to go on our 2020 trip as well as a few families who have gone with us to Italy. And we finally talked our very good friends Markus, Kelly and Fiona into coming with us!

Enjoy!

Stacia, Wyatt and John

Accommodations Highlight: Becker's Chalets and Cabins

In Jasper we will stay at Becker's Chalets and Cabins, located just off the Icefields Parkway and 5 minutes south of the town of Jasper. We are staying in shared cabins with and without lofts. The property abuts the Athabasca River (fed by the Athabasca Glacier). Each cabin will have a fully equipped kitchen, dining and living room areas, and a fireplace. There will be no more than two families in each cabin.

Amenities include:

  • Complimentary coffee, tea, hot chocolate, sugar, and coffee whitener. Shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotion, sewing kit, hairdryer, and make-up remover are also provided complimentary.

  • Sheets and towels

  • Daily housekeeping service

  • Free satellite internet – the signal is intermittent due to location

  • Fire logs for purchase

  • Coin operated laundry facility on property, open daily from 8am to 10pm.

  • Ice machines and vending machines

  • Playground and large grassy field

Dining at Becker's

We will purchase vouchers for their onsite restaurant, which provides a buffet breakfast every morning. We will also eat at least one dinner here, probably on our arrival night. The other couple of nights we will have dinner in Jasper and/or have a barbeque at the cabins. You can prepare lunches and snacks in your individual kitchens.

Featured Hike: Edith Cavell Meadows

This is moderately steep but well-graded 5 mile loop and it is a classic example of upper-subalpine forest, treeline vegetation and the alpine region beyond. Along the way there are spectacular views of the Angel Glacier. We will likely do this hike as a group and split into two smaller groups with different paces.

Participant Bios

Laurel, Kirk and Jefferson

Kirk, Laurel, and Jefferson (16), are excited to finally be going to the Rockies! After enjoying the Dolomites in 2019 with Stacia, Wyatt, and the rest of our AMC travel companions, we eagerly signed up for the Rockies. Then as we all know the pandemic hit. We were lucky enough to do a family hiking trip in Yosemite last summer and are ready for another hiking adventure.

Kirk is a high school history teacher and data analyst at Worcester Academy in central Massachusetts. Laurel is a retired social worker who is currently volunteering for a local hospice agency as well as working with local food pantries. Jefferson is a sophomore at Worcester Academy who likes theater and is a fanatical soccer fan. Go Liverpool! In our spare time we enjoy hiking, especially in the White Mountains, kayaking on the lakes of Maine, watching soccer, playing board games and FIFA, and spending time with our dog, Penny, and our cat, Fezek.

Van, Shan and Zoe

Van Le works as an automation program manager at Ingram Micro Inc. He is a Canadian and graduated from University of Ottawa, but has been working and living in the States afterwards. Most of Van's families are still in Canada so we do visit Toronto almost every year. Shan Zhao is currently a stay-at-home mom. Shan went to the same high school and university in China with Maggie Kendrick, who will also be going in this trip. So they can't wait to see each other again and spend lots of time catching up. Zoe Le (16) had a second thought about travelling on her sweet 16th birthday , but she will have a fun party with friends prior to the trip, and meeting with new friends during this trip, so that's what she is looking forward to now. Zoe is a competitive swimmer with Mission Viejo Nadadores for 8+ years and back stroke is her favorite. She enjoys music, beaches, travelling and also skiing with Dad.

Kelly, Markus and Fiona

Our family loves photography (Markus), gardening (Kelly), dancing (Fiona, age 12), and of course travel and hiking. For hiking, we have been sticking close to home for the last two years. As a lockdown project, we decided to tackle the Bay Circuit trail. It is a 230 mile loop around Boston from north shore to south shore. On November 21, we arrived at Kingston Bay, finally completing the last of our many day hikes. There were some hills, but now we are ready to see actual mountains. We also look forward to having some company on the trails.

The Jorks have been on many AMC Adventure Travel trips with the Biels, both pre- and post-kids, including Patagonia, Tanzania, and Nova Scotia. Stacia has been trying to convince them to go to the Canadian Rockies for years, so she is so happy they are finally going!

Carolyn and Stella

This is a picture of Stella and I as we hit it off at the end of the summer with two of her friends for the adventure girls program hour where the girls learned how to set up tents and cook food and do lots of good stuff out in the wilderness and I got a lovely night at the lodge with them a great concert. Stella (13) is first and foremost a ballerina that is her passion. I love the outdoors and Stella and I have really enjoyed hiking and camping with AMC of course the highlight of all of our hiking and camping with our trip to the dolomites with Stacia and Wyatt two years ago. I cannot wait for our trip to the Canadian Rockies so happy it’s been a couple of years in the waiting and we can’t wait to go. I am a public school teacher and we live in Newton, MA and are a two person family.

Don and Maggie

This will be our third trip with Stacia and Wyatt. Maggie and I live in Weatogue, CT. We have two kids-Emilie, a junior in college and Max, who'll be graduating from high school this year. We both enjoy the outdoors-hiking and kayaking. Maggie also skis (I don't) and I like backpacking (Maggie doesn't).

Don and Maggie came on the second Family Rockies trip in 2015 and are brave enough to come on the trip without their kids because they know what they are getting into! We will miss Emilie and Max this time around.

Steve, Joe and Stephen


Steve and his son Stephen (16) will be joining the group, along with brother and uncle Joe. The three originate from the Eastern Pennsylvania town of Kulpmont, where Steve and Stephen (and their dog Buddy) make their home. Steve works as a union carpenter and construction superintendent. He in involved in local politics and enjoys traveling. Joe has settled in the San Francisco suburb of Menlo Park, where he works as a Silicon Valley software engineer. He enjoys running, and spending time outdoors. Steve, Stephen and Joe were on the 2015 Canadian Rockies trip with Maggie and Don. They have gone to Italy, Nova Scotia and Iceland with the Biels.

Laura and Luke

Luke (13), currently a 7th grade student, and Laura, a reading specialist in a K-8 school have enjoyed many family trips with the AMC. This will be their first out of country trip with the organization. Last summer we stayed at Echo Lake Camp in Acadia on a week long AMC trip. We are looking forward to hiking in the Canadian Rockies!

Emmeline, Shwen and Euan

Shwen and Emmeline Gwee live in Winchester, MA with their son Euan who is 11 yrs old and in sixth grade. The Gwees enjoy the outdoors, often hiking in the summer and skiing in the winter. This will be their family's first AMC trip and their first time to Banff. They have always wanted to visit the Canadian Rockies and what better way to experience it than to join the veteran Biels as they embark on yet another trip there! They can't wait to meet everyone in the group to start this amazing adventure.

John (co-leader), Jenny, Julianne, & Jonathan

We live in Ct and find ways to enjoy the outdoors wherever we go, Brookgreen Botanical Gardens in South Carolina over the holidays pictured. I (John) have been an AMC trip leader for 17 years most recently coleading a Glacier NP day hiking excursion on 2021. I enjoy winter woodland adventures as much as summer and drag my friends and family whenever possible. Jenny enjoys running, hiking with our dog Stanley, and trying to keep up with our 2 kids. Julianne (8) and Jonathan (10) both enjoy day hiking and recently finished their basketball season. They are looking forward to their first international trip.

Stacia, Wyatt, Noah and Soraya

Stacia, Wyatt, Soraya (10) and Noah (12) live in Winchester, MA. Stacia owns a dog hiking and boarding business called Active Waggers and Wyatt is a nurse practitioner and launched a mobile urgent care practice at the end of 2021 called Boston Nurse Practitioners. The pandemic has kept him very busy.

The Canadian Rockies hold a special place in our hearts. When Stacia was 7.5 months pregnant with our oldest son Noah, we led a family trip to there to “test the waters.” In 2015 we returned with several families on another AMC trip. This will be Stacia's 13th time in the Rockies, and Wyatt's 4th. We love these mountains, and look forward to showing them to you.