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Published: June 12th 2017
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Geo: 53.4009, -117.577
Some of us slept very well in the communal cabin, while a few others slept not as well -- apologies again to Alyssa and Laura, for not sharing my comforter earlier in the cold night. So, we were all up early. David got up extra early and went for a hike near the cabins. He was soon back to grab his camera, and Katie joined him. They'd come across several moose down in the river, and a herd of elk right on the property.
While I was waiting for the lone bathroom to open up, I took advantage of our rare cell service to call home and check messages. After deleting half a dozen robo-calls about the primary election for Virginia State Delegate (really guys, do you have to call 15 times?!), there was a message from a friend of Katherine's who lives in Florida, saying "Hey, I heard about the earthquake, and wanted to make sure you were okay." This piqued my interest enough that I walked over to the registration office, which had an Internet terminal, and sure enough the banner headline on CNN was "Cracks Found in Washington Monument After Earthquake." I still couldn't believe what
I was reading. I contacted some neighbors back in Brambleton, and our next-door neighbor volunteered to go over and check out our house. We were fine, but the stories of what we missed were quite interesting. Also called my mom and dad to see how they fared; they had been in Waynesboro in their car when it hit, and they said it felt like someone was behind their car, jumping up and down on the bumper.
We went to a local bakery for breakfast, while we awaited word that our house hadn't collapsed, and by the time we were on the road, we had some peace of mind. Our first stop was a hike at Maligne Falls, which comprises an incredibly deep gorge and series of waterfalls through which the Maligne River flows. It was another picture-perfect day and, aside from temporarily "losing" the girls at the end of the hike, it was a lot of fun. We then continued for the 30-minute or so ride to Maligne Lake, which is home to the famous Spirit Island of National Geographic photo fame. The setting was spectacular and we were told yet again how lucky we'd been with weather, as they only
have a small handful of days each summer with clear and not-windy weather. We took a boat cruise across the lake to Spirit Island, where we were able to get out and take some pictures. The Island is in fact, not even an island, but small peninsula, but in the National Geographic photo that made it famous, the isthmus of land was covered by high water...and hence the name.
We found a very secluded spot along the river for a picnic on our way back toward Jasper. We must have timed lunch perfectly, as shortly after we left, we came across a mother black bear with four cubs, who were right along the road and eating berries in a frenzy, making them oblivious to the people quickly queuing up to watch them.
We made a short stop at the Fairmont Jasper Inn, sister to the famous lodges at Banff and Lake Louise, which is billed as Canada's largest golf resort. Seems like an odd place for one, but the setting was certainly spectacular enough.
Our cabins for this night were just north of the park, immediately after we exited the park proper. The setting was certainly breathtaking, but while opportunities for wildlife
viewing was a prime reason we chose this spot, it turned out to be a bust. The four adults took a hike along a path identified by the hotel after dinner, but we saw nothing, and the trail was not well marked and even a little creepy. The girls were more than happy that they remained behind in the lobby to play Scrabble.
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