The Canadian Rockies: Banff to Jasper

North America » Canada » Alberta » Jasper
June 15th 2007

Published: August 8th 2007

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24TheRoad

Athabasca Falls

This is the canyon area after the falls.

Border Crossing

No problem with crossing into Canada. There were more questions about weapons and guns than I remember being asked in the past. There were the usual alcohol questions, but no real questions about food or wood.

Cost of things in Canada

The exchange rate at a bank on June 11th was $1.0391 US for every $1.00 Canadian. We exchanged $100 US at a bank in Canmore, Alberta. There was a $3 fee for the exchange, so we ended up with $100.91 Canadian. Most stores accept US dollars as an even exchange, so it’s really not worth changing funds to Canadian at this time, but it is nice to carry some local currency.

Gas today in Jasper was $1.129/liter which h is about $4.12/gallon US. Diesel was $.889/liter which is about $3.24/gallon US. We don’t have a diesel, but I know some people would be interested in those numbers.

We did some grocery shopping in Banff, but decided to only buy what we needed until the next day. Then we could drive to Canmore, for better selection and less shocking prices. In Banff there is one major grocery store and it is limited on space.

Valley road

The road down in the valley is where we were before the RV snaked it's way up the side of the mountain. There are strategic pullout areas for the beautiful vistas.

In Canmore there are 2 grocery stores and the town is less packed into a small space. It seems prices in Banff and Jasper are higher than places further away from the National Park area. Prices in general are higher than what we’re used to back home, but we better get used to them as the prices will be high the further north we go. The US dollar has been quite weak lately.

Eating meals out has been a very rare event on this trip. We did have breakfast out this morning. It was nothing fancy. The coffee was excellent, but $2.50/cup. The breakfast special was eggs, bacon, potatoes and toast for $7.95. French toast was $8.50. Our bill for breakfast was $23.32 plus tip.

Beautiful Views

This has been a very scenic few days. Everywhere we’ve been there have been majestic mountains, surprising vistas, dramatic waterfalls and unending beauty. We’ve seen colors in the lakes and streams that we’ve never seen before. The run-off from the glaciers has dissolved rock/minerals in it and it has a milky/opalescent look to it. From what we’ve read the lakes are a deep blue in the spring after they thaw

Columbia Ice Fields

In the photo there are cars in the parking lot and buses up on the glacier.

as the minerals have settled during the winter. Then as the season progresses and the lakes are nourished by the glacier waters they change to a deep green. We took lots of pictures in different light trying to capture the color of the lakes and stream. Right now they are a blue/green and none of the pictures did the color justice.

Weather

In Michigan people will often say “If you don’t like the weather just wait a few minutes and it will change.” They say the same thing here and it happens quicker. We need to be prepared for almost any kind of weather in a day. This morning I started with my winter coat. The sky was blue and the sun was shining. The day warmed up and I switched to a sweater and windbreaker. As we were driving south we could see ahead that there were ominous looking clouds and some type of precipitation was falling. The debate was which way to go to tour some sights. We opted to drive into the rain and quickly came out on the sunny side. Later in the day again we could see visible weather approaching when we were

Fairmont Banff

Just like on the Travel Channel.

at Mount Edith Cavell. It’s a long narrow road that twists and turns and as we were descending we encountered small hail then big wet snowflakes and finally rain. The drive ended the same as it began, in sunshine.

At night the temperature has been getting down to the low 40’s or high 30’s.

Banff vs. Lake Louise vs. Jasper

All have something different to offer. I was surprised at the energy and size of Banff. It was bigger than I expected. There were many activities and shops in a relatively small area. The town seemed perpetually busy and this is before the full tourist season begins. I imagine parking is a challenge when the town is at full capacity of summer tourists.

Banff was bigger than expected and the town of Lake Louise was smaller than expected. It was very relaxing and a welcomed change of pace.

Jasper was a nice mixture of the two towns. The surrounding area allows it to spread out more. There are plenty of restaurants and the shops are open later than in Lake Louise.

Tourists

There are so many different languages being spoken in this area.

Johnston Canyon Falls

Tour buses discharge groups of tourists from all over the world. Our dogs have been oohed and aahed by people from many different countries. They have been petted as the person reminisces about their dog at home or about a dog from childhood. They have had their pictures taken, and Neeko is a great friendly ambassador.

Not only do the tourists speak many different languages, but so do the staff at the shops and restaurants. We were discussing this with a salesperson in a shop and she named who spoke which languages among their staff and it was an impressive list. It also appears that most shops have oriental staff and I believe a great percentage are Japanese. In one of the tourist information books it had listed which shops took which credit cards and one of the cards was a Japanese card.

When we were in Yellowstone there was a woman who spoke French buying a video or DVD about Yellowstone. Her interpreter helped to make certain that it could be played on a European player. She had the saleswoman write down the amount she needed to pay and carefully handed over appropriate bills. The transaction was

Lake Moraine

Great color of water but no picture did it justice.

a bit tense and as the saleswoman gave her the change she said “Merci” and that one word changed the mood of the moment and the tension melted away.

When we were in The Black Hills area of South Dakota we heard on the news that tourism was up slightly from last year, but souvenir sales were unchanged except for the high-end items which was up. We’re surprised by the number of rental RVs that we see everywhere in the Canadian Rockies. We see mostly smaller Class C but some Class B van conversions.

Wildlife and Dog Tales

This is the calving season for many animals and the new moms are staying more secluded. There are lots of warnings to stay an extra distance from them, if spotted, as they are more likely to charge to protect their young. The area we’re camped in here in Jasper is an elk area. There are warning signs everywhere and lots of warning that this is an elk calving area. So far we’ve seen neither.

When we were at Mount Edith Cavell there were restrictions for taking the dogs to the meadow area. It was okay to take them

Lake Louise view

View from inside the hotel.

on the glacier trail, but not on the meadow trail as that is a caribou area. The caribou are also calving and are stressed by the sight of dogs (even on leashes). Dogs too closely resemble the wolves which are their biggest predator.
We’re enjoying the parks here in Canada due to their dog friendly policies. We can take them on trails with us, except into a few designated areas. In the US National Parks that we visited they are not allowed on the trails, viewing areas or boardwalks. Mostly we would leave them in the RV and be concerned about the weather changes. Here we can take off for the day and take them with us. They’re happier and so are we.
The area is also very bicycle friendly when the weather cooperates.

Lizzie who has the rain and separation issues has been doing worse since the awning incident. Somewhere in her past (we got her at the age of 7 and is now 11) she has learned not to pee on the floor. We’ve been able to leave her alone for several hours, but know that if it rains that shortens the time. A thunderstorm shortens it

Lake Louise sign

even more. Unfortunately she is not tolerating rain and has peed on a dinette cushion twice (we keep Nature‘s Miracle on hand for these incidents). After the first incident I bought some doggie training pads and put one in the bathtub when we were planning to be gone for a few hours. We arrived home after a rainy morning and to my disappointment the dinette seat was wet! I expected to find the bathtub unchanged, but had to laugh when I saw what she had done. She had shredded the doggie pad into a hundred pieces. She had also peed in the tub, but I don’t know if that was before or after shredding.

Yesterday we had a great day out touring different areas. We were gone for several hours and had the dogs with us. We had only arrived at this campground the day before and this was the first time taking the dogs out in the car from here. As we’re entering the campground Lizzie starts making her excited squeaking noises and wagging her tail. We’re not camped near the entrance, so there was some distance before we got within sight of any campers. It really did

Lake Louise canoe sign

We thought this was rather expensive!

appear that she somehow recognized that we were almost home and was excited about it. When we got out of the car she made a beeline for the RV. It was dinner time, but how in the world did she know where we were?

Phones and Internet

George researched the phone options. We do have a phone signal here, but it would be expensive to use it. We do check to see if there are any missed calls on our phones. We bought a phone card and can then call back from the park pay-phone.

Lot’s of places in town advertise internet connection or WiFi. Some places advertise free WiFi and others charge $2 for 20 minutes. We’ve opted to use the library with a secure connection for $2.50 for 1 hour. It’s located in an old stone house and we’re sitting in front of a fireplace in wing-back chairs.

Plans

We’re staying in Jasper until Sunday. Then we’re going to travel a relatively short distance everyday. We’ll travel an average of 100 miles a day for the next few days, and then stop early to enjoy a new area.

Laissez le bon temps