Blogs from Jasper, Alberta, Canada, North America
Alberta - The resting place of the car
Published: May 23rd 2012North America » Canada » Alberta » Jasper
May 22nd 2012
When we arrived in Calgary the car troubles were starting to get a little worse but it was still driveable. We were welcomed by family friends given a beautiful home to stay in for 2 nights. Again we took full advantage of showering, cleaning up, and beds. We decided to go out a few nights in Calgary and treat ourselves to a bit of partying. We ended up having too good of a time and spent a little too much money, but we learnt our lessons. Before leaving Calgary we hoped in a river raft and cruised down the Bow River, it was a little chilly and out of season, but was pretty sweet. We left Calgary and started driving into mountains; it was definitely much better driving than the prairie’s. This was the part of ... read more
April 12th 2012
Today is the end of my second week in Jasper so it's about time for another update. This entry should be considerably shorter than the last one, however I do tend to find a lot of words to write about everything so I may have jumped the gun with that comment. I arrived here at 6.30am on Thursday, 29th March. I first had to go to reception at the Chateau Jasper to receive my keys and an "Introduction to Jasper" package (which I still haven't read). I was housed in Wapta House, which is a staff building behind the Lobstick Lodge (situated next to Chateau). I had an appointment with Human Resources at 10.00am so once I finally found my place, it didn't leave long to get some sleep. Like a zombie i headed up to ... read more
April 3rd 2012
Greetings! Hank and I arrived safely back on the relay in Edmonton. Our hotel was the Delta which was actually part of a huge mall. Our first relay day was very busy! I was made host and had 2 medal bearer meetings with some very important people. Since this isn't my usual role, I was quite nervous. With the help of Monty, Scott and Herve we pulled them off quite well! Since Rick was with us in Edmonton, many of his friends and colleagues were MB's. The next day was an event day. I helped out at a school presentation and then later that afternoon went to the West Edmonton Mall to watch some of my team go bungee jumping! The next day we relayed to Spruce Grove. Marika from head office and her husband and ... read more
August 24th 2011
We rode the Ice Fields Parkway from Banff to Jasper Yesterday. It's listed as 180 miles long, but took us nearly 5 hours to drive. Not because of traffic or windy mountain roads, but because of all of the breathtaking scenery along the way! The highway gets its name from the Columbia Ice Fields which straddle the border between Alberta and British Columbia, also forms part of the continental divide. It is an ice field, not a glacier, but ice and snow that fills the valley between mountains. These fields feed into eight major glaciers that cascade down from the mountains along the road. The river that flows from the glaciers is milky-white from all of the glacier flour suspended in it, but when it forms a lake the water settles and becomes a jade green. ... read more
July 11th 2011
Sunday July 10, 2011 Almost There I woke up well rested this morning. I sleep much better in the tent then I do in the hostels; hostels are just nice to get a shower, your gear organized, laundry, blogs updated and a quick movie on the lap top. I am only kilometers to the Banff / Jasper border. Heading to the ice fields for (an expensive) breakfast. I took a bit of a break at the Icefields Center to catch up on my blog notes. I ended up taking another break an hour down the road. Weather looked rough ahead and I thought it would be better to let it pass then get wet. I stopped in a camping area later in the afternoon to top up my drinking water. I noticed a weekly weather forecast; ... read more
July 6th 2011
We are actually right in the Rockies as we speak! Last night in the log cabin was amazing! The only wild life we saw was a little squirrel - oh and all those Ravins but they don't really count because they're so numerous and they caw all the time. There are warnings all over the place about the bears but we haven't even seen one of those. Today we were up Whistler Mountain. We tried to do the climb but had to stop before we got to the top. Maybe it was something to do with the fact that we had just eaten lunch. Ron tells me to tell you that we went up most of the way in a cable car. It is hot again today - 32C but feels like more - no wind ... read more
June 25th 2011
Mileage today 449 total for trip 2723 No we are NOT there yet! Left Cardston, Alberta after breakfast at a local bakery. It was 47 degrees, hand grips on high, electric jacket on toasty. A local gave us a great back road to Calgary. We fought 35mph winds with gusts up to 45 moving us all over the road. BUT, the sun was out and that helped. tremendously.We went into Banff for lunch but aborted that because tourists clogged up everything. We had lunch at Lake Louise and then the snow showers started. In spite of this, we truly enjoyed the beauty of the Canadian Rockies. Went on to Jasper with a short stop at the Athabasca Glacier. After seeing the Rhone Glacier in Switzerland,it was kind of anti-climactic.Arrived in Jasper and found a room at ... read more
June 24th 2011
The hostel in Golden was awesome. The hostel in Banff was awesome. The hostel in Lake Louise was awesome. The hostel in Jasper was a hell hole. We pull up to the parking lot. Everything looks normal. We're halfway up a mountain and a decent drive into the town centre. "It's okay" we all think, "this is what budget roadtripping is all about." It's the cheapest place in town. We unload our stuff and make our way around the back of the building. Things are broken down, it looks a little rough. Gone are the manicured lawns, flower pots, and updated buildings of hostels past. We open a creaky screen door and stand inside on a dark and musty porch, waiting to check in. Sonja's face starts to fall. The grimace sets in. She mutters "Uh, ... read more
May 16th 2011
Well today was spent around the vicinity of Jasper and after sleeping in, I went to Bears Paw bakery for a fresh Apple Danish and coffee. Danish was superb, the coffee not so. This place is very popular with locals and there are 2 branches only 3 blocks from each other! I made my way to the site of the Jasper Tramway and contemplated going up but the Aussie working there advised me not to as the clouds were rolling in and I wouldn't be able to see much. I actually got a decent view of Jasper township from the base station. Next I decided to check out Fairmont Jasper Lodge and saw that it was a rich person's bungalow accommodation. Lots of older wealthy people was all I saw and it was certainly quiet and ... read more
May 15th 2011
So I have arrived in Jasper, a much smaller and less touristy town than Banff. Jasper township is the hub for the Jasper national park which seems a little out of the way for most tourists who come out to Banff from Calgary and disappear back out of the rockies. Jasper is only about 250km from Banff and it is a very rewarding drive up the Icefields Parkway. There are many spectacular scenic viewpoints and mini hikes along the way. I have to say that there are much more vantage points if you drove south from Jasper to Banff. The majority of the lakes are still frozen and won't be melted for at least another 2 months. So if you like seeing water instead of ice, then July and August would be the time to visit ... read more
