Blogs from Jasper, Alberta, Canada, North America - page 3

Distance driven today: 242 miles / 390 km Cumulative distance driven: 1,945 miles / 3,130 km (15,000 miles to go) Today’s trip: Prince George, British Columbia, Canada to Jasper, Alberta, Canada Schools with donated e-readers visited: 1 Hours spent proving tech support on e-readers: 3 Hours driving in pouring rain: 2 Canadian province borders crossed: 1 In my professional life I work at the main Amazon campus in Seattle. Our CEO Jeff Bezos, often says that for Amazon and the Internet, it is still Day 1. By this he means that most of the innovation and growth opportunities lie ahead of us, and that we are still very early on in the history of the company. He believes that we should keep taking on big bold risks, and try to build and deliver superior customer experiences. ... read more

It is the end of another great day. We left Banff at 8:00 am, gassed the RV's up downtown, and hit the road on Rt. 1, heading for the Iceland Parkway. The views on this road could never be accurately described. Each turn brought a vista more spectacular than the one before. Although four of us had traveled this area before a few years back, we were still not tired of it's beauty. The Iceland Parkway is a 144 mile stretch of highway between Lake Louise and Jasper that meanders through multiple passes in the high mountains. It was originally an Indian path, and was shared with the early European explorers. During the depression, a work project was begun to make it a one lane road. Today it is an incredible highway. We stopped on the ... read more

bags out at fixed time, breakfast and down to the coach. We have allocated seats on this tour..... On the bus nearly last and I walk down the back where I can see some empty seats - not our name. Back down the coach and guess what - front seat passenger side - not sure if this is good or bad. Raining as we leave Calgary. Introduced to the coach captain - Patrick - doesn't have much to say but drives ok. Tour director Russell gives running commentary from the front seat next to us about Calgary and surrounds. Then goes through optional excursions and lots of other info about our day - we travel 350 km today so big day ahead. First stop is a toilet stop near the Banff turnoff - we double back ... read more

Left our camp spot at Clearwater just after 7am ready for the drive to Jasper.Rain fell quite heavy during the night and in the morning it was cloudy with intermittent showers. It was nice to see the rain today after several very hot, dry days - just the cool break we needed.Couldn't resist stopping by "mad river" shortly after leaving the camp site to grab a few snaps. The river was flowing quickly over pebbles and rocks - looked so serene and peaceful. Drove through the small town of Blue River and then took a break at Valemount's Visitor Centre. Used the wi-fi to upload blog and check emails. Valemount is one of the larger towns we have passed through and is not far from the Alberta border.Short drive past Valemount was Rearguard falls - our ... read more

Over the last few days we have traveled by special train from Vancouver to Jasper staying one night in a town called Kamloops. The train was a double decker with a clear see through roof and the mountainous scenery was very spectacular. the service on the train was fabulous and I will need to run off many calories given the quality and quantity of the food- the staff on the train were great too- got customer service down pat. We have stayed in the Jasper lodge hotel for the last two days and tomorrow head off to walk on a glacier in Banff- life continues to be tough. Will talk again in a few days and update you how I am going with my american/Canadian beer drinking - some photos included to cover the activities. Take ... read more