Day 13 Harrison Springs to Jasper

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July 17
Harrison Hot Springs to Jasper
First off there is no ice in Canada. Its frustrating for people like us who like iced drinks that we can't pull into a gas station and get an icy diet coke. Most of them just have pepsi. Ugh!
The day started with a breakfast to the Lakeview Restaurant. The view of the lake was vey scenic. The town was built by tourism. There are hot springs accessible by walking up a mountain or 4 wheel drive. There are also manmade hot springs in the town but we were told they smell bad. The lake has a sandy beach and seemed to be enjoyed by lots of families.
We drove 444 miles to Jasper stopping at Kamloops where we were lucky to find an A & W for lunch. The forest was in “dire straits” due to bark beetle infestation. As we traveled higher up the trees looked healthier. We passed many spectacular vistas, rivers and lakes driving through the Frasier Valley along the Frasier River and North Thompson River. We chose poorly when checking into the hotel. All the hotels are operated by the same company under contract wit the park service. I asked for a room on the first floor and was given a room with a low ceiling that backed up to the street. We found out that hotels in Jasper don’t have A C. And this room had a heater that wouldn’t turn off. There was a rain gutter outside that clanged all night with the rain. We ate dinner at the hotel and it was good, fish again. Halibut for me and arctic Chard for Rodney. Then we walked to town and checked out the local grocery store. Walking back we ran into hail and get pretty wet. Terrible night.

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