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There are very few places in this world that I have difficulty describing in 500 words or less, but now that I've been to the massive Jasper/Banff park(s) in Alberta, I'm stumped.
I have to say, for a park; a piece of outdoor nature, to draw my attention away from both my reading material and my thoughts is a sight to behold. Jasper (both the town and the park) and Banff (again, town and park) are absolutely amazing. I do not regret taking this detour through the Canadian Rockies at all.
Having breakfast in a Elvis/Marilyn Munroe dinner can now be checked off my bucket list thanks to Edson, Alberta. It was a usual departure, tent being taken down and camper being readied for departure. At this point in the day, my expectations of Jasper was that it would be like Whistler, British-Columbia; Rich, a bit snobby and not very welcoming (at least that's how I felt my first time in Whistler).
On the road, the scenery was getting more and more bouncy; hills and turns popping up everywhere. It was lovely, such a better sight from the flat planes of everywhere else. But the further down the highway, something was growing in the distance. Covered by a fog-like haze, it was impossible to really tell what it was at first sight. But as we approached, it became blatantly obvious.
Welcome to the Canadian Rockies, it shouted at us.
The first mountain formations we saw were but a sample of what was
The crew
Lunch provided, batteries not included to come. Such large, stone formations both surrounded and covered in vast vegetation. And that was before we even got into Jasper park. I think the price was $40 for a two day pass through, but it would be well worth every cent. As you come into the park, you are surrounded by large pine trees and, the further in you go, you also start to see the emerald colored streams of water from the glaciers further up. Screw those Caribbean trips offered on TV. You want emerald water and a place to stay, you come here. No discussion.
And just as pleasant as the park itself was the people in Jasper. Our waitress at lunch, imported directly from Australia itself, was a much more hospitable person then you'd expect from a ski/park resort town, and all of the Parks Canada staff were welcoming. It actually felt like home for a moment (hush any of you laughing, you had to be there to understand). We set up camp at Wapiti campgrounds just 8km South of Jasper. The park itself was well kept; obviously the standards were high around here. We broke into our usual routine of setting things up,
Noyed
Telling me to lovingly piss off. and once finished, we decided to both enjoy some solo adventuring. I went for a two and a half hour hike down the trails that followed the long, glacial run off while grandpa went up the gondola. On my small adventure I met a very pissed off little squirrel who I aptly named Noyed (as in, anNoyed). He squeaked and chirped at me as I walked by, and was there to angrily greet me upon my arrival. Grandfather arrived half an hour later, and we both set out back into town, hungry for supper. We decided to stop in at the Jasper Brewing Co. Pub, when I remembered something.
The legal drinking age to both consume and purchase alcohol here is 18.
I'm 18.
First beer to be purchased by my own hand, check.
Finished it, check. Enjoyed it, check.
Awesome, adulthood wont be as bad as I thought with this knowledge in hand (For those all too literate people, this last part is a joke. I'm kidding. Laugh please.)
During our supper, or rather at the start, we decided to sit at the outdoor benches. For those of you
Riverbed
Pretty much one of my favorite shots so far who don't know, there is a special rule that comes with outdoor benches in the western parts of Canada, breweries taking this rule very close to heart: You sit at the bench, you are now friends with anyone already sitting there or anyone who joins you later on. This "buddy bench" system was most certainly in play during our supper, as we sat down next to this kind, older woman from Ohio. She was visiting with a large group of people, and had gotten separated from them at some point in the day. We exchanged formalities, and somehow ended up on the topic of Africa and its people. Needless to say it was interesting to hear the conversations between her and world traveling grandfather. I found it quite amusing.
Around the time our meals had arrived, she had finished hers and was ready to leave. We bid her good night, and as she left, a French family from France sat down next to us. Ho ho ho was this going to be interesting. The family consisted of three young kids, an Ex-French Paratrooper father and a thick accented mother, all of who grandfather had a blast talking with. I
"Oh great Wayfarer stone..."
"Which direction shall I go?" had some fun with them too, piquing their curiosity of my coming university courses and ability to speak both French and English fluently, to the point of being able to mimic certain accents (High etiquette French, Quebec French, Standard French, British English, Canadian English, Selfish (American) English and French accented English). It was fun to see them open up and enjoy their evening as we all passed around stories and facts.
But eventually, we finished eating before them, and had to bid them goodnight. And so we took off, me finishing some errands and grandfather digesting his food. We retreated back to the campsite, happy memories fresh in our mind. The following morning, we packed up and had breakfast back in Jasper again. However, I may have made a grave mistake for my stomach...
See, when someone calls their establishment a "Cafe" with no prior warning signs, you expect coffee and a small, normal breakfast. This place; this... Establishment, lied to me. I expected eggs, bacon, tea and toast, but upon reading the menu, I nearly broke down and ran. I had stumbled into a health-nut prison, and the warden had locked the door on us. Almighty power
The trail
and bonus view of the runoff from further south have mercy on my stomach...
Feeling weighed down and defeated, we took off again towards Banff. Needless to say, the view we had quickly rejuvenated me both physically and mentally. Massive mountains, this endless river of glacier run-off, massive pine trees and flourishing arctic plantation on the side of the road. It was, and I quote many sources on this, Awesome. We stopped just a short distance from the biggest glacier and managed to snap some pictures of it, grandfather explaining its history and scientific breakdown process to me. Apparently, every year it looses 1m of length, and it had been 25 years since he had last seen it. So there was some pretty big movement for him to identify.
We continued down the road and stopped for lunch somewhere along the highway, busting out the camping stove and making a chilly/rice mixture that certainly beat restaurant food at that moment. We wolfed it down, then steadily pushed forwards, hitting Banff a little over an hour. Banff, like Jasper, is a very well flourishing town built around ski and park resorts. We secured out spot at the nearby camping site.
The woman who was in charge of
giving us our campsite permit wasn't someone to brag about, and for the price, I think they could have given us a slightly larger site. But it had electricity and was literally next to the washrooms, so I can really complain. We went back into town to explore some more, and I made my second alcoholic purchase: A bottle of Mead from a local producer. I had the chance to sample it before buying, and supposedly this year had been his best. It was good, I wont lie, but I don't have enough experience to wholeheartedly agree with his statement. I also got some more shopping down, finishing my gatherings of trinkets for the gang back home, and met up with grandfather, who had gone and purchased a tilly hat to go with his outfit (and it did). Supper was at a higher-class Chinese restaurant, but this time came at a (hopefully) lower MSG cost then the other spots (whoo!)
And finally, the day came to a close. We return to our campsite, full belly and content with ourselves.
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