A new adventure - Jasper

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Yep, dreams can really come true. This last year has been so amazing for Jamie and I, and it has culminated in us finally arriving in Jasper. Jamie first came to Jasper in 2001, when he worked for the summer at the Jasper Tramway, and he loved it so much that he came back the next year, and that's when we met. The next year, we came back for a holiday, and soon after that we decided that we wanted to try and live in Jasper. We applied for residency in 2004. It took us almost a year to get all our papers together (it's a very lengthy process) and then it was just a matter of waiting. After almost 4 years, we finally got the news that our application was successful. And now we're here!

We caught the Greyhound bus from Vancouver and arrived in Jasper at 7 in the morning. We hardly slept that night, we were too excited! When we finally arrived, I stepped off the bus to see Jamie breathing huge clouds of smoke and then it hit me - it was FREEZING!! We almost hopped back on the bus! Apparently Jasper was in the middle of a cold snap, and it was -30 degrees! We'd never experienced anything like it! The cold air hurt our lungs and made us cough, and our faces were burning from exposure. The cold quickly seeped through our jeans and even our new winter coats, and for a minute we thought there was actually a chance we might die.

Luckily there was a lone cafe open in Jasper at 7am, and we sought refuge. We sat there for the next few hours, waiting for everyone to wake up, and drinking pot after pot of tea. What had we done? Was it physically possible to survive here?? After we had worn out our welcome at the cafe (there's only so much tea you can drink), we braced ourselves for the cold and set about finding ourselves some accommodation. Despite the cold, it was obvious that Jasper was absolutely stunning in the winter! So much snow, but even though it was cold, the sun was shining and there was a perfect blue sky. We ended up scoring accommodation back at the Bear's Den (where we stayed before the wedding).

Once we had shelter, we felt a bit more confident to venture back outside, and went into town. Jasper is so beautiful! Everything is covered in snow, and the mountains look amazing. It's funny that somewhere that feels so familiar to us could still be so new and exciting! And it was even more exciting to think that this could be our home, rather than just a holiday destination. We stopped by some friends to say hello, and within minutes had scored myself a job! We knew Heather and Owain from when they used to work at the tramway, and they now own a tour company in town. They had just lost their office girl, and it was perfect timing! We felt like this was a pretty good start!

It took Jamie a little while longer, but he managed to find the holy grail in Jasper - a salaried, permanent job! He's working as a senior book keeper for a different tour company in town. The biggest problem for us was accommodation - they're putting a pipeilne through Jasper and the town's accommodation has been taken up by all the workers. We rang all the apartments and realtors, but there was nothing available. We then rang all the B&B's to see if anyone would take a long-term rental, but again no luck. A lovely man from Parks Canada suggested we stay at the campground, but although it's reasonable priced, we weren't really sure we could handle it! Can you imagine using an outdoor shower in sub-zero temperatures? We posted flyers all over town and told everyone we met that we were looking for accommodation, but for a while it looked pretty dodgy. But luckily Jamie's job also comes with staff accommodation. Jamie saved the day!

So here we are! We're in Jasper after all this time. We have jobs, a place to live, and stacks of enthusiasm for our new home town. Even though we're technically not on holidays anymore, our plan is to keep the holiday vibe going and keep up our blog. This isn't the end of our holiday, it's just the start of a new adventure!

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Photos

Arriving in Jasper
It was -30 degrees!