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

R: Mojito night was fun. It was the same price for double measures as it was for singles - which made it a no brainer - and they were pretty good mojitos. The fun came when Cate's chicken Caesar salad transformed into Cajun chicken and chips. The waitress, up until now, uncaring and not particularly interested, then worked hard for her tip the rest of the evening. ("15% is customary"!) The next morning in Jasper we rented a car as there was no other way out of town. We took a trip up to Maligne canyon, a small but steep canyon through which water has been carving for years. We had wanted to do an ice-walk tour into the base of the canyon but as water was still flowing we couldn't go. However, although slippy under ... read more

Our first choice for a hike today was Wilcox Pass. This hike has views of the Athabasca Glacier and seven of the 25 highest peaks in Canada. But there was too much smoke! And, as bad as it is here in Jasper, it is much, much worse in other parts of the province, including Calgary. Our sons sent a message to us saying it was almost blocking out the sun! The smoke is coming up from the northwestern United States where huge fires are burning - amost 1million acres so far. So we chose the Beauty Creek Trail. There was still smoke (you can see it in some of the photos), but we we were down in the trees and weren't trying to see something in the distance like a glacier. Beauty Creek Trail This trail ... read more

Day 10 Today we drove to our next destination which wasn't too far, and now we are in a nice chalet at Pyramid Lake. We got here early and couldn't check in, so we did a little exploring. There's an old footbridge that goes to a little island in the lake and explored the island. Then we took a nice 5 mile hike up to a ridge line with excellent views. Met some nice folks along the way. On the way down we started getting attacked by mosquitos and had to put on bug spray for the first time this trip. about a half hour later we stumbled across two Adirondack chairs high up on the side of the mountain. We were a bit tired so we had a seat and enjoyed the views. Once we ... read more

While returning along the Maligne (Mah-LEEN) road back to Jasper, we were delighted to see a mother black bear with her two cubs eating along the right side of the road. There were only a few other stopped cars, always a sign of wildlife sightings in the parks, so we had really close views and opportunities for photos without bothering the trio. At one point, the mother unexpectedly walked across the road even though many more cars had stopped by now and her cubs were still on the original bank to our right. More cars came, halted suddenly and some were even between the mother and her cubs, unknowingly breaking the cardinal rule to never do so. The sow seemed strangely oblivious to the humans and somehow beckoned her cubs to join her in a way ... read more

The Coastal Range through which we drove yesterday was impressive and pretty, with large peaks and pretty mountain lakes and streams. For flatlanders like us Oklahomans, they were a sight to see. But nothing really prepares you for the experience of coming around a bend in the highway and suddenly seeing Mt. Robson looming in front of you. It is startling, and resulted in the expected simultaneous chorus of "Holy s***!" The sheer massive size of it just overwhelms, and it is high enough that it still is wearing a snowy top and face. At 12,972' it is probably the most prominent in the Canadian Rocky Mountain Range, although only 21st in height in Canada (most of the highest are in the Yukon). Jasper is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies and also less ... read more