Blogs from Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada, North America - page 4

Up early for the optional excursions this morning. Early breakfast then picked up at 0800 for a trip up to the Mount Edith Cavell guided walk. We have 2 guides who give us info on the trip up - about 40 minute drive up into the mountains. Very funny guys with lots of wildlife stories, etc. Arrive at the car park and they get serious with their bear spray, etc. OK, thought this was a leisurely stroll.... Get our walking sticks, one guide at the front, and the other at the back to make sure we are all safe. Walk about 2 minutes and there is grizzly bear scat (poo) on the track - everyone a little more alert now. On we go and the mountain looks spectacular up close. Stop a couple of times to ... read more

September 3, 2013 Today we leave Patricia Lake Bungalows and the Jasper area and head down the Icefields Parkway to Banff. One last lingering look out over beautiful Patricia Lake and another quick game of badminton with the boys before we leave. (Wherever we go, wherever we stay, there’s always something, apart from the obvious location etc. that stands out, sticks in the memory. It might be a board game played together all week or a rowing boat taken out on the lake a few times with attempts to fish and here in Patricia Lake it might well be the badminton. A few rackets and a net hung between 2 trees is all but we returned to it a few times in the short time we were here, often playing just as it got dark at ... read more

September 2, 2013 We awaken the next day to yet another clear blue sky and hope that we’re not beginning to take it for granted. The scenery is breathtakingly beautiful around here but the glorious weather really accentuates that. When I wander down to the lake in the early morning the mountain opposite has a tint of pink to it and the perfect clear sky means that everything I see above the water line is reflected in perfect symmetry below it. Perfect for pictures, especially with those canoes all wonderfully positioned on the bank! Today we attempt to address the eating/exercise balance and manage 3 good walks, the first being around Pyramid Lake (next to Patricia Lake). A beautiful and quiet hike of about 5km. The crowds haven’t really made it out this far. On the ... read more

This morning we got up, cranked up the generator from 8 - 9:30 and then headed out to explore Jasper. We decided to head down town and check out the shopping and have lunch. What a pretty little town Jasper is. The shops are quant and have a nice variety of stuff to buy. We strolled leisurely down the main street and enjoyed the wonderful cool weather. The flowers in town were simply gorgeous as you can see from the pictures. We had lunch at a place called Smitty's and it kind of reminded us of a Denny's style restaurant. I can just see Henry reading this right now and laughing since our son thinks Denny's is where the "old folks" go to eat. This evening we took a drive to Medicine and Maligne Lakes. The ... read more

The trip back was beautiful. It didn't rain at all! The landscapes were stunning, especially since it wasn't solid cloud cover. We drove back throug the parkway, from Jasper to Banff. You can see what is left of the Columbia Icefield. It's a marked omen of times to come.... read more