Jasper

---

We got up early to get to Jasper at a reasonable time, foregoing breakfast. In the car we had some fruit and vegemite on bread. While the scenery in Canada has been amazing so far, it went to a whole new level today. There were virtually no cars on the road, and those that were over took me quickly. We made a few stops to take photos of massive mountains and frozen lakes. Mt Robson is the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies (at nearly 4000 metres), and was the only one with some cloud around it. Hopefully the photos still turn out alright. There were road signs threatening sightings of moose, but there wasn't any today unfortunately. Just before Jasper we hit the British Columbia/Alberta border, and I got out in my t-shirt for a photo next to the sign. Not to show off, but to display the contrast between -8 degrees Canada, and Fijian sunburnt skin!
Getting close to Jasper the speed limit is reduced to 70 km/h to protect wildlife. Jasper is a very pretty little town surrounded by huge mountains. We went to the information centre, but it was closed for lunch (we lost an hour by going to mountain time at the border). Across the road we checked out a hotel and got a cheap room, the only catch being we have to share a bathroom. The Athabasca Hotel seems pretty cool, a bistro, lounge bar, 'normal' bar, and a foyer which has animal heads mounted on the wall. Very plush burgundy carpets are also a feature.
We tried walking around checking out all the shops, but we're having difficulty with the cold, especially when the wind gets up. Beck really wanted to go on the tour to Maligne Canyon so we booked tickets for 9a.m. tomorrow morning. The rest of the afternoon we stayed inside and kept warm.
Over here Valentine's Day is very big. The cynic in me says the marketing and advertising divisions of companies create this. Anyway, we went for an early dinner at a restaurant offering 2 for 1 pasta. They sat us near the fire and it was kind of cool.
After dinner we went for a drive looking for wildlife, as we had seen some elk earlier, but we had no luck. We were both pretty tired so it didn't take us long to crash when we got back to our room.

---