The drive from Grande Prairie to Jasper was another scenic journey, reminding us once again that you do not need to leave Canada to experience beautiful scenery......we have it in abundance throughout our 10 Provinces and 3 Territories, which we have been fortunate to visit. The reward of the drive was arriving in the Jasper area, surrounded by mountains, lakes and rivers. We were unable to secure a campground site in the National Park due to the holiday w/e crowds, so we had to settle for an RV Park outside the park boundary. It required a 40 minute drive each day back into Jasper but we never tired of the highway views and the different species of wildlife that came out to greet us on each trip (bears, moose, sheep, goats).
On our first day we drove to the colourful Patricia and Pyramid Lakes and the magnificent Maligne Canyon where we walked along the trails observing the river blasting it's way through the narrow canyon. We also discovered the Folding Mountain Brewery which was crowded with locals and visitors enjoying their craft beers and tasty food. Canada Day followed, so we headed into town early to find a strategic parking spot for the day, in order to experience the many events going on to celebrate our 152nd birthday. The day started with a pancake breakfast in the central park, followed by a flag raising ceremony, a parade through the town, a historical town walk and a Party in the Park with live entertainment. Unfortunately, it rained on and off during the day, cancelling the Royal Canadian Air Force fly-by and diminishing the crowds for the park party. The fireworks show had previously been cancelled due to the fire ban in the area, only to have it rain for several days leading up to the party. When the rain became more persistent later in the day we decided to leave the town site and return to the craft brewery near our RV Park for some more local brews and dinner. Our final day was filled with sunshine, which worked out perfectly for us since we had made an advance booking for a round of golf at the Jasper Park Lodge Golf Course, a jewel set in the heart of the Canadian Rockies and one of Canada's top ranked courses. It was a lovely day and we didn't mind that our scores were a little higher than we hoped for.
We finished our trip with a visit to my sister's home in Lac Le Jeune, where we had a heartfelt family re-union, lasting 5 days. Lots of wonderful memories shared, small tasks completed and games played. We are now back home, exactly 7 weeks after starting out on this trip, which completes our travels to all 50 U.S. States and our final Territory. Life is good.....everywhere.
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| The bridge across Pyramid Lake to Pyramid Island. The lake was 6 km's north of Jasper and popular with bike enthusiasts who got their workout on the way up and only had to use their brakes on the way back to town. There was a nice trail circling the island with gorgeous views everywhere. |
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| Maligne Canyon which is a lot deeper than this picture displays. The rushing water continues to carve it's way deeper into the canyon and there were spots where we could no longer see the river below in the narrow canyon. |
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| Mountain Goats on a cliff beside the highway. A bit further down the road we found some more goats patrolling the highway, walking right down the middle of the road on the centre line, causing traffic in both directions to come to a halt until they were finished observing us. |
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| Enjoying some excellent craft beers at the Folding Mountain Brewery, outside the Jasper Park gates. They had 12 different brews to select from and their tasting tray marked the choices each individual made. |
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| Mini-Mounties following the real ones at the Flag Raising Ceremony on the Visitor Centre front lawn. At the end of the ceremony, birthday cake was served to everyone. |
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| The Lumberjack float at the Canada Day Parade, which included a flag covered bear. Almost all the floats had people tossing candies to the crowd......I had to control my competitive spirit to not outrace the youngsters to the prize. |
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| The St. Mary and St. George Anglican Church which we had special access to during our historic downtown walk in Jasper. The church had some 1930's stained glass windows on one side and more modern versions (and equally brilliant) on the other side which replaced the original ones damaged at the turn on of the century when a tree fell on that side of the church and caused significant damage. |
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| Mildred Lake, on our way to the Jasper Park Lodge which was on the opposite side of the lake. |
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| Showing off my form at the Jasper Park Lodge Golf Course. |
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| A panoramic shot of Little Hell's Gate which we discovered on our drive from Jasper along the scenic #5 highway to Kamloops. The deadly whirlpools at the bend on the left side required a 6 km portage for the early settlers and gold rush miners heading up river. |
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| A family Marbles game. Our parent's taught us card games when we were young and the tradition has followed in each of our families. |
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| The beginning of a campfire that lasted into the early morning hours, with neighbours and friends joining in on the celebration. Later on after burning close to a face cord of wood, several wooden pallets were added to the fire, resulting in 7-8 foot high flames. |
