As I wrote earlier, I was away for a short time in Alberta, Canada, where I was able to spend a few days in the Canadian Rockies in and around Jasper. It was my first visit ever to Jasper (although I have visited other parts of Alberta several times). Colleen and myself enjoyed a fantastic time together as we took in the magnificent scenery and stunning views.

The first evening in Alberta was wonderful! The hours of sunshine in the north can do create some illusions about what the time of day it is. Watching folk replacing their roof shingles at 11PM because there is still daylight is an odd experience when one is used to darkness at this time of the year at just after 9:30PM.


I love campfires - and where I live, we usually enjoy them after dark and have had enough about 1AM. In Northern Alberta, the sunlight late into the evening played tricks on me, and a few of us ended up enjoying an outdoor fire into the darkness - and then just a few hours later, watched the sun’s rays soak across the sky as it rose in the south east. The company was wonderful!

After some sleep, we drove south west, across wide roads with open fields and rolling hills towards the mountains. About 90 minutes from our destination, I had my first glimpse of the peaks of the Rockies in the distance which simply increased my excitement and anticipation of arriving in the town of Jasper. That excitement and anticipation was not overdone. What a beautiful place on this planet!

Arriving in Jasper, we found our hotel easily and all around us, views of mountain peaks while breathing fresh mountain air. Wildlife abounds in the area and across the road from our hotel, a herd of elk had decided to wander along the sidewalk, eating grass as cars stopped with the occupants gawking at the scene. From the balcony of our room, we could see the odd coyote running along a trail at the edge of the forest behind us and saw another small herd of elk running through the brush - just off for some exercise or escaping a chasing coyote?

The next day, we were disappointed to discover that the Jasper Gondola which takes passengers up to the summit of Whistler’s Mountain was shutdown - but in the end, it gave us more time to explore other places. With hiking footwear, we walked along trails beside the Maligne Canyon and marveled at the beauty of the limestone walls that plunge 150 feet below with rushing water carving it’s path out of the rock. After our hike, a spontaneous decision of “let’s go see what’s down that road” brought us almost face to face to with a small black bear! We were walking along a bridge and noticed a couple of other people staring and pointing in the direction of where we had left our vehicle and being curious, looked over and saw the bear walking just feet from the vehicle. Cameras were pulled out of pockets as the bear stopped to watch us about 50 feet away. He ignored us as he continued on to some picnic tables, scrounging for scraps of food and then dove into the river showing off his incredible strength against the swift current, swimming to the other side.

Another “let’s check out what’s up that road” took us about 45 minutes to drive 14 km, along a rough road with several hairpin turns as we made our way towards the base of the Mount Edith Cavell trail. As we made our ascent, the temperature dropped 10C from the bottom of Edith Cavell Road, and at the top, a cold rain was falling. We had not brought along rain gear, but we did walk a short distance to get a better view of Mount Edith Cavell and the glacier on the mountain. The thinner air with less oxygen was also noticeable!

Perhaps the highlight though (but there were many highlights!) was visiting Athabasca Falls, where we both stood in awe of the power of the Athabasca River as it flows from the mountains, and then is forced to continue through a narrow gorge, thundering and spraying water as it drops. We both spent a long quiet time, just standing there, watching and appreciating the might and energy, awestruck.

Apparently, Athabasca Falls is usually a very busy place, yet we were able to enjoy this scene at the top of the falls without any other people around! Wonderful!

The rest of my trip went way too fast but was still a very special and enjoyable time. And now, it’s back to the office after a short mini-vacation with memories to be cherished as well as a reminder of what we work for. Thank you Colleen, for a fantastic trip!

Popularity: 57% [?]

Rate this:
2.5

See also:

Hot Topics: