Day 23
Jasper has a Timmys, so Todd ventured out when we awoke to get us our daily dose of caffeine (he has been doing this on a regular basis throughout the trip
.. he is a good man). We relaxed with coffee and got the blog updated before beginning our day.
First stop of the day was Maligne Lake located about 48 km from Jasper. Halfway to location, Todd looks at the gas gauge and comments that I forgot to remind him to get gas . (not going to be doing as much as we thought .). Along the roadside, we noticed a number of cars pulled over. Grazing just a few metres from the road we saw two Big-Horn Sheep, so we pulled over to take some pics.
We did drive to the end of the road and park. We got some amazing pictures! Then we set out to do a bit of hiking. We were stopped by a Ranger who asked if we had seen any bears because some had been spotted, and later after a short trail walk, we talked to people who actually saw a bear 30 minutes prior (not sure if I was disappointed or relieved to have missed the sighting). Maligne Lake is the largest natural lake in the Canadian Rockies / second largest glacier-fed lake in the world.
As we retraced our route back, we saw more Big-Horn Sheep (no bears, no caribou). We did stop at Medicine Lake. In the past, Aboriginal peoples believed the lake to be inhabited by spirits (water fluctuations from glacier melting).
We drove back to town to fill up… apparently it was the time as vehicles were lined up to the street. On a full tank, we set out again.
We headed back in the same direction to go to Maligne Canyon. Here the Maligne River carves a 50 m gorge through solid the limestone of the Canadian Rockies very impressive
such force
.
We had lunch at the cafeteria-style restaurant. Todd and I both had the buffalo burger with fries. This was the first time we have ever had buffalo burgers, interesting flavour a little gamey .
Later in the afternoon, Todd went for a bike ride (no big hills in the immediate area of Jasper, so very doable .). While biking he dropped his water bottle. When he went to stop, he heard, I got it, and a young native woman jumped off her bike, picked it up, handed it to him and said, Enjoy the rest of your ride. (She probably thought it was easier to help him out rather than have him keel over from dehydration in front of her ).
Not knowing quite where to go for dinner or what we wanted (just not pub-style / greasy food), we walked the main street assessing the menus posted outside. We decided to eat at Fiddle River Restaurant, an upstairs finer dining eatery. The place was pretty much full, except for a couple of tables in the back corner, or if we didnt mind waiting a bit, we could have a table on the patio. The wait was longer than even the wait staff expected, and they apologized, but hey were on holidays …no rush, go with the flow. The wait paid off we didnt have to sit inside with the noise (and large table of obnoxious little kids) and the view was beautiful. We could people watch on the main street below, watch the trains go by, and have a view of the mountains in the background very nice.
Once we ordered, the waitress brought out some bread. Flavours were tasty, yet unique and upon inquiry, we discovered this was due to the addition of coriander, lavender, and other spices. We shared the Caesar Salad (not traditional, but good flavour).
Todd ordered the Wild Sockeye Salmon with a miso mayo wasabi pea crust, and it came with some veggies (corn, peppers, and zucchini) and rice. Flavours were very good and the salmon was perfectly cooked.
I ordered the Elk Striploin (medium-rare) with a gooseberry port jus, and it came with the veggies listed above and mashed potatoes Mmmmm I so enjoyed the flavours of this dish.
We both agree, this was a great last meal in Jasper.