Jasper – Todd and Cindy's Travel Blog

Day 24 Western Adventure

Day 24

This was just a “mouth agape kind of day…amazing views! not even sure our pics and descriptions will do the views justice.
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Upon leaving Jasper, we headed south onto the Icefields Parkway. Our first stop was a lookout where we saw Mount Hardisty, Mount Kerkeslin, and Mount Edith Cavell (we were going to go to Mount Edith Cavell, but the road was closed, so I was glad we still had a view from the distance).

Next stop Athabasca Falls not the largest, but one of the most powerful falls in the National Park as it pours over quartzite and then cuts into the softer limestone below creating potholes and a canyon.

Next stop Sunwapta Falls.

This 18.5 m fall waterfall was created by a hanging valley formed when glacier ice receded. Here also, was a cafeteria-style restaurant. Todd and I shared a garden salad and a clubhouse sandwich (very filling and tasty).

At Tangle Falls, many people climbed onto the rocks to sit in the falls. Todd climbed up to get some good pics I stayed back and zoomed in

Next up the most visited glacier The Athabasca Glacier of the Columbia Icefield truly amazing! The glacier is about 6 km long, up to 300 m thick, and covers an area of 6 sq/km_. Todd and I climbed up the incline towards the glacier (memories of climbing on the Great Wall in China), stopping at the roped off area just in front of the glacier. Wow! Great pictures.

We pulled over to take pictures of the Weeping Wall (water widely trickling down the rock face). We saw more goats along the way. They just wander onto the road and “do their thing.

We stopped at Bow Lake with Crowfoot Glacier in the background. Todd and I put our feet into the pristine water so aquamarine in colour, so clean, sooo cold. It is just amazing (using that word a lot today) to see such unspoiled, clean water. If we are so in awe of it, Todd and I are curious what the 100s of Chinese tourists we have seen wonder (we have seen the Yangtze dirty and polluted).

When we arrived at the Chateau Fairmont in Lake Louise, the woman at the desk offered us a deal on an upgrade to Belvedere Suite on the top floor with views of the mountains, and the lake. Our current deluxe room was on the first floor facing the parking lot. Todd left the decision in my hands “oh, what the hell. (too bad it’s only for one night). What a room! We have two floors, two bathrooms, two balconies.

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Beautiful views of the mountains and part of Lake Louise. Not sure we will want to leave the room to explore the area tomorrow…true luxury

Day 23 Western Adventure

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.

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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 impressivesuch 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 backgroundvery 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).

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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.

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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.

Day 22 Western Adventure

Day 22

After another (and sadly, our last) amazing breakfast before we packed up for the drive to Jasper. The breakfast was once again a true masterpiece Lynn is an artist in the kitchen (and Tom is a great supervisor).

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We began with a baked apple surrounded with a drizzle of cherry sauce and served with a choice of maple syrup or apple pie syrup. Next up was a warm bran muffin.

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The finale was an omelet loaded with ham, mushrooms, onions, sundried tomatoes, and cheese..so deliciousso filling (neither Todd or I could finish it).

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About an hour into our drive, we received a call from Nicole she was totally freaked out! She went to fill Reddys food container from the cat food bag in the pantryand found a dead mouse inside the bag!!! Apparently he enjoyed the quinoa and chocolate bars before going to the cat food..lots of mouse droppings. Nicole had a chore ahead of her (sorry about missing your run, Cole.) …throwing out the mouse (#1 priority), throwing out all food he came into contact with, then cleaning up the deposits he left behind.. Todd was like. why is she so freaked out; its a mouse and it is dead….I was like Cole I totally understand !

The drive to Jasper was beautiful the closer we got to the BC-AB border, the more the Rockies, as we expected to see, came into view. I started snapping pics every 10 minutes after Kamloops so we could document the changes along the way. We stopped for multiple pictures at Mount Robson quite a sight the highest point in the Canadian Rockies.

As we came to the Alberta border, Todd was instructing me to take a pic of the sign….I dont work well under pressure. The seatbelt got me stuck….I couldnt focus the camera….I missed the sign

When we hit Jasper National Park, we were following some trucks that just went through the gate, so that was what we thought…nope…got flagged down. We had no idea it cost so much per day to stay in the National Park (6 nights..adds up..). The trucks get to just go through the gates because it is assumed they are just passing through; with all other vehicles, on the other hand, it is assumed they are spending some time in the area.

We lost an hour (time change) on the drive, so by the time we checked into the Best Western it was after 7:30 PM. Tired, but needing a walk and some food, we headed to the main street. We stopped at a pub just off the main street for salad and wings..not overly healthy, but satisfying.