Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Ok, so we start driving a very long day. Fortunately, the sun is out. The road was good for a long way. Route 40 is a long mountainous road without much traffic. There are mountains to climb and then down to the valleys and then up again. It was a beautiful ride but long. We reached Hinton after 6 hours and found Jasper Gates RV Park. We had called to make a reservation and they were full. We asked about camping on their lawn. They said they did use it from time to time as an overflow and said ok. So when we got there they pointed to anywhere out front on the lawn. There were several other campers there and we learned they were mostly staff. We rolled onto the lawn, set up and said this will work, however, we are not sure how we will get out of here if it rains anymore. Well, rain poured parts of each day so as to create lots of mud. We appreciate the folks at Jasper RV Park who helped us out. Debbie and Ed and our other neighbor with the puppy. We never did know his name. They offered help when our heat went out and the truck tire acquired a flat. They were there. Ed gave us a heater and we got our tire fixed at OK Tire in Hinton. Debbie sent us there. They fixed our tire, reinstalled it and would not charge us. Canadians and RVers all understand the need to help each other out. Thanks to them all.
Our first day trip into Jasper was way more than we expected. The Mountain and lake views were spectacular. Jasper is so up close and the mountains tower over you as you drive thru the valley road of Route 93. They feel so big and close. Most everywhere we have been, we are looking at the mountains in the distance. Denali was 60 miles away viewing it only behind some clouds. It is only visible 30% of the time. Here at Jasper National Park there were clouds, but we still had big views all the time. We arrived mid-day at Jasper. The town of Jasper is an old village on the rail line with its own visitor’s center and lots of people wandering around. We always like to check out the visitor’s center to get an idea of a direction to begin our journey in a particular area. We also enjoy wandering along the main street even though we not big shoppers. We did find lunch at the Indian Restaurant called Jasper Curry. It was a buffet and the food was very tasty. We enjoyed sitting outside and watching people moving up and down Main Street.
Since the weather was clear, we decided to go to Whistlers Mountain and ride the tram up to the top. The wait time was less than an hour, giving us some time to Instagram while we waited. We have become some of those people with their noises stuck in their phones. Go figure!!! The ride up was literally packed full of people. The views were all we had hoped for. The clouds were breaking and there was some sun. The top was at about 8000 feet and there was a ½ hour walk to the top. The valley is large and the views were awesome. We spent a couple of hours at the top, enjoying the breathtaking views tremendously.
Even though the day was winding down, on our way back to Jasper RV Park, we decide to drive along to Maligne Road into the Valley. The drive out past Medicine Lake was beautiful with mountains on both sides of the road. When we got to Maligne Lake further into the Valley, it was just turning dusk making the lighting very unique changes in the views. We both took many photos and some video. Our photos were good, but they don’t do the area justice. This is one of the most beautiful lakes and mountain scenes we have ever experience. It just took our breath away. We spent a good amount of time experiencing this picturesque setting. It seems like we were in a post card picture.
As the day came to an end, we realized we had a full day of stunning beauty. We are so glad we came to Jasper National Park.
The next day it rained most of the day making our RV site more of a concern. We parked the truck at the rear of the 5th wheel, trying not to make more mud. Finally, late in the afternoon the rain let up a bit, we took a drive into Hinton. Our neighbor, with the puppy, told us about the Beaver Boardwalk. The area was a beaver pond. One of the local companies and the town put together a plan saving this area and created a boardwalk around the wet-lands. As it turned out, late afternoon is a good time to see beavers in action. The beavers have poor eyesight, and have become accustom to people walking along the board walk. So the opportunity to watch the beavers at work is a great experience. We spent a long time watching these guys taking care of business.
Our second trip into the park we focused on going over to Mount Edith Cavell. The drive out to the Angel Glacier and Edith Cavell was a perfect drive along a narrow mountain road until we reached the end and walked up to see the glacial lake and the Angel Glacier. We continued through the mountains and made our way over to the Athabasca Waterfall. The Falls were cut through the rocks and formed a specular view. There are several walkways to see the Fall from different angles. We had another full and successful day so on the drive back thru Jasper, we stopped for dinner.
Our journey in Jasper National Park was coming to an end. The next day we would try to get the Rig out of the site and back on the road. In the morning, we closed up, loaded on the truck, placed the hitch in maneuverable mode and the truck in low, four-wheel drive to see what would happen. It had rained all night. The pull was slow and it took a lot to get stared. The mud was like grease and the tires filled with the mud. All four wheels turning, we slowly moved forward throwing mud everywhere. The truck finally hit the payment. The front of the trailer and the truck was covered with thick globs of mud, but we were free. We straightened out the rig and truck adjusting our hitch back to tow mode and hit the road.
