Jasper and Sunshine!

Castle Rock near Banff, British Columbia

Perhaps it is because the mountains are such a draw for us that Jasper has become a favorite stopover when our travels head towards home.  We leave the Alaskan Highway in prairie but soon find the Rocky Mountains again in Jasper.  We checked the weather forecast on our arrival.  Sunshine is in the forecast, mountains are in view, and the elk are in rut.  Life is good!

It rained during our first night’s stay in Jasper, but the sun broke through as promised the next morning.  Not only that, but we awoke to find one of the bull elks pushing his harem right through our camp loop.  Wow!

We later found him wallowing in the creek.  Still later, we found him in another camp loop, bugling to his girls.  Although almost all of the photos had either site posts or campers in the background, it was great just to watch this magnificent animal and his harem.

Temperatures climbed into the 60s.  It was marvelous.  We sat and cooked outside… for the first time in weeks.  We watched the stars come out one by one each evening.  We took a drive up to Maligne Lake and took a hike.  

The following day, we  took a drive up to Pyramid Island, intending to take a hike.  Instead, we discovered a young couple getting married.  They walked just ahead of us, followed closely by their wedding photographer.  It was so special to witness the beginning of their life together.    

Instead of interrupting their ceremony, Roxanne took a dip with Pyramid Mountain in the background before we turned around and headed back to camp.

On our final day in Jasper, we took another hike in the morning, this time near the Green Lake area, enjoying the sunshine and watching others do the same.

That afternoon, we decided to explore parts of Jasper that we have ignored over the years.  We found a road leading to an unknown campground.  Past the Snaring River bridge, we discovered an unpaved road… our favorite kind!  This one, however, had posted times to travel in and posted times to travel out.  Perplexed about the notice and within the time limit to go in, we decided to take the drive.  It was great!

The first part of the road gave us no clue why the road had specific in and out times.  The second half of the drive, however, made it perfectly clear.  The road became more and more narrow as it hugged a mountainside.  We now understood the problem… between sharp switchbacks and blind corners, meeting another vehicle coming the opposite direction would have required one to back down (or up) several miles to allow the other vehicle to continue.  

As we began to gain altitude, the scenery was breathtaking.  We arrived at the end of the road, which was also the beginning of the Celestine trailhead, and waited for 3:30 to arrive so that we could head back down.

 That evening, we sat out and watched the clouds begin to gather. By morning, it was misty rain.  We decided it was time to move on, expecting sunshine in Banff per the forecast. 

We camped at Rampart Creek on the Icefield Parkway.  By evening, it began to mist.  By nightfall, rain drummed steadily on the roof of the camper.  When we awoke, we could see the line of snow not more than 500 feet above us.  

We broke camp and soon discovered that we were once again in a winter wonderland.  

The fresh snow slowed traffic enough that we were able to visit Athabasca Falls without too many other tourists.

Thankfully, the snow had not reached the Bow Valley Parkway, so we stopped to take one of our favorite hikes up the Rockbound Lake trail. 

When we arrived at the Tunnel Mountain campground in Banff, the snow began to fall in earnest in huge flakes.  The campground attendant assured us that it wouldn’t stick… she was wrong.  By morning, we were once again covered in a dusting of about two inches of snow.  Amazing!

After one more pass through the Bow Valley, we decided that it was time for us to continue our trek south.  We are headed to new territory this time… Saskatchewan.  What adventures await us there?