Checking out the Jasper Sights
Trip Start
Jun 15, 2011
1
4
42
Trip End
Aug 25, 2011
Where I stayed
Whistler's Campground
Jasper, Alberta, Canada
Saturday, June 18, 2011
In Jasper we checked out the CN station and found out that the east-bound VIA train would be arriving about four and leaving about seven. Unfortunately this didn't work into our schedule so its something to watch another day. There was a native dancing program in the central park and we stopped by on our way to the Park Information Building. We even found a new maple product store and briefly chatted with the new shop owners who opened their doors last week. Ever tried maple candy floss?
After dinner we decided to take a drive up to Jasper Park Lodge and walked the pathway along the lake and through some of the cabins. Wow! What a great place, preserving the atmosphere but providing the comforts. The highlight was a discussion of Canadian artists with John Webster at the Mountain Galleries in the newly renovated shops Beauvert Promenade of the hotel. He pointed out some of the few prints of Doris McCarthy's work and some of her originals! It is one of the best galleries I have visited in some time. Wonderful work by a variety of artists - watercolor, acrylic, oils of course but also so some mixed media - my favorite a Fran Solar 'quilt' made of metal! Several of the pieces that really grabbed our attention were by Nicholas Bott. His use of color is phenomenal!
As if that wasn't the icing on the cake for the day...we headed up the road to Maligne Canyon. Was that ever a wow! In places you could 'almost' step across the canyon at the top and then you looked down, and down, and down..... Originally this canyon was a waterway under a glacier and over thousands of years cut down through the limestone rock to create this marvel. We walked down into the canyon valley as far as the third bridge and turned around (many, many stairs and a steep path) as it was after 10 pm when we are there - and look at how the photos turned out! We visited the fifth and sixth bridges lower on the river after it emerges from the canyon by car. There are some really great picnic areas at the approaches to these bridges.
Near the sixth bridge we came upon a very large herd of elk with an attentive leader who watched us carefully. The elk are particularly aggressive right now as it is calving season and they are guarding their young. On our way back Don spotted a black bear but it was gone before I could spot it. Another herd of elk were along the highway on the edge of Jasper. We have talked to a lot of people who have gone through this area an not seen a lot of wildlife. Perhaps it is the weather and the early season timing of our visit but we are thrilled with our sightings.
