If I had to describe Jasper
and Lake Louise with only one word, it would probably be spectacular. But that one
word could just as well be overcrowded.
When I told you about
Skagway, and the 10,000 tourists that came off four cruise ships and flooded
the town, I had no idea those ships could sail right up the Athabasca River
into Jasper in the Canadian Rockies. But
the same huge crowd got to town when we did. Again.
Jasper is a town completely within
the Jasper National Park. It reminds us
of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, at the Smoky Mountains National Park. But here, thank goodness, there is no
Dollywood, fast food or bungee jumping.
The town is classier; a lot more like Skagway, with its jewelry stores
and restaurants. But it would seem there is nobody left in Edmonton.
Jasper is not far from
Edmonton, a city of more than a million residents. So having a park this close to a major
population center would be like locating Grand Tetons on the outskirts of Los
Angeles, rather than at quaint Jackson, Wyoming. These parks are easily accessible to
everyone. And it seems they all chose to
come here last weekend.
The scenery is incredible.
The trick is to get to it. We tried to
pull off the highway to see Athabascan Falls.
But a dozen cars were lined up outside the very large parking lot
waiting for someone to leave so they could enter. We gave up and went back to town to do our
laundry. They have a nice laundry with a
shower in the…wait. I have to digress to
explain there are no restrooms
anywhere in Canada. None! But this causes no problems because what they
have instead are washrooms. They have lots of washrooms. Since we never rest in our restrooms back
home, having washrooms instead does make a lot more sense.
They have some really large
campgrounds in this park. On the edge of
town, Whistlers CG has 781 spaces; Wapiti CG across the road has 362. They were both completely full. We got the very last one of the 228 sites at
Wabasso CG about 15 Km south. Whew. It is very nice. Very much like our
favorite campground in the Tetons, which can also fill up in autumn when the
concessionaire closes seven of the eight loops. Here, thankfully, all the loops
are still open. We are in space B-24. I
have no trouble remembering that. We built a fire and cooked hot dogs over the
coals. Doesn’t get any better than
this.
The second day, Sunday, we
drove 50 km to Lake Maligne. It was the
clear blue color we now know to expect in glacier-fed lakes. The river that runs out of it disappears under
a lake that has no apparent outlet.
After a brief visit to the
Fairmont Jasper Lodge, we went back into Jasper for dinner. We picked Earls, where we could sit up on a
balcony overlooking town. Great burgers
and something else. The waitress said they had a special on a drink called a
Caesar. Since beer was $10, the $6
Caesar did seem like a deal.
While there were still lots
of people Sunday, it seemed more like a two-boat day instead of the four
shiploads that docked here yesterday. We had dessert at Tim Horton’s, which is
kind of like a bigger Starbucks that serves coffee and sandwiches. And has a Cold Stone Creamery ice cream
parlor. We had their Surprise waffle
bowls and read our email. If you ever go
to Canada, be sure to set up an email account at Tim Horton’s. They are everywhere. And unlike Starbucks in the Yukon, Wi-Fi works
well at Tim Horton’s.
We went into the tiny
grocery in Jasper but gave up on the idea of buying anything. There were too many people in the isles and
too many more lined up at the cash registers.
We just hope all these people won’t move on to Lake Louise when we do.
Too late. They already did.
We packed up and headed
south in steady rain toward Lake Louise on Monday. We stopped again at Athabascan Falls hoping a
one-boat day would be at hand. It
wasn’t. Busloads of Asian tourists had
just arrived and were intent on getting their photos taken at each of the half
dozen viewpoints at the falls. At one
view area, about the dimension of a king-sized bed, there were maybe 45 people
crowded in. Many were trying to set up camera
tripods, use strollers or the occasional wheel chair.
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| A NICE LADY OFFERED TO TAKE OUR PHOTO. WHEN IN ROME... |
The road beyond wasn’t as
good as the Alaskan Highway, but it wasn’t very long either. Soon we arrived at the Icefield Center, where
about half a million people were waiting to get on odd-looking busses with big
mud tires that would take them on ice roads up onto the Columbia Glacier in the
rain. Ho hum. Another glacier.
We arrived at Lake Louise
about 4 pm and found the entrance to the Lake Louise campground. That was easy. There were about fifteen RVs
and cars lined up at the camp entrance waiting for the one Parks Canada agent
to check them in. These are huge
campgrounds just like at Jasper.
We drove up to the famous
Lake Louise lodge in the rain. We were
told later that’s the only reason we were able to find a parking spot. Happily, the rain stopped just as we arrived.
We followed the path west of the grand hotel and found the lake, the usual
glacial blue but set in a deep chasm carved out long ago by ice. People were
out canoeing in the rain. We visited the
lodge and its shops. Very classy.
Back at the motorhome, we
dined extravagantly on frozen lasagna.
We were in a “private site with electricity” so we had the luxury of
watching TV. The train track and airfield must have been very close because we had
train air horns waking us up through the night and the helicopters started
clattering overhead at dawn [we found out later that these helicopter were fire
fighters dipping water from the river next to us]. Time to move on
The road to Banff from Lake
Louise is a graceful freeway. A true parkway.
As you get close to Banff you really notice the mountains. There were dramatic mountains at Jasper and
Lake Louise, but not this
dramatic. Banff seems tightly surrounded
by the Grand Tetons.
The campground here is up on
Tunnel Mountain with a view of the Bow Valley. We walked out on a point and got a great view
back towards town. Then drove into Banff
itself expecting another crammed-packed Jasper.
We got a pleasant surprise. This
is a real town, with shopping and residential neighborhoods close at hand. It has tourists, yes, but the town is much
bigger than Jasper so they get spread around.
You don’t feel hemmed in. Except
by the mountains. These beautiful
mountains seem to loom right behind every building. It could be a Swiss
village, except for the elegant but modern buildings. What a treat!
We had burgers at Eddie’s
Burger Bar then drove the short way back “home” to build a fire and just hang
out. We met Rick and Sandy, our
immediate neighbors. They are from
Edmonton and are here trying out a brand new motorhome. The five of us (they have a black Lab) sat by
the fire and chatted until the stars were out.
Darkness is still a luxury for us after a summer without it. You don’t
think of everyday things we take for granted until they disappear. An astronaut once told me what he missed most
during two weeks on the Shuttle was never being able to sit down. We’ve been missing nighttime.
On Wednesday we wandered
over to Lake Minnewanka. It was nearby
and accessible. We walked a kilometer or
two around the shore and found lots of Chinese and Japanese tourists taking
pictures. As was I. So we took
turns. This lake is blue, but not the
glacier blue of Muncho or even Lake Louise.
It is the darker color of Jenny Lake in the Tetons. We found ourselves making more and more
comparisons between Banff National Park in Alberta and the Grand Teton National
Park in Wyoming.
Things here are very close
to town. We drove a few blocks to Bow River Falls,
just beyond the classic Banff Hotel.
This was in a very nice setting and even though there were lots of
tourists, they weren’t as tightly packed as in the other parks. We saw a
Japanese girl working very hard to take her own photo using her iPhone with the
falls and river in the background. I took a photo
of her taking a photo of her.
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| In the middle of downtown Banff is this park on the Bow River |
After that we drove along
Vermillion Lakes and wondered why they were called Vermillion Lakes. Isn’t Vermillion a shade of red? These lakes were done in a million shades of
green. You decide. But the shallow lakes did provide a nice
foreground for the dramatic mountains.
Wednesday night we built a
fire ($8.00 permit, all wood included) at our campsite and grilled some big shrimp
over wood coals. That was a special
dinner.
Banff itself is
special. It is spread out much more than
Jasper or Lake Louise, so you don’t feel crowded. The setting is incredible. As I mentioned earlier, not unlike Jackson
Hole in Wyoming’s Tetons. So, next time, knowing what we know now, we’ll skip
the other two and head straight for Banff. It is closer to home anyway.
Tomorrow we head back down
to the good old US of A where our cells phones have data service again and we
can buy gas for less than $4 a gallon.
Did you ever think you’d long for $3.50 a gallon gas? You might if you’ve been buying $5 to $6 gas in 80-gallon
increments through Canada and Alaska.
We plan to make stops in
Great Falls and Butte, Montana, then spend a couple of days in Logan, Utah,
where Marsha grew up and where we lived right after we retired. Then we’ll make a stop in Spring Lake, Utah
to visit relatives who hosted us as we headed north a million years ago.
Then, gosh, we’ll go home.
Assuming we can remember how to find it.
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| This big guy was stopping traffic just outside Jasper |
It’s been a long, long time,
from May to September. But what a
terrific trip. All of it from Edmonton,
Alberta, to Whitehorse and Dawson in the Yukon. From Muncho Lake in British
Columbia to Soldotna, Homer and Seward on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska. Then
Skagway in Alaska’s panhandle. And a lot
more. We have some wonderful memories of
people and places. But home will feel
pretty darn good, too.
We may still post another
issue of Northern Exposure along the
way. But in case we don’t, thanks for
riding along on this incredible journey.
We’ve enjoyed having you with us.
Best regards,
John and Marsha
All photographs copyrighted
2013 by John B. Taylor
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