More Adventures in Jasper

Jasper is a great place to relax and enjoy nature. Unfortunately, a lot of other people feel the same way and the town as well as the trail are crowded. Our next hike was Valley of Five Lakes. The hike takes you on a trail around five turquoise blue lakes of varying sizes. The water was very still and the sky reflected beautifully in the first lake we passed.

 The second lake had more of the turquoise color and still a good reflection!

 The trail was considered moderate and except for the first section where you do a small amount of uphill hiking, the rest was relatively flat.

 When we arrived at the third lake,which was actually First Lake, we had a surprise! The national park put two red Adirondack chairs at five different locations in park that the workers thought had great views. Bob and I took advantage of the chairs....

 ...and enjoyed the view!

 First Lake was the largest and it took a while to hike around it. But, the views were grand. Now this trail is also a mountain bike trail and I have to say that was very challenging. In places the trail was very narrow and rocky with steep drop-offs. We saw several people riding and a few pushing their bikes along the trail.

 During the first part of our hike, we didn't see much wildlife. We would have missed this grouse except I saw it move slightly when I walked past. I used my hiking stick to point it out to Bob and the grouse only moved about a foot.

 Toward the end of the trail the surroundings reminded me of the trail we hiked earlier this trip in Arkansas. There were rock formations mixed in with pine trees and I would have had fun exploring them.

 But, it was time to finish our hike, the sky was starting to get drippy and we needed to get ready for our evening activity---a soak at Miette Hot Springs north of Jasper.

As we pulled into the parking lot we noticed a lot of long horned sheep wandering around the cars.

 Yes, that was rain on the windshield. The rain that started at the end of our hike continued into the evening.

 Unlike Liard Hot Springs in British Columbia and Chena Hot Springs in Alaska, this hot springs was diverted and filled four pools The pools varied in heat from cold to cool to hot to very hot! Bob and I chose the hot pool. We enjoyed our soak very much after two days of long hikes.

On our way back to our car we noticed that someone was having trouble with the sheep! And the baby was being kicked by the ewe because she didn't want to be bothered while she was snacking. There was a person in the passenger seat, but the driver couldn't get close to the car.

We made it home safely even though the elk were out and about. None of them were interested in getting on the road, they were feeding on the edges of the forest.

The next day dawned cloudy with a good chance of rain so we decided to drive to see the glacier at Mt. Edith Cavell. The road was steep and had hairpin turns as we climbed the mountain. At the end of the road there was a very short trail to the foot of the glaciers. I have to say after seeing so many other glaciers that these glaciers on Mt. Edith Cavell didn't impress Bob or me. This was the other day hike recommended at the visitor center.

  We didn't stay long as the place was packed with people. On our way down the mountain we decided to take a side trip to Athabasca Falls. It was pretty impressive in its size. It wasn't tall, but the length of the falls was impressive.

 The Athabasca River carved a smaller version of the slot canyon we saw at Maligne Canyon.

 We enjoyed watching the water and the squirrel that was throwing pine cones down on us to collect later for his winter stash.

 From Athabasca Falls we went to check out the tram. If the weather had been nicer and we might have been able to have good views, we may have ridden it, but as it was, the sky was too overcast for us to see anything....even from above.

 Finally, late in the afternoon the weather cleared enough for us to venture to the Fairmont Jasper Lodge. Bob found there were some geocaches around Beauvert Lake so we took advantage of the nice weather to take another hike. The trail crosses the golf course at the 14th green. The Canada geese were enjoying the fairway and the lake!

 We also saw a family in on of the canoes paddling around the lake.

Yes, we found the geocaches around the lake, adding to our numbers. The next day would be a travel day, but we weren't in hurry as we were only going to Icefield Centre about 60 miles south of Jasper.

Our First Day in Jasper

If you are following us on a map, you know that we are not traveling very far before stopping for the night. It much more enjoyable to travel slowly and see the sights. On our way to Jasper, we had forgotten that we would pass Mt. Robson. On our last trip, it was cloudy and we didn't get to see the highest peak in Canada. Not so this trip! We spotted Mt. Robson long before we saw....

 ...the sign for the provincial park.  And yes, there was a geocache near the park sign.

We stopped at the visitor center for a quick break and a light lunch before continuing to Jasper.

Wapiti Campground was our choice for our stay at Jasper. We still had not had electric hook-ups since May 31st at White Horse! After getting set up, we decided we wanted to stay at Wapiti for more days than we originally registered so we went to registration and found that we would have to move. So we went back to the RV to move and UH-OH! The slide would not go in! Bob worked on it and I finally went to ask about RV repair places. There are none in Jasper---the closest is in Hinton about 40 miles away. The clerk recommended we try NAPA Auto Parts as they might know someone who could help us. Bob and I drove to NAPA and they sent us to the local towing company. The two guys at the towing company followed us to the RV and helped us get the slide in by manhandling it while I pressed to button to make it go in. What an experience! Needless to say, the slide WILL NOT come out the rest of this trip!

We were able to make our move to the new site and told registration we had finally moved so they assigned our old spot to someone else. WHEW!

The next morning it was hiking time! Bob and I chose Maligne Canyon. The young lady in Jasper NP Visitor Center told us it was one of two recommended day hikes in the area.  She was correct on this one. Maps were scarce because of the number of tourists in the area, so I took a picture of the main map at the kiosk. It came in handy for us and several others who couldn't get a map.

 Bob and I decided to walk the trail counter clockwise due to the number of people hiking that morning. We had the trail to ourselves all the way to Sixth Bridge.

 For the first part of our hike, we didn't see any of the slot canyon with Maligne (Evil) River running through it. We did see the river meandering toward town.

 On our return toward Fifth Bridge, we started seeing more flowing water and waterfalls everywhere!

 By the time we got to Third Bridge and Second Bridge, the water was thundering through the slot canyon.

 Pictures don't do the canyon justice. It is hard to look at these pictures and know just how deep the canyon has been cut by the river.

 The canyon is much narrower in some areas than in others. It boggles my mind to know that in winter you can walk along the canyon floor because the water freezes solid!

 After our hike, the weather turned rainy so we drove to Maligne Lake. The scenery was nice, but we didn't get out to take pictures. Once at the lake, we looked around the gift shop then ate our picnic lunch.

We sure were hoping the weather would clear up so we could have a good hiking day on Sunday.

On Our Way to Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

After filling both the car and the RV with gas, it was time to go a little further east. After looking at our brochures of the area, I knew I wanted to stop at Ancient Forest for lunch. Ancient Forest is the most inland temperate rainforest in the world.  It is located about 60 miles east of Prince George along Yellowhead Highway. We found the parking lot to be very unfriendly for RVs as it was not level. We turned the refrigerator off and set off for a good hike.

We chose to walk the trail counterclockwise and look for a few geocaches that were supposed to be hidden in the forest.

 There was a nice boardwalk throughout the forest. Volunteers from local communities are continuing to build the boardwalk and repair sections as needed.

 One of the trees is named Treebeard after the character in The Hobbit. This tree is the guardian of the forest.

 We also visited Treebeard Falls.

 Before leaving Ancient Forest, we had to see the oldest tree! To get to the oldest tree, we had to walk under this downed cedar.

 Then we arrived at the oldest tree in Ancient Forest! It is estimated to be over 1000 years old.

Of course, all the geocaches in Ancient Forest had been muggled so we didn't get to add to our numbers.

Once back at the RV, it was time to drive to McBride, British Columbia, where we would spend the night. McBride is a railroad town which is evidenced by their welcome sign and all the street signs. There are several towns northwest of McBride that can only be reached by train. It was not so bad staying near the train depot because the trains that went through at night didn't have to blow their whistles as there was no road they crossed in McBride!

 After a quick ride around town we drove to Beaver Falls east of town where we found a geocache along the trail.

 Beaver Falls is not a high waterfall, but it is a powerful one. We were amazed at all the different paths the water took to get beyond the large rocks in the river.

 It was a great hike to the falls, but time to head back to town to find a place to eat dinner.

 On our way into town earlier in the afternoon, we spotted this sign for Gigglin' Grizzly Pub.  We thought it might be a good place to eat, especially since there were so many cars in the parking lot!

It turned out that we made a good choice. The food was good and the place was busy! After a satisfying dinner, it was back to the RV to plan our stay at Jasper National Park.

Meziadin Junction to Prince George, British Columbia

Our time traveling with our friends, Connie and Larry, was fast coming to a close. We left Meziadin Lake Provincial Park headed toward Hazelton. Not very far down the road, we hit road construction---what a surprise! (not)  It seems everywhere we go there is road construction with flagmen to stop you for varying amounts of time. This stop was a long one so Bob and I had another cup of coffee--one of the joys of traveling in a Class A motorhome with a generator!

The reason for the stop at Hazelton was to dump our tanks and fill our fresh water. Every visitor center has something out front celebrating their heritage. Hazelton had several statues dealing with the timber industry. There just happened to be a farmer's market in the parking lot. I gave it a quick look while Bob and I had to wait our turn at the dump.

 After the stop at Hazelton, Bob and I made another stop at Smithers to fill another tank---the gas tank. KA-CHING, KA-CHING! Then it was on to Burns Lake. The city of Burns Lake has a free campground with a three night limit. We only stayed one night, but it was an interesting stop.

Larry and Connie got a spot to our rear with a good view of the lake.

 The lake has a water slide and the rec center rents kayaks and canoes.

 There is also an outdoor fitness center with all sorts of gadgets for adults to use.

We only spent one night at Burns lake before heading to Prince George. That is where we would say goodbye to Connie and Larry. They would head south to Williams Lake and we would head east to Jasper.

We parked at Treasure Cove Casino. Just across the highway from the casino was Prince George! Prince George also celebrates its roots in the timber industry. 

When we arrived in Prince George it was my birthday. Connie, Bob and I went to the casino and registered for player cards. For registering, we each received $10 in free play and since it was my birthday, I got an extra $10. I headed to a machine and before I knew it I had blown through that $20. Bob found a machine to his liking and he won $30. Time to call it a night! Bob and I drove around and I picked a place I wanted to eat dinner--Mr. Mike's Steakhouse Casual. It had steak dinners, but it also had some unique items on the menu. I ordered smothered chicken which sounds heavy, but it was a grilled chicken breast smothered with shrimp and scallops in a light marinara sauce. Bob ordered Sirloin Cracklings which were thin sliced pieces of spiced sirloin cooked for a minute or so in hot oil.

I enjoyed my birthday dinner and afterward it was time to play one last round of Pegs and Jokers. Yes, the guys won again.  Maybe the next time we get together, Connie and I will once again reign as Pegs and Jokers Champions---we can only hope. The guys egos might not be able to take it, though, as they were pretty proud of their wins.

The next morning, Larry and Connie began their trek to the south and Bob and I stayed put for one more day. There was geocaching and hiking on our schedule. We also needed to see what we could do in the casino with Bob's winnings.

Our first order of business was to hike and geocache. After looking at the hiking trails in the area, we chose Forests of the World which is near University of Northern British Columbia. Geocaches were located along the trails in that area so we could hike and geocache.

 We found quite a few geocaches and this interesting sign. It warns of bears in the area and tells how they like to mark their area by scratching trees. Hmmmm, I wonder where the bear who scratched this post was that day.

 It was a nice day for hiking. The sun was out and I think we even broke a sweat before we completed our hike.

 We finished our hike by climbing the observation deck which had a good view of the city of Prince George. There was a geocache located under the deck that took us quite a while to find because we were looking too low. We had a good laugh when Bob finally spotted it. It was a good thing we had our hiking sticks with us or we wouldn't have been able to get the log to sign it!

After we returned to the RV and cleaned up, we headed back to the casino to see what we could do with Bob's winnings. Well, to make a long story short, we increased the winnings ten times over! Needless to say, we took the money and called it a day. Time to head back to the RV and check our route for the next day.