Tuesday-Wednesday, August 30-31
Tuesday was the first rainy day we’d had in a very long time. And since we didn’t have anywhere to go, I stayed in bed and read my Harry Potter book - book #4 is getting really good. The most remarkable thing I can say about the day is that I took no photos.
Wednesday morning we woke up to more cold and wet. I had slept in my warm tights and was happy for them! I even turned on the heater for the first time to take the chill off of the morning.
Deciding that we felt like being more than just sloths this day, I got us packed up and on our way. We first visited Lake Moraine, a “scenic wonder nestled in the Valley of the Ten Peaks,” according to our parks guide. And it was stunning. The coolest part was the cloud cover from the rain, which made for eerie, beautiful surroundings.
Then we drove the short way up to Lake Louise, another gem of an alpine lake. Cloud cover was still present, so more eerie, cool scenery.
While we had been in the gift shop at Lake Moraine earlier, two women had said they had seen lots of bears on the drive between Jasper and Lake Louise. I hadn’t actually intended to go to Jasper, but tempted with the possibility of seeing some more bears (from the safety of my vehicle, of course) and knowing that we had the time, I decided that we would make the drive to Jasper that afternoon.
And boy, were we rewarded!
Only about eight miles into the drive, we saw our first bear. It was a little cub, right by the roadside. We pulled in and watched for a long while. There was no sign of mama anywhere, but unlike many others around me, I did NOT get out of my car. Who knew when Mama might come looking for Junior?
Auggie had never seen a bear before – this was his first one. He was transfixed! He watched that little cub everywhere he went. At one point, Auggie whined because he wanted to go out. Ha!
Not this time, my friend. I need to keep both you and that little bear cub alive.
About five more miles into the drive, people had stopped on the other side of the road. So we pulled over and saw a very large black bear, foraging for food down in a bunch of shrubs and trees. (You can barely see him here.)
We didn’t see any more critters along our drive (still have not seen a Grizzly bear or a moose in my lifetime), but holy moley – the scenery was amazing. There is some pretty powerful nature in Jasper National Park!
The glaciers did a fantastic job of sculpting out big, vast, curving valleys and peaks. We even had a little snow from the mix of cold, moisture and elevation. It’s hard to believe that it’s August 30! Take a look.
When we got to Jasper, we poked around a little bit and quickly saw two elk. They were just hanging out at the city park, munching on grass. Guess they were female, because they didn’t seem to want to charge at anyone.
I splurged again and had dinner at a restaurant – elk and bison meatloaf with mashed potatoes! (I know - I just saw those elk outside ... how could I?) It was so yummy. And even better that I did not have to wash dishes afterwards!
We found our campground and went to sleep fast.
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