Jasper

One of the stops to pick up riders on our way from Banff to Jasper was the Chateau Lake Louse. I was there 50 years ago when we traveled home from our Alaska trip. (The slides are in the garage.) The Victoria Glacier has retreated since then, however the view is still spectacular. 

Along the way, we saw 4 black bears, including a mom with  cub. Memories of going to the Smokey Mountains and bear jams, where everyone would stop their cars and get out to gawk at bears. Even feed them. The rangers have put the kibosh on the latter, but we still all stop and look. We also saw 2 moose, but far away on the other side of a wide marshy area.

The Rocky Mountaineer’s info said lunch would be a box lunch, but in fact it was a delightful buffet at the ice field’s headquarters. Halfway through the line I discovered all the dishes were labeled by cards in the overhead covers. Before that, assumptions were made. Peg ended up with egg salad which she thought was mustard potato salad. I took my chances with a tomato based main, that was labeled butter chicken. Delicious. Two desserts new to me: butter tarts (pecan pie without the pecans) and Nanaimo bars (thin layer of chocolate/coconut brownie, layer of vanilla pudding, layer of chocolate candy melted over). 

We continued on to the Skywalk, a glass U out over the Sunwapta River valley. For some reason, this was the first glass-bottomed walk that I did not have trepidation to go out on. According to our driver Brian, in bad weather the mountain goats, or maybe big horned sheep, gather under the skywalk for shelter. Even though the wind was fierce, no goats or sheep were huddled below. I guess it was balmy to them. We walked around the loop, then headed back to the bus to the Columbia Ice fields. 

Another walking adventure: the ice fields weren’t slippery ice as I’d worried they would be, but rather like bags of ice cubes scattered all over the surface. The wind was fierce, picking up water droplets from the surface and flinging them at us. When I turned into the wind, my face burned from it. With my back to the wind, my pants got wet. A place for a short visit, not a stay.

In Jasper, we stayed at the Whistler Hotel with an upgrade to a suite that looked out on Main Street and the train tracks. 

Although not as chi chi as Banff, Jasper has lots of shops and restaurants to choose from. I bought some locally made bead bracelets at the Friends of Jasper Park shop. Clara can choose which she would like and one for her mom. I’ll keep the other. 

At the native art store, I considered beaded 6” long earrings made with a rose design but really I would never wear them. Still, they were beautiful.

After a terrible breakfast, with tough Canadian bacon, scrambled eggs evidently cooked on a big grill then chopped, and thick, heavy toast, we tried walking the Discovery Trail around Jasper. Reviews said it was easy, with a few steeper parts. Perhaps we should review what “easy” means. Betsy and Grant went back after 45 minutes of mostly climbing with occasional flat spots. Peg and I pressed on. Eventually, I realized the section where we started was rated moderate. The blue line on the map should have given me a hint. The easy part, in green, was along the sidewalk by the train station. At the high point on the trail, we found a bench to rest, then continued to where the trail got back down to street level. All in all, a nice walk, then a rush to find a bathroom. Perhaps I shouldn’t have had 2 cups of the insipid coffee and a full glass of water at breakfast.

Lunch at Harvest Food and Drink made up for breakfast. The best meal I’ve had on the trip: salmon on an arugula salad with a beet hummus and tomatoes on the side.

The rest of the day was shopping, packing, a glass of wine at the Whistle Stop Pub, and a waffle cone with Nanaimo ice cream. Ready for the train.