Motor Home Trip to Jasper National Park of Canada – Week 3, 27 May – 2 June 2007
After visiting Victoria, BC we spent the next day (27 May) exploring parts of the Olympic National Park, WA (east of Seattle, WA). In Olympia we drove to the top of Hurricane Ridge, through clouds and fog, passing by deer along the side of the road. At the top we were in snow fields with a fantastic view looking down on the clouds with occasional views of Puget Sound. Later we took a hike at Lake Crescent to a waterfall through redwood trees, moss cover rocks and ferns; it was lovely.
The next morning (28 May) we drove to Port Townsend, and took the RV on the ferry to lovely Whidby Island in the Puget Sound. Here we stopped at Coupeville, a quaint little town, and browsed through some shops before heading north toward the Canadian border. We spent a night at Hope, BC. The following morning (29 May) we started on a long days drive to Jasper, AB. The trip took us first through fairly dry plains, unlike the lush vegetation we had been seeing near the coast, and then we entered the foothills of the Rocky Mountains going to higher and higher altitudes finally getting into the snow capped Rocky Mountains themselves. Seeing these jagged sheer cliffs really makes you understand why they are named as they are. We arrived at Jasper, near the Continental Divide, in early evening at a nice woodsy campground with large camp sites in a forest surrounded by snow capped mountains.
The next morning (Wednesday, 30 May) when we got up we found three very large Elk grazing near our camp site (they looked like deer but much larger). Later we browsed in Jasper Town and took a drive along mountain streams and lovely emerald green lakes, fed by mountain glaciers and surrounded by sheer, snow capped cliffs (Medicine Lake and Maligne Lake). On the way we saw, right beside the road, a large herd of Elk. Further along we saw a Bald Eagle soaring, and a small herd of Big Horn Sheep walking across the road and causing a traffic jam and acting as if they owned the place.
On Thursday we did a bit of a provisioning in town and took a cable car to top of Whistlers Mountain. At the top we took a really steep hike, and made it huffing and puffing almost to the very tip of the mountain. It was so hot that day that we had to use air conditioning in the RV to be comfortable until later in the evening when it finally cooled off. As we are so far north and close to the Summer Solstice (21 June) the nights are very short and it does not get completely dark until 10:30 – 11:00 pm.
On Friday, 1 June, we left Jasper and started south heading back south on Icefields Parkway. It is considered one of the most beautiful drives in the world, meandering through a glacially carved valley along the Continental Divide of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. We were surrounded on either side by dramatic cliffs and snow capped mountains with multiple glaciers, rushing rivers and waterfalls. The highlight was at the Columbia Glacier where we took a ride on a “Snocoach”, a special bus with huge tires that took us right into the middle of the glacial field. This glacier is the source of the Columbia River in Washington and Oregon and is unique being on a triple continental divide where melt waters go to the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Along the way we saw a small herd of white, wooly Mountain Goats and a Grizzly Bear right along the road. We arrived at Lake Louise, AB and had an overpriced mediocre dinner at the famous Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise where we had a beautiful view of the lake.
The next morning (28 May) we drove to Port Townsend, and took the RV on the ferry to lovely Whidby Island in the Puget Sound. Here we stopped at Coupeville, a quaint little town, and browsed through some shops before heading north toward the Canadian border. We spent a night at Hope, BC. The following morning (29 May) we started on a long days drive to Jasper, AB. The trip took us first through fairly dry plains, unlike the lush vegetation we had been seeing near the coast, and then we entered the foothills of the Rocky Mountains going to higher and higher altitudes finally getting into the snow capped Rocky Mountains themselves. Seeing these jagged sheer cliffs really makes you understand why they are named as they are. We arrived at Jasper, near the Continental Divide, in early evening at a nice woodsy campground with large camp sites in a forest surrounded by snow capped mountains.
The next morning (Wednesday, 30 May) when we got up we found three very large Elk grazing near our camp site (they looked like deer but much larger). Later we browsed in Jasper Town and took a drive along mountain streams and lovely emerald green lakes, fed by mountain glaciers and surrounded by sheer, snow capped cliffs (Medicine Lake and Maligne Lake). On the way we saw, right beside the road, a large herd of Elk. Further along we saw a Bald Eagle soaring, and a small herd of Big Horn Sheep walking across the road and causing a traffic jam and acting as if they owned the place.
On Thursday we did a bit of a provisioning in town and took a cable car to top of Whistlers Mountain. At the top we took a really steep hike, and made it huffing and puffing almost to the very tip of the mountain. It was so hot that day that we had to use air conditioning in the RV to be comfortable until later in the evening when it finally cooled off. As we are so far north and close to the Summer Solstice (21 June) the nights are very short and it does not get completely dark until 10:30 – 11:00 pm.
On Friday, 1 June, we left Jasper and started south heading back south on Icefields Parkway. It is considered one of the most beautiful drives in the world, meandering through a glacially carved valley along the Continental Divide of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. We were surrounded on either side by dramatic cliffs and snow capped mountains with multiple glaciers, rushing rivers and waterfalls. The highlight was at the Columbia Glacier where we took a ride on a “Snocoach”, a special bus with huge tires that took us right into the middle of the glacial field. This glacier is the source of the Columbia River in Washington and Oregon and is unique being on a triple continental divide where melt waters go to the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Along the way we saw a small herd of white, wooly Mountain Goats and a Grizzly Bear right along the road. We arrived at Lake Louise, AB and had an overpriced mediocre dinner at the famous Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise where we had a beautiful view of the lake.
posted by Dahlia and Lance Riley @ 2:59 PM
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