Day 19: Lake Louise to Jasper,, and a Happy 4th of July to all!

No fireworks, no parade…but the best day yet on the road!

We got up early to try to beat the crowds at Lake Louise, and that strategy worked.  We easily got a parking space and set off to finally see the lake.  It was well worth the wait!  Gorgeous blue-green alpine lake surrounded by mountains, including a glacier at its far end.  The stuff from which picture postcards are made!  If I ever win the lottery, I’m going to stay at the Chateau Lake Louise for awhile and just stare at that view.  According to the placards along the trail, people have been vacationing at the lake since early in the 20^th century when the hotel proprietor brought in guides from the Alps to take visitors out along the trails, which ended up at lovely teahouses in beautiful locations.  Now that’s civilized outdoor activity!

After filling the gas tank----no gas stations for miles ahead---we headed out the Icefields Parkway, a scenic drive between Lake Louise and Jasper.  It is somewhat like Skyline Drive in Shenandoah in that it has a lower speed limit, many pull-offs to look at the views, wildlife along the way, beautiful lakes and waterfalls, and as has been the case for the past week, amazing huge, snow-capped mountains.  We took our time, stopped often, did a few short walks to waterfalls, and took lots of pictures (which because of weak internet and Verizon I will need to post later).

Our destination for the day was Whistlers Campground in Jasper National Park, just outside the town of Jasper.  This is an enormous campground, with 780 sites.  The environment here feels quite different from that at Lake Louise, where there was a uniform cover of very tall, dark evergreen trees.  It’s more open here, with a mix of pine (or fir?) with birch trees, and open enough for lush grass to grow beneath.  The latter was no doubt the attraction for that elk that walked right by the camper while we were preparing dinner.  While this is still bear country and there are reminders of such, the message is not quite so insistent as at Lake Louise with its electric fence and signs at the start of every trail. 

Speaking of bears, we did see our first yesterday, along the Icefields Parkway, having a leisurely brunch while a large number of people pulled over cars and were taking its picture. 

We finally were able to have a campfire here.  (Weather and park policies have prevented them up until now.) Canadians handle campfires differently from us: instead of buying a bundle of firewood, one pays by the day ($8.80) for the privilege of having a fire, and the park supplies as much wood as one would like to take.  We loaded upon wood at the wood lot, enough for the coming nights, and I look forward to more evening hours in front of the fire. Even though it’s still not dark until after 10 o’clock.