Anyway, I went to Jasper. It was nice. I had an appointment that morning downtown, and on the way back I stopped and bought a journal and a couple of new cd's (the new Xavier Rudd disc "Food in the Belly" and Jay Crocker's "Melodies from the Outskirts"). I came home, packed and hit the road at about 12:30.
I have lived in Calgary for 4 years but had not even turned off the trans-Canada onto the Icefields Parkway before. I decided to take my time getting there and stop to take pictures whenever I saw something pretty. For any of you who have been on this road, you'll understand that I ended up with a lot of pictures and the drive took a long time! I finally got to see all the places that I'd heard so much about: Bow Lake, Crowfoot Glacier, Columbia Icefields, Mt. Edith Cavell, Sunwapta Falls, Athabasca Falls. The day was beautiful, not a cloud in the sky and I had the windows rolled down and good tunes flowing. My Dashboard Jesus was having a great time too. I eventually made it to Jasper, decided to stay at the upscale (ha!) Astoria Hotel, had some dinner, wrote in my journal and went to bed.
The next day I took a really long time to haul my ass out of bed. I'm generally an "up-and-atom" kind of girl, but lately it's been a lot more difficult. I think it was probably about 10:30 before I was dressed and downstairs getting breakfast. From there I decided to take a trip up the Jasper Tramway, which takes you part way up The Whistler's. From there I hiked through snow to the top of the mountain, where I was treated to 360 degrees of mountain beauty. It was breath-taking. I took some photos and wrote in my journal... here is an excerpt:
"So I'm sitting here in my jeans, 'Obey' tank top, my trusty 'Surf Sister' hoodie and my ever-faithful walkin' shoes. This is definitely not my typical apparel for a summit attempt! But I am very comfy (albeit getting much colder) and wearing clothes that I feel like me in. The shoes have risen above and beyond the call of duty time and time again since I bought them many years ago. And to think I almost retired them! Bah!
Yes, I am a ridiculous girl. I am sitting on the top of a mountain in one of the most beautiful parks in the world and I'm talking about my shoes! Oh dear! In the distance I can see Mt. Robson and it is beautiful. There is rock and snow and trees as far as the eye can see in every direction. This is my Canada, and I'm so grateful to call it home. Not only am I lucky to live in this beautiful place, I am so fortunate to have the health and means to explore it. And the will and desire. I am glad that I am not one of those sad people who are too preoccupied with man-made society to look beyond it to see the things that are far more beautiful than anything man/woman could create (with the exception of babies, you can be preoccupied with babies justifiably 'till the cows come home.)"
I came back down, had some lunch in town and then went out to Maligne Lake. The lake was frozen at the time so it wasn't as beautiful as it could be. The mountains around it were stunning though. I sat on the dock in the sun for a while and soaked it all in. Then I went to Medicine Lake, which was empty! A big empty lake bed, the bottom consisted of mud flats with a stream meandering through the middle. It is emptied by an underground Karst river and only fills in the summer when snowmelt inflow exceeds the outflow. Apparently the natives did not understand the process and chalked the filling and emptying up to magic or "big medicine," hence the name. Pretty cool. I laid on the grass by the "lake" for a while, again soaking it all in and relaxing. There was nobody around because Jasper's not as touristy as Banff and it was still very early in the season, so it was really nice.
Then I headed down to Maligne Canyon and hiked down to see some of the waterfalls. The snow from the mountains hadn't really started melting yet, so the canyon was pretty dry and the falls were non-existent. But it was getting close to 8:00 pm by then so the light was beautiful. I sat on a bench for a while watching some deer, but the mosquitoes were getting bad so I went back to the hotel, ate and went to bed.
The next morning I got up early-ish and headed out so I could stop at the Columbia Icefields on the way home. I took my time getting there, as the views were completely different coming from the other direction. I took many many more photos. The Icefields Snocoach tour was alright but it was cold. As a geologist, I didn't really learn anything I didn't already know, and as a hiker, I had seen many glaciers before. All the old American blue-hairs on the tour were pretty good entertainment though.
From there I high-tailed it back to Calgary and went directly to Becky's wedding shower. Good times.
In all, the trip to Jasper was everything I hoped it would be. I relaxed to the utmost. I soaked in the beauty of the mountains, something that always makes me appreciate life. I got to cross a destination off my list, the weather was absolutely perfect and the music was inspiring. I couldn't have asked for anything more. And Omar didn't break down!
And now, a select few of the photos. You can also check out some of the panoramic shots on my Flickr account.
Pretty picture of a log in the water. No reason, just pretty.
Me on top of The Whistler's, taken by a nice man from France.
The point of the trip, relaxing on the dock at Maligne Lake.
Medicine Lake, looking not-so-lakeish.
The Athabasca River at Athabasca Falls, beautiful just before dusk.
Not something you get to see everyday. I saw some elk on the side of the road so I stopped to take a picture. When I got out of Omar the elk decided to cross the river and I managed to get this shot. Pretty cool. 
My ride, the American blue-hairs and a glacier.
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