July 26, 2014 – Hinton, AB

We awoke to a beautiful, clear and sunny morning. Today, we will travel back into JNP for a ride on the Jasper Tramway.

We left the RV Park at 9:30 and drove directly to the Jasper Tram arriving at approximately 10:45. Each Tram car holds 26 occupants and it takes about 10-12 minutes for a round trip. We purchased our tickets and found that our gondola will depart at 12:00 noon. An hours' wait isn't too bad.

We boarded promptly at noon and occupied the space at the rear of the car (where we could look out over the Jasper valley). The trip to the 7500' peak was quick and the view breath taking!! On top we took several photos and had lunch.

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When we returned to the parking lot, we took a side trip and went to Lake Maligne, which lies 25 miles off the main road. Boy, did we make the right decision!! The lakes and granite crags were spectacular. The Maligne River reminds us of the Lochsa, only smaller and on a steeper grade.

We returned to the RV Park a little after 6:00. Tired, but well satisfied with our day!!

Tomorrow we will move to an RV Park near Banff and spend the next three days site seeing Banff Natl Park.

July 25, 2014 – Hinton, AB

The rain continued throughout the night. At 6:30 this morning, it was still raining. Because the mountains are shrouded in fog, we decided to stay at the RV Park today and visit the town of Hinton.

We went into Hinton around 11:00. Hinton is the east gateway into Jasper Natl Park and has a lot of commercial businesses including, WalMart, Safeway, a large tire center, several hotels, and the usual fast food restaurants (DQ, A&W, KFC, etc). The business area is 2-3 miles long which took us all of 10 minutes to look over.

We restocked some of our supplies and had a treat at DQ. We arrived back at the RV Park around 1:30 and relaxed the rest of the day.

The rain quit in the afternoon and the skies to the west cleared some which resulted in a pretty sunset at 9:45 PM.

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July 24, 2014 – Hinton, AB

We arrived at the Hinton KOA about 1:30 PM. The drive over was uneventful, but we must say, this part of Alberta certainly has its own beauty. There are no jagged peaks or magnificent lakes, only rolling hills covered with sense birch, lodge pole, and spruce with cattle ranches and farm ground etched out of the trees. The area reminded us a lot of the of the drive from Portland to Lincoln City, particularly southwest of McMinnville.

In the later afternoon, we drove west into the Jasper National Park and the town of Jasper (about 45 miles). The mountains around Jasper are steep, jagged monolithic granite. On the lower sections of the mountains, trees are able to grow.

We stopped at the Fairmont Jasper Lodge which was a little disappointing to us. We expected a “mountain-themed” lodge like Yellowstone or Glacier, but what we found was a modern building with some natural features. We entered the lodge and found a latte shop for a quick mocha and muffin.

The town of Jasper is located about in the middle of the park. It reminds us a bit of Leavenworth, WA the first time we visited there, about 20 years ago. Jasper is in the midst of upgrading their streetscape and there is quite a bit of commercial construction in progress. We walked the town's business area, made a few purchases, and then drove about town.

On the trip back to Hinton, we were able to photograph a few big horn ewes on a near-vertical cliff beside the roadway. It is absolutely amazing how these sheep are able to maneuver up, down and across the steep slopes.

We encountered intermittent rain showers late in the day, but as we approached Hinton, we had steady rain. We arrived at the KOA about 6:30, had dinner, and watched TV before going to bed.

Tomorrow we plan to go back into JNP and take the Jasper Tramway to a 7500' peak.

July 23, 2014 – Stony Point, AB

Not much activity today. We visited a second hand/antique store but there wasn't anything in the store that begged us to purchase it, so we went on into Edmonton to see the downtown area.

Hmm...we forgot the map. So we just drove around. The Edmonton area industrial park is located on the north side of the city. It covers an immense area. Gayle was really impressed (not!!).

We milled around in and out of residential and business areas, crossed the Athabasca River in mid city, and ended up in a large mall (not the WEM) and had lunch and did a little shopping.

Our Magellan navigator found our way back to the RV Park around 5 PM where we relaxed for the remainder of the day.

Tomorrow, we will drive ~180 miles towards Jasper Natl Park. We will stay in Hinton, AB as all of the RV Parks in JNP are full.

July 22, 2014 Stony Plain, AB

Since we had no big plans for today, we laid back this AM, had breakfast, and, just before noon, drove the 15 miles to the West Edmonton Mall. This mall has over 600 stores, a replica of the Santa Maria, a sea world type sea lion display, an indoor beach/sea wave pool, an amusement park, a hockey/ice skating rink, 2 or 3 food courts, 2-3 Starbucks, and one section of the mall with very nice sports bars and restaurants.

When we arrived, we found the parking spaces to be ample. We entered the west side of the mall at “Entrance 55” which begs the question: 55 of how many??? As we entered the mall on the second floor, we were astonished to find a corridor ahead of us that seemed to extend beyond sight. We were also amazed that the mall was fairly crowded – especially for a Tuesday.

In the center of the corridor we found a full-sized replica of Christopher Columbus' ship, the Santa Maria sitting in a blue lagoon. Directly next to it was a Sea World-type sea life pool. These folks explained the life of a penguin and then had a great show with trained sea lions. It is absolutely amazing how well trained these sea lions were. The show lasted approximately ½ hour.

We walked the mall and found many of the same stores that we see in the Spokane malls, but there were many stores with names we have never seen or heard. As we walked along, we discovered a HUGE indoor water park with a beach, lounge chairs, and an ocean setting complete with waves. This park covers 5 acres, has 23 water slides, and can accommodate 40,000 guests. We watched the people play in the surf for a bit.

We also discovered an ice hockey/ice skating rink. It just so happened, that a Starbucks was located directly above the rink. We enjoyed a blended, iced mocha while watching the people skate.

We ended the day with dinner at Mikes Steakhouse (in the mall) and an ice cream treat at a Cold Stone-type kiosk in the mall.

We arrived back at the RV park exhausted. But it was a great day.

July 17, 2014 – Ft. Nelson, BC

We left the RV park around 9:00.

We stopped in Watson Lake to coin-op wash the trailer (mud, bugs, road dirt, etc!!). The wash is a Tooney for 4 minutes ($2). I took 7 Tooneys and we left Watson Lake at 10:00.

The drive started well – then we blew a tire!! This tire was the spare that I put on two days ago because the original tire looked like the tread was about to separate. This tire had never been on the road!! Brand new!! Oh well. It could have happened at a much worse location. In 15 minutes, we were back on the road :-)

Then...construction, construction, construction. We were delayed at 3 locations for ½ hr each. Oh well – it could have been worse.

We did have several sitings, though. Apparently there is a herd of woodland buffalo in northern BC. We found it!! We counted 110 buffalo along side the road. We also saw 8-10 black bears along the road. We figured that the vegetation along the road is easier picking and tastier than the stuff growing in the thick timber.

We know we have mentioned the scenery...but it is magnificent!! We drove Hwy 97 through some of the highest peaks and past glacier lakes. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!!!

This area is also quite remote. No phone lines, no power lines, etc. When our tank was down to ½ empty, we decided to stop at the next available gas stop. We pulled in and were absolutely shocked to see $1.75/liter (that equals $6.09/gallon in US $$$). I would not pay that amount, so we drove on.

The terrain is very rugged. Grades exceeded 10% and you could literally hear the gas being sucked form the tank. At ¼ empty, we decided we had better get gas at the next available stop. Muncho Lake Lodge and Resort. Boy, we sure showed the last place!! The gas at the resort was $2.00/liter. ($6.85/gal.) I stopped the pump at $150 and we drove on to Ft. Nelson.

The Ft Nelson area scenery is quite different than what we have been seeing for the last month. The crags and spires have changed to lower, rounded mountains and farm ground – mostly hay ground. And all surrounded by pine, spruce and tall birch trees. Very neat and nice looking.

July 16, 2014 – Waston Lake, Y.T.

We left Haines Junction about 9:00 and drove the 368 miles to Watson lake.

Not long after leaving Haines Jct., a young grizzly bear crossed the road ahead of us and stopped on the roadside. As we approached the young bear started grazing along the roadside. He was not at all concerned about our presence. Along the way we saw two more black bears.

The drive from there on was uneventful. The scenery was good and we got back into the lodge pole pine forests. The mountains reminded us a lot of northern Montana.

We arrived at the RV Park around 5:00, set up the trailer, and drove into Watson Lake to make phone calls for our next stop – Fort Nelson, BC. On the way to town, we saw a young black bear beside the road. On the way back, the bear was still feeding. We stopped right beside it – no more than 15' away. Gayle again got some great photos.