September 11
SPOILER ALERT: Elk!
Today began on a gloomy note. We woke up to a lot of rain, wind and gray skies. We started our day with a drive to Miette Hot Springs. The surrounding forest was lush and beautiful. We kept thinking about this being our last day here and how we wanted to make the most of it, and really didn’t want to spend a long, rainy day in the truck. We adjusted our attitudes -we’re on vacation! – and decided to push through, making several stops along the way to check out the scenery, even though a lot was obscured by clouds. At the source Miette Hot Springs are 54°C! The water has to be cooled down to 40° so that people can soak in it. It’s one of the most popular things to do here in Jasper.
On the way back from the Hot Springs the rain began to dissipate so we headed toward Pyramid Lake. We were told not to miss this lake and for good reason. By the time we got there it was like a new day- the sun was shining, the clouds were drifting away, and we were ready to be outdoors. Pyramid Lake has a small island that’s made accessible by a footbridge. We had a great time checking it out and were fully recharged by the time we were done.
We had also been tipped off that the Jasper Lodge was a fun place to go for a gorgeous setting, a nice view and possibly to see some wildlife. We headed there next and the place was really busy, so we didn’t stay. Beautiful though.
We were making our way back out to the main highway when we came upon our first Jasper traffic jam. Marshall immediately located the cause- a bull elk with three cows (female elk) minding their own business in a field adjacent to the highway. All four animals began to sense the attention they were getting from stopped vehicles and became nervous. We stayed way back from the traffic and I pulled out my good camera as they scampered away. Right place, right time. Beautiful creatures!
Our final stop for the day was going to be Athabasca Falls, but there was so much to see along the way, we couldn’t help ourselves. We stopped every chance we had – there were opportunities to learn about the history of the area, including the trade routes, the surrounding geography and the various characters involved.
One example: did you know that Douglas Firs were named for a Scottish botanist named David Douglas? He wrote extensively about the area during his stay here, including all the plant life of course. Unfortunately he didn’t measure things very well and his reports of the height of the mountains were exaggerated by more than 2000 metres. Or meters as they say in the US. They also ask in the US, “how long is a meter?”
FACTS!
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