Jasper, Lac Le Jeune, Icefields
Goodbye West Coast
Onwards and upwards into the mountains again, from Vancouver Island we head east again on the 2nd half of our journey and back home. We board our early morning ferry and head back to the mainland. We sadly part ways with our cousins but glad we had the opportunity to meet up and have some Vancouver island fun!
Kamloops
Onto the Kamploops area…. As we get further into the mountain region, we notice the smoke in the air. BC has been ravaged by forest fires for the last few months and every so often, smoke travels in the air and it becomes noticeable. As we get closer to our destination, Lac Le Jeune Provincial Park, we start to see it in the air and the smell is barely perceptible. Luckily the roads have not been affected and we can make our way. Our hearts go out to all the people who have been affected by this fire. We haven’t seen any impact of the fires other than the signs for reception centers and such as we travel through BC.
Lac Le Jeune Provincial Park
We arrive at Lac Le Jeune around 5 or 6 o’clock and find ourselves self checking in as there is no one at the gate. We make our way to our site which is conveniently located .. where else!?… next to the playground site !?!?!?1
SO needless to say, the kids are thrilled and we can set up camp quickly. After a quick dinner, we make our way to the lake to see what there is to see. Unfortunately, the smoke in the air is thick enough to obscure extended views but over the lake we can see all the fish jumping and going about their day having their dinner. We turn in for the night to recoup after a long day’s travel.
We wake early and close up camp and head north. The smoke clears in the air as we approach the mountain ranges. We turn a corner and BAM…. We find Mt Robson staring us down… It’s imposing and very magjestic!..
Jasper National Park
We head further and find ourselves oohing and aahing over the mountains and soon enough we’re in Jasper National Park.
Our site 9J is located adjacent to an open field where the campground amphitheatre is and….. playground. Of course. And not to forget… the best was…
A quick set up, and the kids have bee lined for the playground and bike track nearby. We have a quick dinner and make it just in time for Metis children’s games hosted by the park’s Canada staff.
Tug of war with rope and pole, wheelbarrow canoe games and other games fill the kids entertainment threshold for the evening. With the fire ban in effect here as well, we turn in for the night after the parks Canada games fun. The adults stay up a little bit longer to gaze at the stars from the field. Where else can you get such night skies with an open field to enjoy them from!?…
Icefield Parkway
The next morning we wake up bright and crazy early and head to the Icefields. We’ve booked a 9:30 am glacier adventure and we’re an hour away and we’re told to be there early… yikes. We journey down the icefield parkway which is National Geographic’s top 10 drives in the world and we can quickly see why..
An hour later we find ourselves at the foot of Athabasca Glacier at the Columbia Icefields Discovery Center. We have a couple of minutes before we start our tour so we walk around a bit and marvel at the scenery and notice how chilly the air is compared to jasper. We layer up a bit, including toque and mitts (overkill you think!?!?… ) and then board our bus which takes us to another loading station where we board the giant Ice Explorer.
We slowly make the 15 minute drive onto the glacier and WOW!… with a little bit of guilt, we step onto the glacier knowing that the glaciers are retreating at an alarming rate and question whether or not being out here contributes to that. They have plaques that demonstrate how far the glacier has shrunk in over 200 years. We take the requisite photos of the glacier and even scoop up some fresh glacier water to enjoy on the spot.
We make our way back to the Ice Explorer and then transfer to a bus which takes us to part 2: the Glacier Skywalk. An architectural marvel, aesthetically stunning on it’s own the skywalk is a glass walkway that extends over the glacier valley and allows stunning views of the Columbia icefields and the valley below. And as if on cue, two mountain goats also make an appearance. We are each given audio tour devices and we make our way through the entire place and are thoroughly education on various facets of the glacier.
Jasper Fun
We make our way back to Jasper National Park and enjoy a nice relaxing afternoon and evening. Again Parks Canada Staff put on a show to entertain young and old. We learned about the explorers and forage the forests to find materials to make a canoe to transport our furs from Jasper house to Fort Assiniboine. In reality we need sticks to force our rafts down the creek as it’s so dry the creek has been depleted to just a dribble of it’s former self. Fun had by all.
We also enjoy a show educating us on how we can help wildlife and humans live together in harmony. We learned we need to leave 30 m between us and elk but 100 m between us and more dangerous animals like Bears. The show was put on by two very engaging and enthusiastic Parks Canada staff. Kids still talk about Duke “Elk”-ington, and “Bear”-neece to this day. So thanks Parks Canada for a terrific time!.
Jasper National Park is an area known to be visited by elk we learn from signs posted around and lo and behold, on our last morning who decides to show up across the field from our site!? An elk! It slowly entered the field, foraged a bit and then make it’s way back into the forest. And to top it all off, we also find a red fox who trots by the site as if curious about what we’re doing but wasn’t quick enough to catch a photo of it.
