Oh My Papa

Happy Father’s Day!

Today is a travel day and we pack and leave by 10am. Back on the Yellow Head we pass though several small towns and more gorgeous scenery. Now there are hills and valleys with many lakes and rivers. Eventually we see mountains in the distance with snow at the top. We’ve reached the Canadian Rockies.

Our guide book told us that there is a must-see canyon just west of Brule. So we dutifully got off the highway and drove about 5 miles to Brule which is just one residential street. At the end (dead end) was nothing. We had to make a U-turn which took much backing up and was quite an ordeal with the car in tow. A local came out to help and informed us that Ogre Canyon was a 5 mile hike down the gravel road beyond the dead end. Oh yes, we could drive, but only in a 4-wheel vehicle. So we didn’t see the canyon, but the scenery we did see was spectacular and it is a good story.

We drove on and arrived at Jasper National Park with its breathtaking scenery. Everywhere you look could be a postcard. There are rivers, lakes, swamps, fir trees and magnificent snow covered mountains. The town of Jasper is adorable and reminded us of Jackson, Wyoming. Lots of cute shops and restaurants. We have a reservation at Whistler Campground which is just south of town and it is a large facility set amid a pine forest. We have a large wooded site and as soon as we pulled in two elk and their calves walked by. They hung around for awhile and later we watched the babies nursing. It is wonderful to be out in nature. Poor Ziggy doesn’t know what to make of the elk as they are so large and just don’t smell like a dog.

We made a run into town to buy some groceries and came back to cook dinner and eat “al fresco.” It is so pleasant to sit in the fresh air and relax. It is 11pm now and just getting dark. A beautiful day.