... the province of my birth. The province of contrasts like the uber high Rocky Mountains to the west and the absolutely flat prairies to the east. The province where its easy to cycle, hike, drive, camp, see wildlife like bears and wolves and cougars and elk and moose, swim, raft in rapids, raft in slow-moving rivers, rock climb, glacier walk, dodge rattlesnakes, find really good beer, ... etc. The province known for its AAA Alberta beef and thus in which I am somewhat of an anomaly for being a vegetarian. The province of real cowboys and amongst two big cities. The province of wealthy oil giants about which many people hold various opinions and about which I'll withhold from publishing mine for now.
I entered into Jasper, and just so you don't have to take only my word for it, here's what the Lonely Planet has to say about it:
“Its hard to describe Jasper and not sound like you are either on the payroll of the tourist board or over-exaggerating. But its all true: icy glaciers tumble down towering rocky peaks and melt to form wild white water-choked rivers that cut through pine-filled valleys.”
Fortunately, we are here. Unfortunately, we managed to arrive here during the August Long Weekend, when everyone else from Calgary and Edmonton are also here. Fortunately, we have a cheap but ugly spot in a field to park and sleep tonight. Unfortunately, we have nothing for tomorrow night and the prospects look best at a truck stop or parking lot somewhere between here and Banff, and in which we've been warned we'll likely be kicked out of, probably in the middle of the night. So, we may head out of the park into Canmore, or near Red Deer, or Kananaskis to try our luck.
And finally, just to end on a positive note: Very Fortunately, we have booked a walk on the Columbia Icefields' Athabasca Glacier tomorrow morning. You can bet I'll blog that one.
PS: Happy Birthday Jacob, my brother, have a fantastic day and I can't wait to see you soon!! xo
