Yesterday we drove into town and wandered through the shops. I found a nice sweater on sale and am considering picking it up tomorrow before we head home. We stopped in at the Bear’s Paw for coffee and scones and scoped out their sandwhiches. Later we drove through the mountains and up to Pyramid lake for a short stroll.

We took a few pictures but I haven’t downloaded them to my laptop. I’ll do that tonight after returning from our trip and try to post them this evening. We have to walk to the main lodge to access the internet as not all of the cabins (including ours) have access yet.

It struck me on the drive how beautiful Canada is. Not just the mountains – which are amazing – but the roll of the flat prairies, starkness of the tundra, green hills and fall foilage of the maritimes, etc. We tend to forget just how fast and changing the scenery can be throughout the country and just how big Canada is. Sure, other countries may have centuries of history and fancy churches, temples and castles dating back to the dark ages but we have space.

As is typical of any visit to a new town we dropped in on the local legion for a beer. Having surpassed a decade as Legion members, it’s become somewhat of a tradition for us to try and support as many of them as we can. Last night the Legion hall in Jasper was “the place to be”. 150 people packed into the small hall for meat draws, 50/50 draws and a game of chase the queen. The fire marshalls reminded the Legion that their occupancy was limited to 150 bodies so they meticulously counted all who entered and exited. The Legion shares their space with the French school and is fundraising for a second story on the building to expand both the school and their hall. Since it was so packed when we arrived, we had to scrounge around to find a place to sit. Lucky for us we seemed to have chosen the best table in town. We shared the space with a number of pipeliners. Engineers. Pipe benders. Flaggers, Labourers. We had a fabulous time getting to know new people. Collette – one of the flaggers who is married to one of the project engineers – took us under her wing. She and her husband own homes in BC and Edmonton. They’ll be back in Edmonton for a short vacation soon so we exchanged phone numbers. We’ll have an opportunity to return their hospitality.

Today we’re heading out on a train ride through the Rocky Mountains. The train stops just before Vailmont in BC and then we hop into a van for a guided tour back on the highway. If we had more time and a bigger budget, I think Drew may have selected the dogsled/train trip. You take a dogsled out to BC and catch the train back into Jasper. It’s a full day trip as opposed to a 5-5.5 hour trip but seemed very interesting. We’re still waffling over whether or not we’ll make it out to Maligne Canyon for a tour tomorrow. It’s a 3 hour hike and with a 4 hour drive back home, we’re not sure if we’ll be up for both. Ok, to be honest I just don’t want to be stumbling through slush and ice only to fall down on my butt! I’m not the most co-ordinated of individuals on the best of days.

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