It's a distance that works well for day trips but it's also long enough to justify staying the night. For this particular trip we left early and came back late.
The basic plan was to go for a hike in Maligne Canyon, see the town and then go for a walk at Pyramid lake and it pretty much went just like that.
My nearly 4 year old niece, Lily, survived a full hour long hike without ever needing to be carried and she had a great time doing it. Just like me she preferred the paths through the trees rather than the set trails. Even more than that though she seemed to love the water the most. A trickle, a river or a raging waterfall. All equally exciting. She watched very carefully for bears the whole time and told us what to do if we saw one. Pet it.... I tried really hard to get that idea out of her head but she wouldn't have it. I guess when you are only 4 a bear is a bear, whether it be a grizzly or a teddy.
She also had what I think may have been her first outhouse experience and let me just tell you, she was terrified! I giant hole of gross and she was expected to sit on it?!?!? It took a lot of convincing I can assure you.
Maligne Canyon is a short drive from the town of Jasper and a pretty great spot to look for animals. We saw a moose, baby bear, mountain goats and elk.
Once in town the best thing to do is either walk around and shop, or eat. We obviously did both. I had some of the best poutine I've ever had and some pizza.
Pyramid lake is one of the most stunning places in the park and I love to go there. I think every time I've been to Jasper in the past several years I have gone out there. Even attended a wedding on the island!
The tiny island looks out over a crystal clear lake and up into the mountains, one of them is the pyramid for which the lake is named.
This one.
Unfortunately, as all days must, this one was coming to an end. We decided to make one last pit stop to see another lake and it turned in swimming. Fully clothed.
Lily had asked to go swimming earlier in the day and since we happened to be here with our feet in the water anyway and since there were extra clothes in the car we jumped in. Not literally though. It's always a bit cold and we didn't bring towels. I planned to go as far as the bottom of my shorts and let Lily have her fun but that didn't happen. I ended up wet up to my bellybutton and splashed all over. My sister eventually joined in too and also came out less dry than planned. I tried to show Lily the minnows swimming on the bottom but she just couldn't see them. She could see big rocks for throwing and making splashes with though...
The fun part really began after the water though, trying to be "lady-like" and change in a parking lot without showing anything off is rather a difficult task. We were all laughing so hard it hurt. The important part is that it all worked out and we had fun.
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