First trip of 2015

For my first of what I hope will be many trips in 2015 I went to one of my favorite places. I've written about it before. Jasper, Alberta. It has me awestruck ever time I go and it really never gets old. One day I would like to live there, even if its just for a season.

As soon as I get that first true mountain view I'm hooked. There is nothing quite like it. It's so different from what I see in my everyday life! Not to say that it would be any less amazing if I saw it everyday though.

I recently rediscovered my iPod from high school and i've actually been really excited about it. It's like a little portal to another time. I brought it with and we listened to it for the whole drive. It has some real winners!

R and I talked about stopping a few times along the way but decided we would rather get to where we were going at a decent time in the afternoon and allow ourselves the stops on the way back. However, once we made it into the national park and started seeing things that my new camera wanted to capture that all went out the window.

We abandoned the car for about 10-15 minutes in favor of exploring a beautiful area where there happened to be some wildlife. R got some amazing shots!

When we eventually got going again it was only a short drive to the town and our hotel was really easy to spot. I let him choose where to stay and he picked something out that was pretty much exactly to my taste! The Athabasca Hotel is probably the prettiest hotel i've stayed in, and being just off Main Street makes it all the more perfect for me!!

Once we got checked in and put our bags down we went right back out to find food and walk around the town. It wasn't a very long outing because we both wanted to get to a hike while it was still warm and light out.

We went to do the 5 Lakes hiking trail which starts not far outside the town. It took us a bit to find it because there isn't really any signage. It starts off quite flat and much like a typical hiking trail. A little while into it the inevitable happens and we had to start going up and down slopes. And from there something else inevitable happens. I fall on my ass. The whole area was still covered in ice and snow making it a much harder hike than I think it would normally be. We only got part way through the trail before we started finding areas that we wouldn't be able to get up or down because of the ice. Because it also gets colder and darker a lot earlier out there, we decided to head back.

Later in the evening after warming up and eating we decided to go back out. Because I got a new camera I really wanted to see if I could get good pictures of the stars. I've always wanted to but never had a camera that could do the sky justice. One of my favorite places near Jasper is Pyramid lake and I figured it would be the perfect place to escape what little light the city provides and try to capture the beautiful night sky.

I started out only able to get the moon. As lovely as it is I still wanted more.

Next, I made lines with the light. I don't know how I did it, but it's fun anyway.

Eventually, with several adjustments to the settings, I was able to capture a (1) semi-decent amateur star photo.

See the Big Dipper???!!?

Anyways, after this little outing it was time to retire for the night.

Day 2 started off great. I can't remember having had a better sleep, ever. If I could sleep like that all the time, I'm pretty sure I would rule the world. An excellent sleep followed by a delicious breakfast just made the morning even better!

After breakfast we headed out to hike #2, this one I have done before but only in the summer. Maligne Canyon is great for pretty much anyone. Last year I did it with my 4 year old neice and she made it through with ease. The nice thing about it is that there are several loops and you only need to go as far as you feel comfortable with.

Completely on the other hand now, in winter time it is an entirely different beast. Forget the distance. Forget the lovely scenery. Just remember to bring/rent/buy ice cleats. I am very willing to 100% guarantee you will not make it through without them. The trail has a lot of slopes and they are pure ice. We had fun sliding around for a little bit until I took a good hard fall and slid down the hill on my bum, then it wasn't fun anymore. Because he is so lovely, R took me away for tea after to make me feel better.

We discovered the most delicious bakery and if you know me at all, you will know that I felt instantly better with a sweet pastry in hand. We got a cranberry white chocolate scone that was to die for.

Because we went to Pyramid so late the night before it was already too dark to walk out to the little island. Thats alright with me though because it meant we got to go back again!

I don't know what it is about that place but I just love it there. Any season, any time of day.. it's just so lovely.