R and I finally ticked off a few more things from our to-do list this weekend!
1. Camping
2. Visiting Jasper in the Summer
3. Canoeing
For our first day we left home at a time that we thought we make for good timing and we could avoid long weekend traffic. We were wrong. So so wrong. We waited in traffic to get through the Jasper park gate for about 45-60 minutes and then we waited another 30-45 for construction.
Beyond that we had a ways to drive into the park and also had to find the campground because neither of us knew where it was.
To make the long drive a bit better we got our first glimpse of the wildlife! 3 huge Elk in the water at the side of the road. And about a million tourists snapping pictures and getting too close, but that's how it always is there.
We wouldn't have been able to drive through the area very easily so we stopped and took a few pictures as well. Once we decide we should try to get going one of the elk walked right up to the car, paid it no mind and walked right in front to cross the road. He was close enough to rub the front end of the car.
When we finally did arrive the rest of the group we were joining was off doing something so we took the time to get our tent set up.
Since we don't have a tent of our own we borrowed one from R's dad. Very convenient. Unfortunately when R checked the tent over he didn't look in the bag to check for pegs. Therefore, we didn't have pegs.
I wasn't super concerned but I also didn't want a freak gust of wind to take anything away.
R's brilliant fix for our predicament was putting large rocks inside the tent in all the corners. I'll admit, I was skeptical at first, but it worked perfectly!!! And bonus points for not having to struggle putting pegs into hard ground!
By the time our tent was up and the beds were unrolled and set our friends still hadn't returned.
The first thing I noticed when we got to our campsite was that we could here the rushing river clearly and so I assumed it was very close. We decided to explore that theory further.
A few campsites and a walking path later we found ourselves on the banks on the Athabasca River. Rough, cold water rushed passed us but all I could think of was how beautiful everything is. Jasper National Park is truly one of my favorite places, I never get enough of its unending beauty, vast landscapes and towering peaks.
A bit further down the path that runs parallel to the bank is a large "beach" area. Of course you couldn't swim there and it's mostly rocks instead of sand, but it's the same idea!
A spot of crazy weird luck hit me as I looked down into the small sandy area and found a piece of seaglass!!! Or riverglass as it would seem.. You know how much I like that, it made my day!
Back at the camp we found that our group had returned and everyone was ready for food!
Each couple brought enough food to feed everyone supper for 1 night. Our first evening we had pizza sandwiches made on the fire. It sounds a bit bizarre but they were delicious. They also made a dessert. Banana, chocolate chips and mini marshmallows wrapped in foil and put over the fire. Everything was really good.
Having finished supper R and I headed out. We knew we wanted to see Athabasca Falls while we were here because we've never been.
As it turns out, along the way is a beautiful little lake as clear as glass and perfectly reflective, natures mirror.
Looking at the water and seeing the clouds is pretty spectacular. Lake and sky and fish and dock, all in the same lovely snap.
We thought after supper would be a good time to visit the falls because the cool air and Mosquitoes should hopefully keep tourists to a minimum.
We weren't far off. There were still plenty of people checking out the falls but not nearly as many as I would imagine to be there during the day.
The falls are massive and beautiful but they show there strength too, even the rocks yield to the power.
We had a really great time exploring the area and trying to outrun the Mosquitoes in the treed areas before heading back to our camp for the night.
Lastly, before lighting the fire for the night the whole group took a walk down to the river again. A few of us took our shoes off and got our feet wet. The water was absolutely freezing but also so invigorating. I feel confident saying I would jump in if the current wouldn't take me away in a second.
Many more mountain adventures are on the way!
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