World Canada Alberta Jasper National Park

Walking across America with the Moons On to Canada

Jasper National Park Jun 26, 2009

Early this morning we drove from Edmonton to Jasper National Park. As we traveled westward, the landscape changed from the flat prairies to rolling forested hills. As we entered Hinton, Canada, the mountain tops with snow in the crevices loomed over us. This is home for the next seven days.

After parking the trailer, we drove into the national park and onto to the small town of Jasper to determine what adventures were were going to undertake. Immediately after entering the park we encountered mountain goats on a cliff above us. The week was off to a good start. We continued into town and made reservations. Hold on tight. For those who know Suanne, who would expect her to take a white water rafting trip. Well, that is exactly what we are doing tomorrow. After spending several hours setting up several tours, we then decided to drive to Miette Hot Springs for a dip before returning to the campground.

Returning back towards our campground, we saw a small herd of about 3 doe elk and several calves right outside town. As we continued down the road, we noticed several vehicles stopped alongside the road. As we slowed, we realized it was a female moose and a calf. The calf ran off on its own, which made us think that it was no longer dependent on the female or not her calf. After the proverbial posing for pictures, we continued only to find a small herd of long horn sheep. These had apparently been fed because they were begging for food. At about the same place we had seen the mountain goats, we came across the herd of mountain goats. This time the kid goat was separated from its mother and provided several excellent photo ops.

After a fulfilling day like this, we continued to the hot springs for a relaxing dip in 102 degree pool. As Suanne said, this is something we could do every day.