our vacation
Alberta
Who said Alberta isn't a beautiful province?
Crossing over the border between BC and Alberta at Jasper Park you see the trees getting slightly smaller but you also start to see that the scenery is changing slowly and has its very own charm that our huge fir trees have in BC. There were many trees starting to change color and they were beautiful shades of gold, red and orange. Jasper park has lots of lake and rivers running through it that you see as you travel along the road and some of these waterways are a beautiful turquois color that I had never seen the likes of before.We were to find out later out that the turquois color comes from the minerals brought down from the glaciers that feed the lake.
The Wildlife
The wildlife in the park is unbelievable if you are a nature lover, and even if you aren't. While driving through the park we saw ahead of us cars pulled over to the side of the road. We slowed down and stopped as well and right up next to the pavement of the highway we saw a bull elk and a cow elk. The bull elk was wooing his lady with his bugle call and there were many people out taking pictures of these grand creatures. They appeared extremely tame but we were told to stay well back from them as they are unpredictable even though they seem completely unconcerned with all the people gazing at them in awe.
The Drive
Once out of Jasper Park the trees start to thin out and the mountains become rolling hills. The vista is more grassy and the colors are more vibrant this time of year(October)Ranches are a more common site and the smell in the air of natural fertilizers from the cow and horse herds sure helps to clear the sinuses.To a person raised on farms the scent is very familiar. The sun was shining most of the trip and the drive was beautiful.
Hinton
One day we took a room in a lovely Best Western motel in a town called Hinton. We had a wonderful afternoon playing in the hot tub and then took in some shopping at the local mall. After a cold drink to quench our thirst we drove to a restaurant called the EAGLE Steak House
I must tell you that if you are ever in the area the Eagle Steak House is a must to dine at. Our host was Mike Wiszniowski and he has just hired a new chef. Les Biernacki, the chef, is someone with skills that i particularily appreciate since I really love food. Mike is a very friendly and pleasant man who has created an atmosphere of intimacy at the tables and has hired an excellent staff from what we experienced. Catherine McCarthy, our waitress is very good and has beautiful sparkling eyes, and she agrees with me that the house dressing is to die for.I also have to admit that while I was very full i had to order a serving of 7 layer chocolate cake to take with us to devour later in our room. I was certainly glad I did. My mouth waters now just thinking of it.
West Edmonton Mall
While on our vacation we made it to the West Edmonton Mall which is very well known for its size and its entertaiment qualitys and the Fantasy Land Hotel. It is certain a place that one should get to if they visit Edmonton.We played a game of minature golf, visited an internet cafe( had the best coffee of our holidays there), watched a dolfin show, checked out a few of the many many stores, ate some foods that we had never even heard of before, checked out the indoor water wave pool, looked over(did not use!) the bungy jump and watched some children take a heart stopping drop in a tower, saw people look like they were defying death on a roller coaster,watched a class of children taking skating lessons on a league size hockey rink where the Edmonton Oilers practice and enjoyed a room's romantic atmosphere called the Victorian Room(a bed that was built like an old victorian coach with mirrors overhead)a jet tub on a pedestal and atmosphere that reeked of romance. We were in the mall for one very long day but there are miles of terrain and entertainment we haven't seen yet.
We also visited the Edmonton Space Center What a unusual experience that was.
Going Home
On our way home from our trip to Alberta we chose to take the route through the Canadian Rockie mountains that border the provinces of BC and Alberta. The Rockie mountains does continue down into the USA. Of course if you have never seen this site you really should take a couple of days to really enjoy it.
Jasper
The first stop on this trip was in Jasper, right in the Rockie Mountains. Jasper is a small townsite in the summer but has a huge population in the winter because of the skiing. There are many interesting curio shops,extremely friendly people and a lot of beauty. There is a tramride you can take up into the Jasper National Park's alpine tundra. You can see at least six mountain ranges, glacial fed lakes, rivers and the scenic view of Jasper itself. You can see Mt. Robson which is the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies. You reach 8,000 feet above sea level on the tramride and it is breathtaking. The air is very fresh and crisp up here and a good part of the pleasure in this trip.
In the town of Jasper itself we saw herds of elk grazing all over the sides of the road and on the lawns of the property in the townsite. You can walk right up to them and take their picture but only people that don't know any better do this (or people with a death wish) These large beautiful elk are not vicious but one just doesn't know exactly what might set them off.
Columbia Ice Fields
The next place we stopped at was the Columbia Ice Fields. It is very difficult to describe this scene because it is almost surreal. This is the largest chain of icefields along the Great Divide in the Canadian Rockies. The Columbia Ice Fields covers 324 sq kilometers area and feeds six major glaciers in the mountains. It is the most amazing sight.
Athabasca Glacier
We took a Snocoach ride up one of these glaciers...called the Athabasca Glacier. From the highway this glacier looks like a very shiny, blue-white smooth river of ice coming down the mountain between the peaks. Once the Snocoach arrived on the glacier I was surprised to see that it wasn't as white as I expected. (from minerals in the ice that are pushed to the surface and from dirt in the air ) Rather than being a smooth surface it was very rolling and had crevices in it and hole-type wells in the ice where there were weaknesses. These well-looking things had water rushing in them at quite a speed and they were incredibly deep. The air was very crisp up this high and the huge mountain tops covered with ice and snow were absolutely overwhelming. We spent some time on the ice just taking pictures, looking around and breathing in the clean fresh air, just admiring the gifts of nature.
Back in British Columbia that night we saw a herd of big horn sheep grazing on the side of a road just down from the motel we were staying at. In the evening this herd wondered up the road and into the grass and flower beds of the restaurant where we were eating dinner. Imagine eating dinner while just outside the window a herd of big horn sheep are eating the shrubs and trees just yards from your table. It was a wonderful vacation but I was glad to get in my own bed a couple of nights later.
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