Northern Stars

Sunday means a lazy start, especially when on holiday, so we yawned and stretched and took a leisurely approach to breakfast which was shared with four other Brits, all lodged at the same B&B and all doing one version of the same trip as us or another. We exchanged tips on what to see where, what to avoid and then all headed off in our various directions, in our case waving goodbye to the Lake House and heading north.

By late morning the clouds were trying hard to lift but as the road was good we made excellent time with only a little disappointment about the lower temperatures and the hidden views, and before long were at the most northern point on our driving route, and coincidentally at the highest point in the Canadian Rockies, Mount Robson. The rest stop and information centre there is not much more than that but it is extremely well placed, set as it is where, on a clear day, the star attraction would be magnificently framed from the viewing platform at the back of the building. We threw on fleeces, stepped outside, and here's what we saw:

  Shame :-( 

Undaunted we bought hot chocolate and a sarnie and so passed 15 minutes in a pretty setting but where the lead performer flatly refused to emerge centre stage. The sun, however, did make a welcome appearance which only served to confirm how changeable the conditions can be high up in the mountains. And it seems the sunshine wasn't the only thing that came out to play this afternoon. Meet our second northern star of the day.

Our first elk of our Canadian adventures was grazing alongside the Yellowhead Highway and was utterly undistracted when I leapt from the car and approached within 4 feet! It was only afterwards that it occurred to me that those antlers could do quite some damage - hmmm.

And so to Jasper. What an unexpected place. First of all you cross the county/state border from British Columbia into Alberta (losing another hour on the clock, to boot - how come no-one mentioned that!?) and enter the National Park. Then you arrive at the checkpoint/gate and get grilled on your plans whilst in the park, before being issued with a 'permission slip' and a bill (for almost $60 for our forthcoming 3 days - how come no-one mentioned THAT?!)

And here we are, in Jasper itself. It's clear the custodians of the National Park would probably rather not have a town in the centre of such an area of outstanding natural beauty at all. Jasper is a small linear place that appears to serve mostly as somewhere for people to stay temporarily whilst visiting the area. Largely a collection of low-rise hotels and an endless flow of coaches and RVs, plus a few streets of residential homes, probably to house all the hotel staff, Jasper serves as a pick-up and drop off point for the many tours to the mountains, lakes and glaciers in the area. We have been forewarned that all the local attractions will be busy by late morning tomorrow so we need to be on our mettle to avoid the crowds. Ok then ... 

And so we check in. Eventually. You remember the hiccough at our Whistler hotel, when we had to change rooms due to the lift noise? Well this time HRH was prepared. The cases stayed firmly in the car until he'd seen and audio tested the assigned room. Guess where it was. Yup, right next to the lift! We moved .... well, sort of. We returned to Reception. "Yes, of course sir, I could offer you room XYX. It's at the other end of the hotel and well away from the elevator". 

Off we go again. Still no suitcase. No lift noise either (yay) but a constant hum from a mysterious fan - sigh - so HRH goes off to investigate. A short while later the phone rings. 

"I found the source of the noise. We appear to be over the kitchen. It's the main extractor. I tracked it down, through a door, but locked myself out so am back at Reception. Can you come down? We're moving again". 

By now I'm feeling huge sympathies with hotel staff, Receptionists in particular (yes, that means former-you, Mim, especially) but realise it's the only option. We DO have to stay 2 nights and still-poorly HRH needs his sleep. Still, it all turned out OK in the end. 

Ha! Thank you very much. That will do nicely. Northern stars 3 and 4? Apparently that's now US!! :-)