Day 9 – Jasper to Canmore

Our trip is finally coming to an end, and today we would make the 310 km drive from Jasper to Canmore, back down the Icefields Parkway and onto the Trans-Canada Highway.

After a breakfast in the room, we loaded up the car and checked out of the lodge.  Today was our first largely overcast and rainy day, so we didn’t stop much or take many photos during our return trip along the scenic road.  We did stop in a few places, so I will post a few photos.

I found these pink rocks unusual, as it’s something closer to what we see back in Ontario than the grey limestone that we’ve mostly seen while here in the mountains.

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Here we are back at the Columbia Icefields, during a break in the rain and one of the only sightings of blue sky along the drive.

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We looked around the exhibits at the Icefields centre before getting back on the road.

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Passing by Lake Louise and entering the Trans-Canada Highway, I found these wildlife bridges interesting.  What a great way to allow the animals to safely cross over the highway.  They had probably 8 or 9 of them between Lake Louise and Banff.

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Eventually we arrived in Canmore.  We checked in to our hotel for the night, and then took a short drive around the area.

Back in the room, we got our luggage packed for the return flight the next day.  It’s about a 90-minute drive to the Calgary Airport from Canmore, and we plan to leave Canmore around 8AM to arrive in plenty of time for our 12:30 flight back to Toronto.

Day 8 – More Jasper

On our final full day in Jasper, we didn’t have any specific plans, the weather was still good, so we thought we’d just relax around the resort.

Below are some photos taken from in front of our cabin this morning.

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After breakfast, we went to the health club to relax around the pool, sit in the steam room, and do some swimming.

We briefly went into town for lunch, and then drove out to see the Jasper tramway.

For dinner, we had reservations at Cavell’s at the Jasper Park Lodge.  As part of my annual platinum benefits in the Fairmont President’s Club program, I had a certificate for an authentically local food experience, which we chose to use in Jasper.  We spoke with the chef the day prior regarding what they could prepare for us.  It was a fabulous meal including many locally grown and raised favourites.  Of course, I had to have the Alberta Prime Rib!

On the way back from dinner, we had another surprise.  As we were walking up to our cabin, a cow elk and her calf came bounding down the walkway and stopped in front of our door.

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After looking around in front of our cabin for a few minutes, they headed down the hill to the lake.

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Day 7 – Exploring Jasper

We awoke to another clear and sunny day, and with a daytime high of 24 degrees, today would be the warmest day of our trip so far.

Wanting a bit of breakfast to start the day, we headed into the Jasper townsite.  Below are a few photos from the main street.

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And since the CN Railway is the original reason for Jasper’s existence, the railway station is in the centre of everything.

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After exploring the town, we returned to the lodge.  As we arranged for a short guided ride on horseback, we headed for the lodge’s stables.

I wasn’t able to carry my camera on the horse, but here’s a picture of the horses we rode.

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After spending about an hour and a half on the trail ride, we went out to explore the area some more.  On the road out toward Maligne Lake, we must have run into a dozen bear sightings.

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Looking out over Medicine Lake…

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If you look closely, you will see the moose on the island in the photo below.

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Another bear coming down the road toward us…

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And here we are passing by it…

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Looking out over Maligne Lake.

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Another moose…

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On the way back to Jasper, we saw a family of 4 black bears.  You can only see 2 in the photo below, as they were running into the forest as we went by.  One of them even looked to be climbing up a tree.

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After returning to Jasper Park Lodge, we went for another dinner on the patio in one of the nice restaurants.