THURSDAY, JULY 17

THURSDAY, JULY 17:   

     Well, did get off to a (relatively) early start.  But what a disappointing drive!  Very, very hazy when we left Banff – probably the worst day yet.  And as we drove north, nearer the fire, of course the haze just got worse.  For about 50 miles north of Lake Louise, it looked like Los Angeles  40 years ago on the smoggiest day of the year. 
                                                             

And we could smell and actually taste the smoke – yuk.  Then, when we got far enough out of the smoke, it was cloudy and began to rain – all the way to Jasper!!  (And the temperature had dropped significantly – felt very cool whenever we stepped outside of the truck.  Wondered if it did the same in Banff today.)

     What is it with us not getting a decent day to do this drive – consistently rated one of the top 10 most spectacularly scenic drives in the world??!  When we drove it last May, it was raining and misty – even a little snow, and then on our way home in Sept driving it south, was again mostly foggy.  Hmmmm . . . 

    But even with today’s horrid air quality, we could still get a glimpse of the glacier-carved beauty of the area in a few places. 
                                                         
                                                      
                                                     
 

                                                     

                                                      

                                                         

                                                  
 
        And the wildflowers along the highway were lovely. 
                                                       

 Even some wildlife posed for us.              

                                           

 

     Well, we’ll have one more chance to drive this legendary road – when we leave Jasper in a week or so and head west.  That is, unless Bill decides to take another route.  There were sections which were very rough, and other sections which had very long grades, both uphill and downhill.  He had to pull over a couple of times because the engine overheated, and the n was anxious about the brakes overheating on the downhill grades.  It’s weird – neither of us remembers any issues like this either time we drove it last year.  And I noted nothing about it in my journal.

     By the time we reached the townsite of Jasper, it was about 2:00.  We were both on empty – tummies and emotional energy.  A stressful drive, without a whole lot to redeem it.  So Bill found a place to park the truck & RV, and dropped me off at a Subway shop we spotted.  From what we observed today, Jasper has only one main street of tourist mecca, instead of the blocks and blocks in Banff.  So there’s much less to choose from, which is fine with us.  Anyway, we split a sandwich and cold drink and caught our breath.    

     Then drove the additional hour to Hinton, a town about 15 miles from the east entrance of the National Park.  We had to book our stay in Jasper there, as they were completely booked in the Park itself way back in March or April when I first tried.   And that was another disappointment, when we drove up to it.  It’s pretty much out of the mountains – more in the foothills.  And a typical KOA – sites side by side, close together, parking lot style,  no trees or shrubbery to give privacy or a natural feeling. 

     And then, to top things off, I looked up the weather forecast for the area for the next few days, and yucky thru Sunday – overcast, hazy, large chance of rain.  So as I write this, I’m feeling pretty down.  Not sure why, after the wonderful day we had yesterday.  And it’s not like we haven’t had periods of rain before, and we know from experience that if we just wait it out, it’ll be worth it.  We’ve experienced that both in Alaska and on this trip, back in Glacier.  So not sure why I feel so glum & discouraged.  Maybe a good night’s sleep will help.

     Was raining too hard to start a fire to cook dinner, so just heated up some frozen hot dogs & opened a can of chili and had chili dogs.  Actually, tasted pretty good in the cool, damp evening.