WEDNESDAY, JULY 23

WEDNESDAY, JULY 23:       

     What a glorious, gift of a day!  Beautiful sunny deep blue sky morning.  A delight driving into the Park from here on crisp, clear mornings like this!

                                                                                 

 Even the elk want to take advantage of a quintessential Canadian Rocky morning like this one!

 

       Our plan for today was to visit Mt. Edith Cavell.  This is one of the signature mountain peaks of Jasper National Park.  (It was named for an English nurse/humanitarian who saved & rescued many lives in WWI.)   To get there, you drive 12 miles up a narrow, switchback road up the mountain.  A beautiful road, but nerve-wracking, especially the last few miles, with hairpin turns, blind curves, and our wide truck barely fitting between the double line and the side of the road with no shoulder (no steep drop-off’s, but foot-deep ditches right off the pavement).  Hardly ever drove over 20 mph on our journey up the mountain!

        But once there, at the large parking lot, ‘twas all worth it.  A short (1/2 mile) gorgeous trail                                                                          

 

      
                                                                 

                                      

 led us up to a fabulous viewing area of the mountain.   

The peak (over 11,000 feet high) stood our prominently against the cobalt blue sky.  It boasts 2 well-known glaciers:  Angel and Ghost.  Both are quickly receding, but it’s easy to imagine what they used to look like (especially with the help of  historical photographs).  Angel Glacier (a stunning hanging glacier) has lost much of the mass on her out-swept wings on both sides, as well as her narrow body, which used to extend almost all the way down the rock face to the  Cavell Pond below.  A delicate waterfall is there now, which is totally lovely to see and hear, showing that Nature often compensates the loss of one spectacle of beauty with another.

                                                                 

  

      A massive piece of ice calved off of Ghost Glacier in 2012, leaving behind a huge bowl-shaped cavern just above where the remaining ice field lies.  When it fell into Cavell Pond, it created a tidal wave of ice & debris which closed the entire area for the rest of the season.  The pond is a lovely milky aquamarine, and configured so that you can actually see part of the thick glacier ice exposed at the edge of the water.

                                                                

     This was a place of such majestic, yet quiet, beauty, made even more splendid by the crisp, dry air under the sun’s rays surrounding us with perfect warmth, that we probably lingered up here for well over an hour. A feast for all of our senses. 

                                               

                                                                      

 

                                                                          

        After a somewhat less harrowing trip down the mountain (meeting much fewer cars), we explored the main road a little.  This is where the campground is located where we originally had a reservation (Wabasso), but cancelled because we became concerned over: (1) no water nor sewer, only electric; (2) no showers! – only washrooms; (3) sites not really suited for large rigs.  So we drove into it, just out of curiosity.  A very nice campground – reminded us of Mt. Kidd – very spacious, private, woodsy campsites.  Very inviting for a true camping experience.  There are a few sites which probably could have accommodated our rig, but we would have had to back in, always a challenge.  And then the amenities.  Would almost certainly have had to pull the RV out mid-stay to replenish it with water, re-back in, etc.  So, we think we made the right choice to come out here to Hinton.  Not nearly as nice an experience when we’d be outside the RV, enjoying the woods . . .  but when it was nice weather, we were gone from the campground anyway, not returning til late, usually.  And when it was raining and yucky, we stayed inside.  And had the conveniences of a civilized life.  Plus, when the skies were clear, we had a spectacular ride into the Park.  And saw much wildlife on those morning and evening drives in and back out from the Park.

     It was still a beautiful late afternoon when we arrived home.  Rested just a bit, and then began the grill for dinner.  Grilled salmon and zucchini/red pepper/purple onion kabobs.  Made mashed potatoes & a salad to fill it out.  With the last of our (elegantly boxed) Pinot Grigio.  A wonderful meal after an absolutely wonderful day.    One of two days during our stay here that was truly sunny and bright all day – no hint of rain, no dark clouds obscuring the sun even momentarily. And we got the absolute most out of both days – picked activities that were custom-made for Canadian Rocky Mountain perfect summer days like those.

 

                          

.