Road Trip Part 3
Today was a day we needed to say good-bye to our fellow weekend campers.....thankfully it was for a short time as we were hoping to meet up with them real soon!
Today was a "quieter" day for camping. It was back to town to run more loads of laundry as a breakfast spill was the cause for a laundry pile-up!
We were also running low on snacks....somehow you eat a lot more when you spend so much time outdoors.
Just when we thought we had enough snacks to cover us for a while, we were hosting some frousins! Back to the shop to get some more snacks!
It was an enjoyable visit on a more relaxing camping kind of day in Jasper!
Backview of our campsite. So much beauty all around.
Haven't seen these folks in a while and it was so great to catch up in a location while we were both on vacation!
A new day...
Today we were moving campgrounds within Jasper. This makes for a bit of an awkward time of filling between. However we filled it with shower time/playground time in the streets of Jasper. We learned the trick of filling and emptying your water between sites on your shower time. This is also not a regular camping experience, but a covid one because all the public showers were closed in the campground. Nothing like pulling out the dry shampoo and hats a lot more this camping trip.
Who wouldn't want to supervise their child at this playground? Look at the views.
Also it can't be a truly Canadian holiday if you don't stop in at Tim's right? Although I would say the great deal we received at the local bakery was even better (we only had limited cash and their credit card machine was down).
We successfully moved to our new campground and headed out for a wonderful hike to 5 lakes. Well so what we thought was wonderful for the majority of the journey anyways....
Little did we know that this was the last of the calm of our hiking journey.
Right after this we started hiking back towards our vehicle. After many times of reminding the kids that we are in bear territory and we need to stick together, be loud, don't run too far ahead we came in contact with a Grizzly Bear. Although we have no photo evidence of the encounter if you can see the recordings on all our fitness trackers there is a dramatic heartbeat increase. Our eldest was the first to see the grizzly and calmly backed up towards us and said "Dad I think there is a bear". Sure enough the bear came towards us looking annoyed that we were travelling the same trail. We backed up to give it space....We talked loudly even though we didn't know what to talk about. Then we backed up some more and made ourselves look big. We ran into some other hikers who helped us look even bigger. Finally the bear meandered the other way and we felt the path was clear! However the cans of bear spray came out and we enjoyed our new company on the journey down. I must say I enjoy God's creatures, but some of them I enjoy more from inside a vehicle. Again we were thankful to be kept from any danger on our journey! I am sure this story will get bigger and better as the years go by :)
Back to our campground to relax and have fun. This one finally had some space for our hammock. I can just about hear the giggles from this photo.
A new day....and it didn't start out to fabulously. Ms. A hurt her ankle as she came out of the trailer in our tree hugger campsite. A huge root was the cause for her sprain and we were supposed to head up the tram and gaze at the scenic Jasper views. This just meant not all of us could hike to the mountain top, but enjoyed the views with a hot cup of coffee or hot chocolate from a little lower, but it was in all good company.
After exploring the afternoon was filled with some relaxation and bike riding. Then it was hosting dinner and walking in the Athabasca freezing cold river.
This was the last night in Jasper. No complaints about our journey so far. It was time to pack up and move to Banff. We ended up at Two Jack lake campground. It wasn't quite the tree hugger campground as in Jasper, but fairly close!
Wapaso tree hugging campground
(The push-out could barely open)
Two-Jack lake campground
(The push-out fit just right!)
Upon arrival in Banff it was time for some souvenir shopping. 2/4 of the kids were successful.
We also took a break from camping food and went out for a nice dinner.
Back to camp and a good nights sleep before tomorrows bike ride.
A new day
We took our bikes and travelled on some of the great bike trails in the area before heading to Calgary!
Our travels weren't over yet. We stayed and hung out with family in Alberta for another week. Well the majority of us. D headed home to work. It was his first time flying during the pandemic and wearing a mask the journey isn't too great, but doable for a short trip.
Below are some fun images of our great time in Alberta.
Snuggling kittens
Hanging with my sis
geo-caching
shaving cream twister
park time
building new patio furniture
shopping at the best store ever...
Plus experiencing some of the craziest weather ever! It was the first time I had to hide in the basement due to a tornado warning and actually experiencing the sky go green and witnessing some hail damage. If the blogged allowed me to upload a video you could see some of it too, but I still haven't figured out how to do that.
Sadly we eventually had to say good bye and journey home. It was one of those trips where you want summer and camping to just go on forever!
We headed home and experience more summer fun in our own beautiful backyard before heading back into regular routines. What a summer trip it was and one we will always remember!
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