Homeward Bound

The trip got more and more impressive as it went on.  Just when you thought that you had seen something impressive, there was something to top it - almost literally.

The last morning was an early rise to drive down the last 200k to Calgary and return the RV's and so we got on to the highway about 6am to drive south.  The view ahead was dramatic in the morning sun.

As we drove on down the highway, the view in front became increasingly flatter and the dramatic view was in the rear mirror.

Maybe the best thing in Calgary is the road to the Rockies, but we didn't stay there long enough to find out, but maybe we'll return.

Transport

We don't think that the North Americans have really stuck to Baden-Powell's original ideas.  Camping has been industrialised / mechanised and probably a few other things as well.  It would appear that our camper vans (Recreational Vehicles) are not particularly big. This camp site has over 750  pitches in the woods and you don't really see your neighbours as there are trees in the way.  RV's like this are not uncommon.

Often they are to be seen towing a large pickup or a medium sized car so that the 'campers' can get around and about once they reach their holiday destination.  There are many 5th wheel units which are usually V8 engined pickups towing large caravan trailers.  Occasionally they get a bit outsize like this.

So if you are going to get about in North America, then you have to adapt. This morning we wanted to go up a winding road which is unsuitable for our RV and so we rented from a local agency.

Nice paint job, isn't it?  Unfortunately, the driver came too!  Broom, Broom...

Iconic Views

It's one of the things about being a tourist, that you fee that you have to see the views in the brochures in order to feel that you have done the job properly and really have appreciated what the country has to offer.  With this in mind we went on a boat trip along Maligne Lake - so called, we believe, because the horse of a French priest who was one of the first to travel through the country, slipped and was injured while crossing the river which he felt was malign.

The scenery was dramatic on all sides and a large number of photographs were taken by a small number of people.  On the left of this picture is the biggest lump of rock I have ever seen.  At the end of the lake, the boat pulled in to the side to allow us to disembark and take photos, and so a lot more Picts were taken.  This one was taken before a young couple walked onto spirit island to collect their canoe and paddle back down the not inconsiderable length of the lake.

Imagine the frustration of some of the other members of the trip who had to take their photos with these inconsiderate people contaminating the foreground, although the young offenders had had the consideration to park their canoe on the far side of the island where it was out of shot.

So we can now relax as we have the iconic image, but the difficulty here is that there are views of mountains and water everywhere – so much so that we are perhaps beginning to suffer from scenic indigestion.  As long as the sun shines, there are scenes like this everywhere.

The First Nations

A significant part of Canada's history involves the culture of the First Nations.  There are many things about the first nations' way of life and living which are very similar to those of the Maori in NZ. They are being preserved, but because this is such a big country and there were so many tribes with different languages, preservation is a much more challenging issue which is not helped by the fact that much of what is known comes from an oral tradition.  The continuation of some of the cultural traditions is an important part of some people's lives.

These are prayer ties which are to be found on Aspen trees in part of one of the Reservations to the south of Jasper.  In many ways they are the equivalent to leaving a candle burning in a church.  These have been there for some time.  Blue represents the air, yellow - the sun, green - the earth and white - the air.

This structure was recently built for the Sun Dance ceremony which can be held over up to 4 days in the course of which a lodge like this is built.  It is a very intricate structure, but all the timbers are simply laid in place after being cut.  Old structures from previous years still, stand - without the ties required by Health and Safety.  

One of the interesting things to discover about the plants is that these Aspen trees are all connected to the same root system and that they are therefore all part of one big plant.  They provide the timber for the construction of the lodges and tepees, and being one root system, the plant continues to grow.

The Wilderness

It's all very well saying that you want to off the beaten track, but the harsh reality of being in one of the underpopulated parts of the world like this is that you are literally out of touch.  The reason that there is so much wildlife to see is that there is nobody here.  The small exception to that may be the arterial roads a d their junctions, but, given that the road from Jasper to Banff is a tourist highway, you can drive a surprising distance without seeing another vehicle.  Email and mobile phones are useless: you are better off shouting!  On the other hand there is the positive side: you can see birds like ravens:

If You use the more traditional canoe for transport, then you might easily come across a couple of beaver even although they don't want to look at the camera.

And in some places you find that people have humming bird feeders:

so the fact that Facebook or email are not there to distract you is not really noticed.

Friends in High Places

For the average tourist, complete with walking boots and a pole, it is not difficult to gain the heights above Jasper - a town of about 5,000 which has not really grown at all in the last 20 years as it is in the middle of a National Park and land is not made available for the development of housing.  All you need to do is to get into the tram (!) which will then whisk you to the top of the mountain.  After that, the intrepid traveller can climb a few more hundred feet to the top.

From here, the views are stunning and the Rockies are rockier.  You can look back to the west and see that, 50 miles away, the peak of Mount Robson is still in the clouds!

Closer at hand, you are spoilt for choice.  The mountains are everywhere, with cornices on the rocky peaks ready to break off when the climatic conditions tell them to and plunge thousands of feet down the rock faces.

Serious Scenery

The Rockies just got rockier.  It would appear that this is where it starts to get serious!  This is Mount Robson which is the highest point in the Rockies.  Apparently the top is only free of cloud for about seven days in the year - and today isn't one of them.  However, we should perhaps be thankful that we can see as much as we can as there is thunder and a storm is forecast.  The is a short glacier on the face of the mountain which must produce some spectacular icefall.

Moving on on the route over to Jasper, the scenery starts to become more dramatic.  It is a thought that Scotland used to look like this - on a smaller scale - until we cut down all the trees!  This is Lake Yellowhead with Yellowhead Mountain behind.

At the foot of the mountain, along the side of the lake, is a railway line which is regularly used by enormous goods trains which plod slowly up the hill.  They are all double headed and travel at a gentle 30mph as they seem to be about half a mile long and defy your imagination as they keep relentlessly up the hill.

We get to the campsite at Jasper where there are all sorts of warnings about rutting elk and assorted bears, but we find that for the moment there is not problem as a year old elk is grazing quite comfortably in the middle of the campsite - ignored by most of the campers.  He will become a teenager and then things might not be so tranquil!