Canada Wrap-up

What a trip!! I saw a moose :) I actually saw pretty much every wild animal in the Canadian Rockies. Except a wolf but I was told I was there at the wrong time and they generally don't come down/out of the mountains anyway. I saw in no particular order... a moose, a grizzly bear and her two cubs, several black bears (of varying colors!), elk, mountain goats, big horn sheep, a golden eagle, a bald eagle, an osprey (I forgot to write about it cuz I didn't have a picture but it was on the wildlife tour and flew over - only knew it was an osprey cuz the guide said it was), deer (not sure if mule or white-tailed), marmots, magpie, and other various squirrels and birds. 

I was in three Canadian National Parks - Banff, Yoho, and Jasper. Parks Canada as they're called does a great job of combining tourist experience with wildlife and land management. There were "outhouses" (pit toilets) at what seemed like every trailhead or viewpoint along the way, on highways and smaller back roads as well. When we came up on the moose, Sam actually thought it would be gone. He'd heard it was there but then saw a Parks Canada truck before we got there - he said they would have run him off, to protect him from getting hit and such. Luckily for me, that's not what happened! Anyway, everything was clean and well cared for, either by Parks Canada or the many, many seasonal workers.

Speaking of which, I encountered SO many different folks from countries all around the world. Almost all of my guides and servers and others were young people there just for the summer. Many are in school elsewhere and came to share their time and energy and knowledge with tourists like me. Some from other areas of Canada but also from Ireland, Australia, UK. 

I met SO many people on all my various tours. That I know of, I toured with people from UK, US, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, Ireland, Nepal, Germany, and I'm sure more! Some tours we all became friends (even hope to keep in touch with one!) and on some we never spoke to each other. I determined, after the first two that were very different energy, it has a lot to do with the tour guide. The more energy they have and treat us like a little family for the day, the more we get out of our shells and have fun together. 

In the end, I can say that I had a fabulous trip and saw almost everything I wanted to. I an incredibly disappointed that the train didn't happen. I actually got to see more of Canada on the bus(es) but it's not what I wanted to see. I'm not sure the train is worth a whole trip back. Maybe someday. The original plan was to go to Toronto/Montreal/Quebec next summer. In the midst of the incredibly long travel day(s) I decided that maybe I should do an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica and just sit around and do nothing! Or maybe a Caribbean cruise. We'll see. There is talk of there not being baseball in 2027 (it's negotiation time this offseason and both sides are going to have to give a lot) and I have to go see the Blue Jays in Toronto when I'm there! Luckily I don't have to decide today :)

Next stop is VA to see Ma next week and a wedding in TX on my way back. No baseball that trip either cuz the boys are out of town. 

Thanks for following along!!! 

Update

Well the train was cancelled. It's midnight and I'm on hold with Air Canada. I will take a bus back to Calgary and fly out of there. I also looked at Edmonton but flights seem to be more expensive. Yes train is refunded. Not nearly enough to make up for what this is costing me. UGH. There is a very slight chance that my flight insurance will pay for it. 

Update to the update! I have a bus that will actually take me to Edmonton "on the way" to Calgary so bonus I get to see Edmonton. And then my plane leaves first thing Sunday morning from Calgary, and goes through Vancouver, with a substantial (6 hour) layover there so I can still say I've been to Vancouver! Silver linings :)

And I'll be home earlier instead of later! And I can stop and pick up the gates for the new fence so I don't have to go back down on Monday!! So besides not getting to ride the train, I suppose all in all this isn't too bad. And wasn't nearly as expensive as I'd thought - the second lady exempted the change fee since it had only been a few hours. Very nice of her. 

So tomorrow afternoon I leave Jasper and spend 9 hours on a bus (1.25 in Edmonton train station) to sleep in the airport so I can leave at 6am. Go me :) At least I saw a moose!!

(I will write again when I'm home unless I can figure out wifi at an airport or something)

Jasper Day Two

 Oh boy. And not in the "I saw a moose" way. This morning was a time to sleep in and walk about town. I had a leisurely breakfast at a local place recommended by a tour guide (don't ask me which one, they've started to blend together). Then I walked over to the train station to just figure out how it all works. Well, I was told that my train was at least 12 hours late. They warned that they could be late but not THAT late! I then spent my next couple hours trying to figure out how to change my flight from Sunday evening to Monday morning. For just $250 I am now booked out on Monday morning. I wasn't overly excited about my plans to bus around Vancouver anyway.  I almost opted for later but it would put me at LAX just in time for rush hour. 

I took no pictures but I did buy several souvenirs. Almost everything with a moose on it, of course :)

My afternoon was reserved for a rafting trip. Oh I forgot to mention that as I walked back to the hotel to sort out transportation stuff, it started raining. Luckily it stopped about the time I had to head into town to get my bus to the river.

Dave picked me up on a yellow school bus. Aboard were three lovely folks from Cochrane (Alberta). When they learned I'm American their first question was if I supported "the orange man". I assured them that I did not and we were fast friends :) 

Liam and friends got us into our ponchos and life jackets and we were on our way. I made sure he knew I  am not a fan of water and he was extra gentle with us (one of the Cochrane folks wasn't either). We chatted about the area, our travels, backgrounds, etc. We saw no wildlife. We went through the Athabasca River with mostly Class 1 (gentle) and a few spots of Class 2 (no real danger) and Liam worked hard to keep us in the right places to get the idea but not actually get too wet and such. Liam's only downfall is he's a Yankees fan. 

Liam from Nova Scotia

they started behind us but went faster cuz there were 20 of them to our 4

we made it and I didn't fall off!!

Dave picked us up and drove us back to town. I had dinner at The Raven Bistro which was yummy. Funny story... both tour guides yesterday mentioned it and then when I was talking the Air Canada guy figuring out changing my flight, he actually used to live in Jasper and was a chef there! So I definitely needed to try. It's small and was very busy but I sat outside and it was nice. Cool but not bad. Then I caught the city bus back to my room and here I sit. I got late checkout and I don't know much about tomorrow beyond that. I've had some thoughts about maybe the SkyTram or exploring the big fancy resort. But I might just go to the train station and stake out my space to wait. Oh, I forgot to mention that the train left Winnipeg 20 hours late! Let's hope it makes up time!! 

I think I shared a cook rainbow in Banff. If not it's below just in case. Here in Jasper, I saw another crosswalk rainbow and at dinner, I noticed a flag flying right next to the Canadian flag. It could be a touristy thing to welcome anyone but I feel like it's a Canada thing. And I like it! 

in Banff coming off a bridge

Jasper intersection

Okay, we'll see what tomorrow brings!! I might not write again until I get home. 

Dad (or anyone else) I will have cell service in town here but I have no idea what kind of service I'll have once I'm on the train. 

Jasper Day One

I SAW A MOOOOOOSSSSSEEEE!!!!!!! But you'll just have to read on to learn more.

Today was a small group tour that took us to Maligne Lake. There were only 13 of us so it was a nice relaxed group. Sam was an excellent tour guide that tired hard to find us wildlife. He is studying wildfire management so he knew a LOT about the local fire (and several from years past). 

We started by driving through a quiet neighborhood where a bear had recently attacked an elk. We did see an elk.

We then made our way to Medicine Lake where a mountain goat was hanging around in the parking lot. Medicine Lake is known as the disappearing lake because it has no outlet. It actually drains into the Kar (?) system which is basically underground tunnels that the water moves along. At the end of the tour, we stopped where one of the "drains" is visible. 

loon

After medicine lake, we drove through the Maligne canyon where the Jasper fire really devastated. In fact, you used to be able to hike and such but no longer. Along the way we saw 4 bull elk - there are only 20 in the whole park! There was also a marmot hanging out on a rock near them.

Our destination was Maligne Lake. Sam drove us a little further down the road past the turn to show us his favorite view. Lovely!

After a quick lunch at the cafe (chili dog and white macadamia nut cookies - I'm on vacation, don't judge), we boarded Talana (all the boats had names - I forgot to ask where ours came from) and headed toward Spirit Island. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't that. Spirit Island is tiny! It is sacred ground to the indigenous people so we're not allowed on it. We wouldn't have all fit anyway! We hopped off the boat at the shore just next to the island, took pictures, used the flushing toilet (it had a gigantic row of solar panels but I was still surprised to have a flusher - most places outside of towns are pit). Then we drove back. Enjoy the sights. I think the view from Spirit Island is my favorite I've seen so far. Maybe second. That spot on the bike ride yesterday was amazing. Nope that was two days ago. Anyway...

my view at lunch

boarding the Talana

headed out

"first island"

the view at spirit island

Spirit Island (the little piece of land with about 12 trees on it)

me on the boat

We left Maligne Lake and headed back down the road. And then WE SAW A MOOOOOOSEEE!!!

I REALLY hope this video works. 

And then we saw a black bear!!! I didn't get a very good picture. Just wait though!

Our last stop was the Maligne Overlook where the Canyon and valley are visible. It was a good place to see the fire devastation. 

 That was it for that tour. I was dropped off at my hotel (next door really) and I had a little time to rest before my next adventure. My evening tour was specifically to see wildlife. It was a mini-bus that was just intended to drive around to where there had been sightings. Now I'd already seen a moose and a bear today, and a grizzly yesterday so I was happy but why not see what else we could find. M tour guide Kelly was actually a bear guide in Vancouver Island and is going this winter to Antarctica to polar bear guide! I'm going to let this be a photo dump or sorts but know we drove all over the place! No moose or Grizzly but basically everything else!!

Big Horn Sheep

It was a whole family who had come down to get some water

very protective ladies

cuz so  many younguns

golden eagle on his migration 

the back end of make big horn sheep (the far one has the circular horns)

soaring eagle

bull elk

marmot (this is way zoomed in and my camera made it look good!)

bald eagle 

friend shaped, not friend

bear in the tree!

Okay these bears is a funny story. We saw the first one while headed up a road toward a tramway. We turned around and headed back down only to see two bears running up the road and into the trees. No pics, sorry. It was a brown and a black colored black bear. Probably a mating pair. Or perhaps it was a male chasing a female in hopes. Kelly turned down a short dirt road hoping maybe they'd pop out up there. Instead one of them climbed a tree!! I did not see this and I was disappointed but when Kelly went back down the road we got a different perspective and there she was! We are pretty sure that the two running (one in the tree) were not the one we'd seen just earlier. So three different bears! Then just on the other side of the road about 20 feet was another bull elk. 

We also managed to see a lone female. Except then we saw a whole family!! Kelly joked that we were never going to get back to drop off (she had said we were headed back at least three times and we finished about an hour late!). 

we counted at least 10-12 and they're not all in this picture

one of several babies who are probably just a few weeks old

WHAT. A. DAY!!!! Tomorrow will be fairly lowkey with just an exploration of town and a rafting trip. Except it's supposed to be cold and rainy. Oh everyone today kept commenting about how nice the weather was and how lucky we were because apparently it's been raining or at least overcast for weeks. 

Oh yeah, I forgot yesterday that one of the pics on the drive was of the "tri-continental divide". There are two in the world - the other is in Russia. It's where water flows north, south, and west (I'm 99% sure). I never knew such a thing existed!!

(Sorry if there are typos etc. It's 10:30pm!!)

*Dad, I got your message. I'm glad you're enjoying. Anyone else who is following along too :)