Jasper

 Leaving a wet and dreary Edmonton we travelled on the straight, long roads to Jasper National Park. However, no sooner had we arrived in the Park than the clouds cleared to reveal my first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains.

We stopped to look at some mountain goats and sheep

This is a strange photo as it looks as though the goat is giving birth!

The sheep blended in so well with the craggy cliffs that it was difficult to see them.

We followed the  Athabasca River down into the town of Jasper. Passing through the town we saw the Rocky Mountaineer train, which was my original plan for viewing the mountains. How much better to be in a car and to stop wherever we like.

 As the weather was looking good we decided to take a cable car up Mount Jasper. Once out of the cable car you can walk another 400m to the top. There was a lot of snow around the cafe/cable car but a path had been created through the snow. It was nowhere near this deep once we left the confines of the cafe area.

Once at the top, there were great views of the surrounding peaks.

It was 5.30 when we walked back to get the cable car but due to the wind we were told  they were delaying going down for 15-20 mins. Spent the time admiring the views down in the valley including the bird's eye view of the long trains wending their way alongside the river.

 We were amongst 35 people that were stranded. The wind was gusting at over 60kph and needed to be below 40kph for us to get down. We were provided with free food and hot drinks and just as we thought we would be spending the night up there, the wind dropped and we were able to go down.

It was after 9pm by the time we checked into our log cabin a couple of miles outside the town of Jasper.

About 10m from the cabin was the river with some spectacular views but the light was fading.

Marilyn spent the evening getting to grips with a bear banger. A pen like noise making deterrent. Maybe bear spray would have been the easier option!