For the better part of last week (not that there was a “worse” part) we were in Jasper National Park in Alberta. I started to explain that it is in the northern part of Alberta but that would be incorrect. It only feels like north because I am not used to seeing snow and glaciers and temperatures below 60 in August. But no, my Yankee friends, there is much more farther north of here. Really cool things.
Enter our friends, the Radbournes! Dean, Chloe, Hastings and Adelaide hail from Grande Prairie, Alberta, which is like maybe twenty minutes south of the Arctic Circle. No not really, Chloe hails from Australia. And Grande Prairie is not quite that far north. But it is WAY farther north than I could probably be convinced to go so you may ask how we know them. We met on our Trek Travel Coastal California (sunny and warm) trip five years ago. When we began planning our route for this year we knew seeing Dean and Chloe again would be a priority.
Enter our friends, the Radbournes! Dean, Chloe, Hastings and Adelaide hail from Grande Prairie, Alberta, which is like maybe twenty minutes south of the Arctic Circle. No not really, Chloe hails from Australia. And Grande Prairie is not quite that far north. But it is WAY farther north than I could probably be convinced to go so you may ask how we know them. We met on our Trek Travel Coastal California (sunny and warm) trip five years ago. When we began planning our route for this year we knew seeing Dean and Chloe again would be a priority.
Dean and Chloe were good enough to drive south to meet up with us in Jasper for a couple of days. Besides just hanging out, meeting their kids, and reconnecting we went up the Jasper Tramway to the top of Whistler Mountain (not the famed ski mount near Vancouver). The tramway takes you almost to the top then you can hike the remaining 1.2 km to the real summit. The last time we attempted this was in 1997 and for some reason I was too winded to manage it, as if it were much higher than the 8000-ish feet it is. This time was easier and I am not really in better shape so I found it puzzling. I remarked that the park service must have shaved a bit off the top and Dean said, “That would be a very Canadian thing to do, eh.” Or maybe he didn’t say “eh,” but that would definitely be a very Canadian thing to do, so allow me some artistic license here.
We also tried to go soak up some summer sun at Pyramid Lakes but the foul weather that drove us off the peak of Whistler followed us into town, hung around while we had lunch, then went with us out to Pyramid Lakes. It looked like this:
We also tried to go soak up some summer sun at Pyramid Lakes but the foul weather that drove us off the peak of Whistler followed us into town, hung around while we had lunch, then went with us out to Pyramid Lakes. It looked like this:
So we drove back into town, where it looked a lot like this:
So we did another very Canadian thing and grabbed our first Timmie’s, aka Tim Horton’s. It’s a coffee place that also serves doughnuts (which is really the point at which I get to acting like a chihuahua on caffeine) and they are on every single street corner like Dunkin’ Donuts is in Boston. In fact, you could think of them as the Canadian version of Dunkin’ Donuts, only I like Dunkin’s coffee a lot better. Not that Timmie’s was bad. And I need to go back and try the French Vanilla. Just to be fair, you know? We did get some Timbits, too (think Munchkins). Now that I think about it, we actually did the whole Timmie’s thing before we tried to drive to Pyramid Lakes. See what I mean about the chihuahua?
So anyway, hanging out with the Radbournes was a big highlight of our time in Jasper. It was too short, really. We are going to have to do another fabulous Trek Travel adventure together sometime. Because otherwise I might have to brave the cold and go all the way to Grande Prairie, eh?
-Jenni
So anyway, hanging out with the Radbournes was a big highlight of our time in Jasper. It was too short, really. We are going to have to do another fabulous Trek Travel adventure together sometime. Because otherwise I might have to brave the cold and go all the way to Grande Prairie, eh?
-Jenni