Thursday 21st April

Our second full day in Jasper started late. It was nice to sleep-in, and it’s not like we had to get up at 6am for work! Again, we didn’t have access to the car – quite frustrating, when one person only thinks of themself– so Amanda and I were left at the hotel wondering what we could do. Everything around here requires a car – there is no public transport, and the tours don’t start until next month, when the summer season kicks in. We were really keen on checking out Maligne Lake, but there was no way for us to get out there without the car; the Jasper Tramway doesn’t start until tomorrow; and we didn’t want to ski or board.


We were thinking about hiring a mountain bike to ride out to the Fairmont, but we first decided to hit up the Information Centre to see about options for getting to Maligne Lake, or nice ‘groomed’ bike trails (I was definitely in Whistler for too long, applying ski terms to everyday things!) We were told that the cruises and the hiking trails hadn’t yet opened yet at Maligne Lake, but the scenery on the way was absolutely beautiful. When we told her we couldn’t get access to the car, the lady at the desk told us we should have made the boys hitchhike, and we should drive out there ourselves! Since there were no other options to get out there, we asked about bike trails. She showed us heaps of trails on the map, and suggested Pyramid Lake for a picnic and the hike out near the Fairmont.

Amanda and I decided that instead of hiring bikes we would walk out to the Fairmont Lodge and spend the money we would have spent on hiring bikes on a nice meal instead. It took us about two hours to get there, navigating for a short way along the Icefields Parkway. The scenery, like all of the Canadian Rockies, was beautiful – stunning emerald lakes and backdrops of snow-capped mountains.


We were happy to make it to the Fairmont, and ate lunch at the Emerald Lounge in front of the well stoked fireplace. We both decided on burgers with sweet potato fries – sooo tasty and fresh – and an alcoholic beverage each (the perfect ratio of Malibu to coke!!). We decided to walk back to our hotel via the north route, which saw us walking along the highway for most of the way, being entertained by mountain goats grazing on a traffic island and deer munching on the side of the road.


We were glad to make it back to the hotel, estimating we’d walked over 15km, and rewarded ourselves with a few beverages. The boys returned home and we spent a few hours playing on the internet, uploading photos and updating blogs. I’ve introduced Amanda and Luke to the concept of flashpackers, of which we definitely are – we each have a laptop, camera, phone and iPod, and free wi-fi has been a ‘must-have’ for us!

As everyone was stuffed from a big day, pizza sounded like a good idea for dinner. Looking at the various menus online, we decided to settle on Pizza Hut, knowing it would be cheap and quick – it was past 7 and Amanda particularly was ravenous. After an extremely excruciating yet entertaining conversation with the Pizza Hut employee, she informed us the total for 3 pizzas (no garlic bread – apparently they don’t do garlic bread!) was over $60. What!!!!!!!! We politely told her to stick it, and piled into the car to look for alternatives. We ended up at a different pizza place, watching the hockey (Montreal vs Boston), returning home to watch the Canucks get flogged by Chicago (again!) The itinerary for the next few days was also decided – the Jasper Tramway tomorrow followed by a picnic at Pyramid Lake; the Columbia Icefields Glacier tour on Saturday, staying in the Lake Louise HI on Saturday night; and an Easter brunch on Easter Sunday.