Camp Tamarack Campground

Grande Prairie, Alberta

Tuesday, August 26, 2008, 2:00 pm Mountain Time

Sunny and breezy, temperature 65F

We bid good-bye to Jasper this morning and headed east, then north for our northern adventure (more on that later). 

The picture is of Maligne Lake (pronounced Ma-LEEN) in Jasper National Park, a spot we think is more beautiful than Lake Louise (overrated!).  We absolutely love Jasper, the park and the town.  We see now where Parks Canada spends our user fees--the park and the town are clean, tidy, and well-maintained, and absent the tacky development common to a lot of resort towns.  The hiking trails are well-maintained and nicely laid-out.  And Jasper is much less crowded than the Banff-Lake Louise area.  All in all, we've had a great time.

We saw far fewer animals than when we came through 32 years ago, and that is probably because the Park Wardens are very strict about leaving human food or garbage outside.  Stopping and feeding bears along the roads is illegal and there are new heavy duty, bear-proof, dumpster-sized trash receptacles (not just a trash can with a fancy top) and even bear-proof food storage lockers for tenters and hikers.  All food (as well as toothpaste and cosmetics) and anything that's touched food must be locked in a vehicle or one of these lockers, and the campground hosts come around each night to check!

There were still elk in the campground, but many fewer than before, and most of them were happy to munch on the grasses and shrubbery.  I'll post a picture later that we took this morning as we left.