When last we left Nicole and Bernadette, they were in Kamloops (a Canadian friend of mine calls it Camelpoops) and were making our way by train to the Canadian Rockies.  

Mom took this picture of me from the other end of the car.  We had this same photo shoot when we were on the train in Alaska many years ago.  Luckily I wasn’t decapitated by a extra long branch.

I don’t know if you can tell, but the background is like a barren moonscape.  Who knew that Canada had deserts!

This was our first glimpse of snow covered mountains.  Mom and I were super excited!

Our next destination was Jasper, Alberta located in Jasper National Park.  The hotel was called the Jasper Lodge and it had been around forever.  Very posh with gorgeous views on all sides.  

With the help of our handy dandy Gorilla Pod, we took this picture outside of our cabin.  Again, the pillows and duvet on our bed were like butter!

This photo was taken from the deck of the main lodge.  I think Mom took this picture and I love how she got the Canadian Flag.  Despite the fact that the red maple leaf is a big hoodah around here, we did not see a single red leaf.  Everything was either a pine tree or some yellow something.

While in Jasper, we took a bus tour of the town and the surrounding area.  Apparently, the town is very small and will never grow.  Folks cannot move there unless they have a job already.  No one can retire to Jasper unless they grew up in the town, and evn then, it is very expensive to to live here.

Our first stop on our tour was Pyramid Lake and Mountain.  By then, the weather was pretty cold, but it was very refreshing.  

Once back in town, we saw a plethora of elk.  Apparently it was rutting season and there were a myriad of signs warning of the bulls.  They become very aggressive when pursuing their honey bunnies.  

This guy was massive and thankfully we were safe and sound on the bus.  A few moments later, a bull even bigger than he came along and created a bruhaha.  I caught it all on tape and it is riveting!  (Did I just say riveting?)

Our last stop on this tour was Maligne Canyon.  Oh my gosh it was amazing.  The river (I can’t remember which one) had carved this really narrow and steep canyon over hundreds of thousands of years.  In the winter months, the river freezes over and they offer ice climbs up the canyon.  I would love for Chuck and I to do that.

This picture doesn’t do the canyon any justice, but it was amazing!

The folks behind Mom are Helen and David.  They were from Pittsburgh and that’s what we called them — Pittsburgh.  They were hilarious and we enjoyed chatting with them.

Throughout the Jasper Lodge, there are these gorgeous lamp posts with beautiful flowers.  I really like this picture.  Stay tuned for our adventures in Lake Louise.