Days 76-79 (July 17-20): Jasper National Park, Alberta

What to do in Jasper but to go on hikes and a glacier tour.  Some pictorial evidence:

Looking south over the Jasper town site (July 18).

Athabasca River and Rockies north-east of Jasper (July 18).

Jasper Park Lodge in the foreground. (Pic taken south of Jasper' July 19.)

Athabasca River and Jasper town site, from the south. (July 19.)

Rockies, south-west of Jasper. (July 19.)

Athabasca Falls.  (July 20.)

Athabasca Glacier. (July 20.)

Run-off from the Athabasca Glacier. (July 20.)

Random observations:

- I took the train from Vancouver to Jasper, the first train leg in my cross-country journey.  We departed Vancouver at 8:30 PM on the 16th and arrived in Jasper about an hour early, at 3 PM on the 17th, a 16+ hour train ride. Whether intentional or not, Via's timing on this departure is excellent.  Dawn on the second day hits roughly around Kamloops, so that the train ascends the Rockies during daylight. As you might expect, it is a gorgeous ascent, culminating with an approach of Mount Robson, the highest point of the Canadian Rockies, less than two hours or so east of Jasper.

- Jasper has a brew pub, the aptly named Jasper Brewing Company.  Their beer was quite drinkable, if unimaginative.

- I ordered in one night from Jasper Place Pizza: great wings and great all-dressed pizza.

- I saw surprisingly little wildlife.  Whilst still on the strain, I spotted a herd of bighorn sheep just north of Kamloops; some deer in a river bed at some point north of that. In and around Jasper, a few isolated bighorn sheep near the glacier and a coyote beside the road on the way there.  I did see some paw prints while hiking and some indication that a bear had been on the trail I was following at some point before me, but otherwise, no encounters.  Also, I saw no elk at all; the last time I was in Jasper, roughly 15 years ago, they could be seen throughout the town site; that was later in the year (mid-September) so that might have had an impact.