Jasper NP is definitely one of our favorites – and it is next up on the agenda;-)  Getting from Banff to Jasper is also a real treat.  The Icefields Parkway is a continuous sight of majestic mountains, waterfalls and one of the largest accumulations of ice south of the Arctic.  Its meltwaters flow west to the Pacific, north to the Arctic and east to Hudson’s Bay and on to the Atlantic!  The pictures only give you a ‘hint’ of our fabulous drive – –

BIG Mountains!!

The cloud coming off the peak looked like a ship’s smokestack.

AND – another perfect lunch spot;-)

Jasper NP was established in 1907 and extends over 4200 sq miles.  It is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies and is part of UNESCO’s Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site.  It has it all – ice fields, peaks, hot springs and wildlife.  In fact – they call out the deer, elk and caribou (and sometimes a bear or two) to welcome all visitors.

This welcoming committee at Whistlers Campground in Jasper NP.

Their lead greeter.

Our last visit to the area enticed us to do EVERY activity on the ‘must do’ list.  So – this time we took it a little easy and just enjoyed views.  First from the fantastic Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge.  It is a mere 700 acre mountain resort which wraps around the shores of  ‘Lac Beauvert’ and Canada’s No. 1 golf resort course!

It’s history began in 1915 and consisted of ten luxury tents on the shores of Lac Beauvert, each with wooden floors and walls.  Needless to say – it was called “Tent City”.  In 1921 the Canadian National Railways took over Tent City and immediately renovated the existing camp to eight log cabins and officially opened The Jasper Park Lodge in June, 1922.  Today it is a far cry from those eight log cabins – or The Tent City – –

“Cheers” to Jasper NP & the Jasper Park Lodge!! 

The grounds of the Lodge on Lac Beauvert.

The golf course across Lac Beauvert – and us;-)

During the 1920’s the Jasper Park Lodge added the now ‘world famous’ golf course designed by Canada’s Stanley Thompson, whose philosophy has been described as ‘natural artistry’.  His fairways are carved in the surrounding forests, giving priority to the natural contours of the mountains.  Allegedly it took 50 teams of horses and 200 men one year to clear the land to accomplish Thompson’s vision.  The scenery was too beautiful to care about the golf – –

And we are off –  for our round of golf.

We would have used this vintage cart from the early 50’s – but we walked.

More great scenery out on the course.

View from the green we were contemplating yesterday.

And so – our quick couple of days in Jasper came to an end;-(  However –  we did fret about a couple of things during our stay.  The campground we love so much – Whistlers – was a little worse for the wear from our visit ten years ago.  Then we happily learned that the campground will be closed in 2019 for reconstruction.  This was a fabulous campground we loved 10 years ago and hope that in 2020 it will be that way again.

We were also quite distressed over all the dead trees in the park.  When looking at the mountains it appears that fall colors have set in.  Unfortunately, it is not colors at all – but dead trees.  The Mountain Pine Beetle, an insect native to Jasper NP, has infected about HALF the trees in the park.  They tunnel into the mature pine trees and disrupt the flow of nutrients within the tree.  About the only way to eliminate the beetle is through prescribed burns or letting nature take its course when a fire is started by lightening.

The Mountain Pine beetles’ impact on the pine trees in the park is evident everywhere!

Even with its few recent faults, we still love this National Park.  The scenery is stunning and the Canadians take good care of their campers;-)

E & G saying it is always too short a stay in Jasper