In my last post I mentioned that we had just completed our Alaska trip with Fantasy Tours. We were back on our own, working our way to Jasper. We needed to find an overnight location between Smithers, British Columbia and Jasper, Alberta. We ended up at the Terracana Ranch Resort, just east of McBride.

The resort is beautiful. It is situated on a hill overlooking a river and surrounded by mountains. The RV park was just recently added and we were the only ones staying there. A group of twenty-somethings were staying in cabins next to the RV park.

They were very friendly, but quite the party animals. Every time we walked by they tried to get us to join them for a beer. Eventually they were successful in getting Charlie to do a beer bomb! He can’t remember the last time he had done one. The youngins’ were very proud of him, as he drank the entire can in one try.

The lodge had a game room and a TV room. It was very nice. The resort was a great place to stay for the night. (Click the first picture to begin a slideshow)

In the morning, on our way to Jasper, we stopped by the Mt. Robson Provincial Park. We were lucky enough to see the spectacular Mt. Robson break nearly clear of the clouds.

We arrived at Jasper’s Wapati Campground late in the afternoon and was very happy to find that it was easy to get around with our 40’ motorhome. Our site was very roomy and private. Although the park stated that they were full every night we only had neighbors one out of the five nights we were there.

I don’t know where to begin with regarding Jasper. It is just beautiful! There is so much eye-candy! I’ll apologize in advance for the large number of pictures I’ll be posting.

Let’s see…… well, on our first evening we decided to check out the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, as we heard that they make the best Old Fashioned drinks. On our way there we stopped to admire Elk grazing along the road.

The Old Fashioned drinks were great and we met a couple from New Zealand at the bar. We had a great conversation with them. The view from the bar is stunning.

Back at the campground we found more elk.

Over the next few days we explored the Jasper National Park, including the northern half of the Icefields Parkway. Below are the highlights.

Athabasca Falls:

Sunwapta Falls:

Maligne Canyon

As we pulled into the Maligne Canyon parking lot we spotted this grizzly bear grazing on berries next to the driveway.

The river along Maligne Lake Rd

Moose at Moose Lake. Makes sense, right?

I was thrilled to finally be close to a bull moose. He was kind enough to pose for me.

Mt. Edith Cavell – We headed up to the mountain about an hour and a half before sunset. As we worked our way up the windy road I kept getting glimpses of the soft light resting on the mountain. I was afraid I would miss the opportunity for good photos, but we made it in time.

I enjoyed the scenery of Mt Edith Cavell so much that we returned another day to hike the Meadow trail and grab a few more photos down by Cavell Lake.

Little river along the Mt Edith Cavell Meadows trail.

We found beautiful lake reflections at the Honeymoon Campground, along the Icefields Parkway.

Tangle Falls:

Pyramid Mountain from Patricia Lake:

Valley of Five Lakes: Yes, the water really is that color and that crystal clear!

Various pictures from the parkway:

Sunwapta Pass area:

Great totem pole downtown Jasper:

On our last morning in Jasper I headed into town just before 7am to do laundry (the negative of dry-camping). As I drove the short few miles into town I had to stop for elk crossing the road, as well as a black bear. I just love this town.

Our next stop is beautiful Lake Louise. We’ll be there for a week. More on that later.