I visited Jasper National Park and the town of Jasper from July 15th until July 19th of 2024.  It was the absolute highlight of my cross-country trip with my RV, Abeona. I traveled from South Western Texas to the Olympic Peninsula, then a ferry to Alaska and the road from Skagway to Jasper which was mostly on the Alaska Highway.  I had already traveled over 10,000 miles when I arrived in Hinton just outside Jasper National Park to camp. I usually work remotely Tuesday through Thursday and was expecting to when I realized that I didn’t have connectivity and, therefore, had to cancel all my calls for that week.  I was disappointed that I wouldn’t be working but I didn’t realize how fortuitous having four days to tour around and in Jasper National Park would be. Between the gorgeous weather, the visibility, the abundance of wildlife and 4 days all to myself to go where ever I wanted to was stupendous.

This was not my first trip to Jasper but I didn’t realize that until I traveled southbound on the famous, scenic Icefield Highway.  The Columbia Icefields are actually in Jasper National Park because it butts up against Banff National Park to the south, I had assumed that I had only been to Banff.  Now I realize, because of the cross-country trailer trip with my family when I was 8 years old that we had gone to the Columbia Icefields, so this was my second trip here although some 50 plus years apart. 

I went into the town of Jasper which is an adorable, vacation town with coffee shops, bakeries, gift shops, all manner of tour options including rafting, snowshoeing, scenic flights, bus tours, restaurants and some 20 different hotels. The downtown is about three blocks wide and ten blocks long.  It’s easy to park and walk around. There are hanging flower pots from the light posts, totem poles, there are small parks and benches.  There is a train station in the center of town.  It’s quaint, understated, easily assessable and it’s obvious that people live there year-round and they love the place. 

My first adventure was up the Jasper Sky tram.  This is a tram up the side of the Whistlers.  There is a hiking trail at the top and the most magnificent views of all the various mountains within the Canadian Rockies but most impressively I could see the top of Mount Robson which is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies.  Apparently, the mountain top is only visible about 10 days out of the year. 

The next day I took a tour of Maligne Canyon and Lake Maligne. There were corkscrew waterfalls down deep crevices, nesting eaglets above Medicine Lake with marmots frolicking below. Maligne Lake is an absolute mesmerizing place.  We took an hour boat ride to see Spirit Island with the “Hall of the Gods” which are the mountains as a backdrop.  It was almost a cloudless day and the beauty that surrounded us was breathtaking. We heard a loon wailing in the background and a small deer swimming across the middle of the turquoise-colored lake. It was magical.

My last tour was driving to the town of McBride past Mount Robson Provincial Park and yet another cloudless day to see the top of Mount Robson.  We took the train back from McBride which was a lovely relaxed pace to see the mountains and lakes pass by. I had to leave the next day and made my way down the Icefield Parkway and the incomprehensible string of endless jagged snowcapped mountains, mighty waterfalls and turquoise lakes that are the centerpiece of Jasper and Banff. I managed to see Peyto Lake which is what my father believed to be the most beautiful place on earth, considering all his travels in his life, it’s high praise and, outside of Spirit Island on Lake Maligne, I would have to agree.

Some 48 hours after I left Jasper and Banff, a lightning storm caused a fire that, as I write this in early August, is still not under control.  30% of the buildings in the town of Jasper were destroyed, the entire National Park and all of the residents and visitors were evacuated. It sits empty and the heartbreaking pictures of the bighorn sheep and elk roaming through the downtown streets looking for food and refuge in burned out buildings is devastating. All the tour guides and waitstaff and service folks and families that depend on them, all transplanted to who knows where. I feel like I stole a masterpiece and somehow, it’s misplaced until, ten or twenty or thirty years from now, it’s back to its original beauty.  The beauty I got to experience and now I’ve moved on to the next state and onward to home as all those truly lovely people and animals have to rebuild or move on from what is the “Jewel of Canada”.  I pray for an end to the fire and safety and health to all those affected.