Prince George and Jasper Road Trip, Canada. Day 3

The Agenda for today was to start for Jasper as soon as we got up and from there move on to Vancouver.
As we drove out of Prince George, our Google Maps was showing that there was a road block ahead and directed us to take a diversion. We pondered over this bit and in that moment decided to take the diversion. This was near the Grizzly Den Provincial Park. I would be lying if I said that the name of the park did not make me feel a bit nervous. The alternate road was to take us right through the park on an unpaved road. This was further worrisome. Nevertheless we had no option and we entered the back road. We coasted along the gravel road taking care not to go too fast. Somewhere in the middle we spotted a bear strolling beside the road. This sent a wave of excitement in the car. This was the first bear sighting for us. Sadly we didn't have much time to take a proper look. It was just a blink and you miss appearance. It took us close to an hour to cross the whole park and finally emerge out and join the main highway. Within minutes of rejoining, Namendra sensed something wrong with the car so he stopped someplace ahead. Here we got down and checked the tires. Sure enough the front right tire was punctured. We could hear the hissing of the air as it escaped. I was thinking what should we do next when Namendra calmly bought a tire repair kit. We inserted that long slug into the hole and tightened it. 

I was skeptical if it would work having no experience with these kind of things but Namendra insisted that it would hold till we reached Vancouver. We had a small discussion now about our next step. Shall we stick to our original plan or in view of the new conditions now should we change our plan and head directly to Vancouver.  Namendra was pretty confident that the tire wont prove to be a further problem so we decided to stick to the original plan. Though I didn't say it out loud at that time but we were actually quite fortunate that we had to stop the car only after we exited the Grizzly park. Imagine our plight if we had to stop inside the park in that service road. The whole time we were on that road we didn't spot even one car. The only thing we spotted there was that bear. I didn't want to go into the would haves/should haves now so pushing away these thoughts I tried to bring back my focus to the present.

The country side now was throwing up some spectacular views. We saw yellow fields set against some imposing mountains. With each passing minute the views were getting even better. Finally some where around a place called Goat River we stopped to look around. Now this place was simply breathtaking. The road ran straight ahead where far away huge mountains rose into the sky. To the left of the road the ground was lined with yellow flowers. They shone brightly under the sunlight. On the right there was a carpet of grass for some area and then beyond that the forest cover started. The overall view was spectacular. We spent some time here taking pics and just strolling around. 

We then moved on and the next stop we took was in the town of McBride. It had a straight road leading to the railway station at the center. To our left and right we could see buildings that looked like sets of a Western cowboy movie. Right in front of the station there was a Bar and Hotel. I imagined myself walking up to its doors with my head turned down and entering it. Lifting up my cowboy hat with the tip of my finger I nod towards the bartender and throw a 'howdy!'. Thivya woke me up from my reverie and asked me to get down. I realized we had parked our car near the Railway station. We got down and casually looked around. A little bit of googling told me that this was indeed cowboy country.

We entered the railway station which has a little information desk there. We chatted with the friendly ladies manning the desk for a while asking them about the history of the place and surroundings. There was a small gift shop too from where I bought a couple of souvenirs. From here we walked around the town, looked at the buildings and climbed atop a Train engine displayed there. The whole town was set against the back drop of the Rocky mountains, which looked like layers laid on top of one another. With those mountains serving a spectacular background, the neatly laid out grass lawns and the quaint buildings between them all made McBride a charming little town.

Soon we left McBride behind and resumed our journey. As we continued on to Jasper, at some point, like a spirit materializing itself out of nowhere, the famous Mt Robson appeared. This view was instantly recognizable as I had seen this view a number of times on Instagram and in travel magazines. As I looked at the imposing face of Mt Robson through the windshield of the car, it almost looked magical. I was sitting at the back of the car and had to crane my neck to actually get a good view of the famed mountain. My view offered this scene. The left and right of the road was lined with trees. Just beyond them, a good distance away in a diagonal direction the sides of mountains rose as if creating a frame for the superstar in between them. Out of this frame rose the majestic Mt Robson standing there like some giant.
The upper half of it was covered by snow and the tip was not visible as it was totally enveloped by clouds. It was a stunning view. We had to stop somewhere. A bit ahead there was a viewing stop. Here we got out of our vehicles and looked around. It was a beautiful sight. We took a lot of pictures here and then moved on.

We had one final stop before we reached Jasper and that was at Moose lake. At this point we were inside the Jasper National Park. Moose Lake is huge. As we stood at the side of the lake I could see the lake disappearing into the layers of mountains far way to the left and to the right. Directly opposite was the same mountain range running across the horizon. Again, we did nothing much but enjoy the views and take some pics. Divya bravely ventured into the water but had to come out quickly as the water was freezing cold. Its here I think I saw the most picturesque restroom ever in my life. It was just at the edge of the lake right overlooking the excellent views.

Thivya taking some selfies!

Namendra playing with his kids

A pumped up Divya!

The brilliantly placed restroom!

We finally reached Jasper around 3 pm in the afternoon. Jasper is a beautiful tourist town set in the middle of the Jasper National Park. Its often called the less crowded sibling of nearby Banff. As we entered the main street, we could see a railway track running parallel to the road. A bit ahead was the Railway station around which is spread out the main busy area of Jasper. The Rockies provide a stunning backdrop for the whole town. We parked our car on the main street and wandered out in random directions. Jasper reminded me of the Hill stations of India. It had that touristy air about it.  We checked out a few souvenir shops, then headed over to the Railway Station which had a big train engine exhibit displayed out in the front. This was a 1923 built Steam Locomotive 6015  We had some snacks in one of the restaurants here and finally started out on our return journey.

Arhaan enjoying the mighty train engines

We had an event to attend the next day in Vancouver so it was imperative that we reach by at least morning. The return journey was uneventful except for one phase. It was night time around 1230am when Namendra handed over the wheels to Divya. Since Namendra had been driving since morning he was mighty tired. I moved to the front to give Divya company while Namendra sat in one of the rear seats to take a nap. Now we had been on the road since morning and we were all pretty tired. On top of that we were now on the Coquihalla Highway. It has a history of accidents. I was just scared that whoever is driving shouldn't fall asleep on the wheels. So me and Divya kept up tidbits of conversation going but Divya never looked like he was loosing attention. He was focused the whole time and kept on going at a good pace. I drifted off to sleep a couple of times but not him. Had to admire his focus. We reached Vancouver the next day morning at around 7 am. So finally ended our first road trip in Canada.