Alberta Road Trip, Canada. Day 5. Jasper to Banff.

Day 5
(Link to Day 4)

After a much needed rest we woke up quite late on Day 5. Our original plan was considerably delayed but considering what happened on Day 4 we just wanted to make sure we reached home safe and sound.

We left Edson at 1100 hrs and started for the second most famous town in the Rockies, Jasper. The first being Banff. We made a brief stop at Hinton which looked like a 'touristy' place. People usually prefer to stay here when they are looking for cheap accommodation as it gets quite expensive inside the Jasper and Banff National Parks.

We entered Jasper National Park at 1330 Hrs and reached the town of Jasper around 1440 Hrs. Here our party split into 3 different groups. The families and couples wanted some privacy so I was left alone which was a welcome relief for me. I wandered around town going wherever I wished to go. Because of my interest in trains I walked along a train track nearby hoping that a train would pass by and sure enough a train appeared far away. I got my camera ready and took my position. As the train passed I took pics to my heart's content. When the train left I ventured back into the town and went in a direction opposite to the more touristy side of the town. I wanted to see how the normal areas of the town looked like. This was my second visit to Jasper and this time I wanted to see a different side of the town. It was stunning to the say the least. Each view it offered was stunning and worth framing. At the far end of the town I spotted a Museum. I love museums so I entered and had a look around. There were lots of interesting exhibits and info about the local places. Also there was a sale going on a few books and I found a good deal. I bought a coffee table book about the Railways in Canada.

Soon my casual jaunt had to be ended as I got a call to regroup near our car. It was time to leave.We left Jasper at 1700 Hrs. We were seriously late and I was sure that by the time we reached Lake Louise it would be dark and we will miss the views. Nevertheless I did not have much say in things so I just played along, happy to see whatever was coming my way.

The drive from Jasper to Banff is believed to be one of the most beautiful in the world and sure enough it threw up one spectacular landscape after another. The views were spellbinding. Nothing like I've ever seen. And I have been to the Himalayas multiple times. We made multiple stops on our way taking in the views. Our next major stop was the Athabasca Glacier. When I was a kid I had read a book called 'Athabasca' by Alistair MacLean. It was set in the regions surrounding these areas. To be near the setting of one of my favorite books was like a dream come true.

After spending some time here we resumed our journey. We made more stops including one at the Crawfoot Glacier. It was getting dark  and the sky was giving off a bluish tint. With the glacier in front of me, the low hanging clouds which surrounded the mountains like a necklace and in that receding light the whole place had almost a surreal feel to it. It was magical.

We finally reached Lake Louise at 2300 Hrs when it was totally dark as I had suspected. There was no point going near the lake so we marched on and finally reached our Hotel in Invermere, the cheapest option we got near Banff. Thus ended the best day of the our trip so far.

(Note - This a deviation from my usual style of writing as its been almost 4 months since I went on this trip and I also have a backlog of posts to write. Hence keeping it short and brief.)