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Posted On Tuesday, September 9, 2014 at
at
9:05 PM
by Alvin
We left Golden on an overcast morning and passed over The Rockies into the Province of Alberta, forwarding the clock an hour early on the way. Banff greeted us with flurries of snow to start with and then proceeded to dump on us 6 more inches ! It felt like Christmas and turkey for visitors like us but probably just another early snow fall for the locals. Banff town had a joyous atmosphere even though the mountains on our way to Banff looked moody, menacing and unforgiving in the thick dark clouds; luckily the wind was not blustery and we took a few great shots of Peyto and Bow Lakes in these conditions. We walked up Sulphur Mountain through a few snow-covered forests and visited The Cave And Basin to have a good sniff of the sulphur fume along the famed hotsprings. Interestingly, the unique Banff Springs snails flourished in these chemically-charged waters for thousands of years.
What a difference a few days made as the snow clouds cleared up and blue sky returned with blinding sun light and the snow looked inviting and the air was brisk. We went out for a couple of short hikes around Jasper and experienced solace in solitude in the peaceful environment. Our journey to and from Jasper was punctuated with frequent stops by the famous Jasper wild life traffic jam - we saw elks (a giant male and his not so giant harems), big horn sheeps (three), mountain goats (lost count), a lonely coyote and of course those fearless squirrels and chipmunks with immense poise and the knowing look; luckily (unluckily) we did not come across a grizzly bear. Jasper town was more spread out than Banff and had a frontier feel to it with the biggest "supermarket" looking like an overgrown corner shop stocked with camp food (well, actually with other goodies like lasagna as well). We loved the mountain chalet we stayed at, about 5km out of town - all gas fire and modern comfort - mega cosy and Mandy cooked a body-warming cheesy lasagna for us !
