July 8

July 8, Day 8. 

I left the camper at 4:30 this morning, trying to be as quiet as I could so as not to wake Peach. I was on a mission to see wildlife. She was on a mission to sleep until 8:30 as usual, through the best part of the day. I was mostly successful in being quiet; using a flashlight to dress, and boil coffee. I didn't even screw the metal lid onto the coffee thermos because I was afraid it might squeak. Unfortunately, as I was quietly pushing the camper door shut, I spilled some coffee and dropped the lid onto the metal camper stairs, making a loud clang. I heard some kind of startled response from inside the camper, but not wanting to compound the issue, I continued on to the truck. Hopefully, Peach slept through it or at least will forget about it by the time I get back. I drove 35 miles down a dead end, winding road from Jasper in the pre-dawn hours to Maligne Lake, a route reported to be full of wildlife. Frequent sightings of grizzlies, black bear, elk, moose, and caribou occur along this road at dawn and dusk. I wanted to experience that, in spite of the early hour. There were several times in the first few miles that I grabbed my camera as I drove, ready to take a picture of the bears I saw up ahead by the road. Low light in the pre-dawn hours makes a lot of small bushes look like bears. I wasn't interested in photographing bushes, so I continued on. I got to the lake a full hour later, and I  didn't see a damn thing, not even a squirrel!  There are bear warnings all over the place, but I decided to take a stroll to the lake anyway, knowing I had a can of bear spray with me. Granted, we hadn't removed the heavy plastic zip-tie that was there when we bought it, which holds the trigger guard in place, making it impossible to fire. We left it on and kept the box, planning to return it to the store after the trip if we didn't use it. The darn thing cost $65! I had a jack knife with me, sort of at the ready, to cut the plastic strap off the trigger if I needed to defend myself against a charging grizzly. I'd merely have to ask the bear to just give me a few seconds while I figure it out. 

Maligne is a small and beautiful mountain lake with mist rising from the water. It was a little unnerving because it was so quiet. I was the only one there.  Nobody else was dumb enough to make that long drive before the sun came up. I saw a marshy area to my left and walked the path towards it. Around the corner, I saw a big brown animal moving briskly  ahead about fifty feet from me. I just about crapped to my pants until I realized I had startled a bull moose! I stopped quick, backed away a bit, and watched it settle down and head up the hill toward the parking lot. I backtracked the path towards the truck, and sure enough, there was the moose walking right across the parking lot. I followed in the truck, staying almost far enough away to not annoy him. He proceeded to the sign that tells people where they're supposed to park. He stopped and stared right at it. I'm pretty sure he was telling me, "Hey dork, you're in the wrong spot!" 

I left him alone after a while and headed back up the road toward Jasper. Along the way, it was now after sunrise and I could clearly see the bushes. There were no bears to be seen, but I did see some huge bull elk by the road and another moose. There were a couple of cars parked with people looking at them. They must have gotten the memo that I missed, that you don't need to drive that road so stupid early to see wildlife.

 I can't finish this entry without mentioning the drive from Banff to Jasper. It's about 100 miles along the Icefields parkway, along stunning scenes of rugged mountains, glaciers, streams, and lakes, in particular the majestically reflective, turquoise colored Bow Lake. If there are more beautiful drives in the world, I'd like to see them! We stopped to take a short hike to the Columbia Glacier field and visited the Icefield Visitor Center. There, we were touched by a sad and sweet fifteen minute video with music but no words. It had great photography, depicting an old man reminiscing about his childhood, playing on his beloved glacier (the Columbia glacier), and seeing that child and that glacier both receding over time. I know the feeling! 

Peach enjoying the picturesque serenity of Bow Lake

We're camped at Whistlers Campground just outside of Jasper for the next few days. I'll probably not blog again for a few days. I'll be busy enjoying the area, and I plan on  taking Peach down the road to Maligne Lake, at Dusk this time!