Jasper National Park

7/4/2011
This morning we each ate buttered toast with ham, two cups of hot chocolate, and a quarter of an egg for breakfast. Mom wasn’t feeling well, so she decided to stay at the hotel while the rest of us drove to Jasper National Park.

We drove up the mountain to Mount Edith Cavell first. Unlike last time, we hiked up to the borders of the woods instead of just going to the foot of Angel Glacier. The sign said that the alpine meadow wasn’t open today, but I had to tell Dad and Judy a dozen times before they believed me because they often ignore good advice. Therefore, we hiked all the way up to the edge of the woods through the cold morning air until they realized what I was talking about. I suppose the cold temperature slows down the brain. Anyways, we went down to Angel Glacier next. There was a pond at the foot of the glacier, and the surface was frozen. The brown dirt on the white ice made the whole mountain look like a delicious white cake with chocolate dust on top. It made my mouth water, but Judy said the talking about cakes made her feel even colder. Then we trudged back to the parking lot and drove to Athabasca Falls.

The winding road to the waterfall made Judy sick, but I enjoyed the scene. The thick evergreen forest surrounded the road, and every now and then an animal peeked out. We saw a deer. In a few minutes we arrived at Athabasca Falls, where we saw the beautiful waterfalls. There were sharp, sort of flat black stones sticking out here and there, and the stone particles made the water look grayish green. We could see the potholes carved by the powerful force of the flow. They were described as “the scars of the battle between the water and stone”.

By the time we left Athabasca Falls, it was about lunch time, so we came back to our cabin. Lunch was toast, leftover chicken soup with fragments of instant noodles, potato salad with eggs, and ham. I napped awhile, about thirty minutes, before we left again for Jasper National Park again.

We went to Maligne Canyon first. It was a rough walk, but we saw some fossils etched in the sandstone on the ground. A ranger showed us where to look, and then Dad and Judy were crazy taking pictures. We also saw fast flowing water deep below us, which shows how much rock it cut through. Then we walked the trail that the ranger said wasn’t full of up-and-downs. Then Mom and I went to the restroom in the visitor center while Judy and Dad took pictures of fossils.

We went to Medicine Lake there. The mystery of the lake was that it had no visible outlet, but it fluctuates wildly, sometimes disappearing altogether during the fall and winter. It is due to the underground drainage system and the spring run-off. The lake reflected the beautiful blue of the sky today and the deep vivid green of the evergreen trees, making it look unpredictable and lovely. We walked around it awhile before going to Maligne Lake, where the water was very clear, revealing the rocks beneath. The ripples made the lake shimmer stunningly. We walked to the gift shop nearby, and along the way, we saw the river where the water of the lake flows out. The sign there said that Maligne Lake was the place where salmons breed, and we saw three salmons resting in the water. I wonder how they feel after successfully arriving. Peaceful? Sad about the companions that didn’t make it? I suppose I will never know.

We spent a lot of money at the gift shop buying tea and other souvenirs. It was our last stop. We drove to the supermarket next to buy dinner and tomorrow’s food. Then we went back to our cabin, baked the frozen pizza for dinner, cooked canned seafood chowder, and had dinner.