Jasper National Park, Alberta

Jasper was our first stop back in Alberta, and we decided to stay for a day.

 

Normally, in the past when we visited Jasper, we’ve stayed at the Jasper Park Lodge, but that didn’t make as much sense, travelling with 4 adults, 3 dogs and 2 children. So, we drove around town until we found Tekarra Lodge, where we could have our own individual cabins.

Ours was the tiniest, coziest little cabin you have ever seen. It was so small, we could stoke the wood fireplace, without actually getting out from under the blankets. (Richard and Shannan’s cabin had a sitting area, so I guess there are a variety of sizes available.)

 

It was a cute place, and comes with a restaurant, a laundromat, and a GORGEOUS view of the Athabasca River. (We had a picnic on the cliffs…and by “picnic”, I mean “wine”.)

As I mentioned, previously, we stayed at the Jasper Park Lodge, which is an entire self-contained little village. We LOVE it there!

 

One day, we realized I’d never been to Jasper before, so we started trying to plan. We needed, of course, a place that accepted dogs in the rooms, but I was having a hard time finding any place, so I emailed a friend of mine that worked at Jasper Park Lodge – not to stay there, but for suggestions on WHERE to stay.

 

He set us up with a VERY nice suite, right on Lac Beauvert. It was the middle of a freeeeeezing cold winter, and we took advantage of room service, the restaurant nearby (we didn’t take advantage of the go-cart ride over to it, but that would’ve been fun too), and the firewood that they delivered each day, right to our front step.

 

 

It was great! If I could live there, winter wouldn’t be so bad!!!

 

My favorite memory of that particular trip was when Daisy & Coco (our miniature dachshunds) discovered there was a MASSIVE elk right outside our door, and their barking frenzy turned into them tip-toeing back into the room, completely silent, and then staring out the window for an hour… completely quiet.

 

It reminds me of a Far Side comic…

 

 

We’ve also stayed at the Jasper Park Lodge in the summer, and went golfing there, rated in the Top 5 Golf Courses in Canada (it has been #1, but I see that it can fluctuate very slightly…)

 

I’m a “beginner” golfer, and play my own game. I tee-off, do a couple of drives down the fairway (how many often depends up my own stress level, the people I’m with, and the people coming up behind us), a chip (out of either the sand or the tall grass) and then a putt. Then, I count maximum score. This helps me not get overly frustrated, and I get to practice using alot of my clubs. I like it this way. (“Beginner” is in “quotes”, by the way, because I could be better if I went more…I’m working on this… I enjoy it – its just timing.)

 

…I guess Geese while I’m Golfing is Par for the Course… AAAAAAAAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAH… hee hee… sorry.

 

ANYway…. Jasper Town/Village is a cute little town with one or two streets of restaurants and shops. It’s not an over-done, too touristy town at all – in fact, it’s tricky to even find souvenirs.

 

They DO have some of my very favorite restaurants. For example, the Fiddle River Restaurant served my Alaskan King Crab with the yummiest butter I’ve ever had. So yummy, in fact, that I had to ask the chef what was in it, and he gave me a list of the ingredients! I have been eating King Crab as long as I can remember, and never had anything quite so delicious! (And, if you’ve been reading my blog for any amount of time, you know that King Crab and Mexican Food are my two most common “food” topics.) Based on my pictures, it looks like I had a pretty good crab meal at Karouzo’s, too, at some point…

 

It’s one of those places that you can just meander along, and pick your own favorites.

I feel that it might be time for me to plan a weekend there again…

 

Wednesday, we will be visiting Athabasca Falls.