More Jasper

Another pretty day here. Went on a fairly leisurely walk around 5 lakes - all of which are fed by glacial runoff and drain from one to the next in sequence down the length of the valley. As was the case in New Zealand the glacial ice-melt turns the water amazing shades of aquamarine. As each lake drains into the next I guess there's a natural filtering process taking place because there are subtle changes in the coloration of each of the lakes in turn... going from almost lime green to blue-tinged aqua in the course of about 3 miles. Tried to capture it in some photos but with only limited success. The sun wouldn't cooperate and shooting with overcast skies didn't quite do it. Nevertheless you can get some idea I think. Although the impression from the photos is that the water is milky, fact is that the waters are crystal clear. Would be a great place to snorkel if you could keep from freezing.


This whole lake was essentially the same color as you see in the shallows around the edges.






The Athabasca River heading north to the Arctic Ocean. Guess if you dropped a note in a bottle you could send a message to an Eskimo.

Later we drove over to the Maligne River Canyon in another section of the Park. The lake to the right of the photo below is called Medicine Lake. It's huge, but every year in September the glacial melt that feeds it dries up and the whole lake disappears. The Indians who lived in the area didn't quite know what to make of that and assumed that some sort of supernatural force must be at work for a perfectly good lake to completely disappear - hence the name "Medicine" Lake.

It was about 25 miles to the end of the access road and all of it was posted as habitat and crossings for Caribou, Big Horn Sheep, and other assorted creatures. Saw the Hoary Marmot below just driving by in the car. Also saw several Caribou does browsing in the meadows. Apparently Jasper is home to the southernmost herd of Caribou in North America.

Also spotted a coyote as he crossed the road a little ahead of us.




Maligne Lake at the end of the long drive.


Even the sky seems to be magical here. Saw this lenticular cloud formation as we were heading home late in the afternoon. Almost looks like the Mother Ship is hovering overhead doesn't it?


One more full day here tomorrow before we head for Banff on Thursday. If our legs hold out we plan on hiking in another section of this beautiful National Park.