Early the next morning we set off in a coach to explore some of the beautiful, rugged Jasper National Park. I had already met several Aussie staff at the Lodge and here we were again - with an Aussie driver. I could not believe it. He was really great too.
Unfortunately the skies were really dark and it was drizzling. But the scene was still magical. We visited two lakes, the second of which was called Lake Patricia, that were surrounded by misty snow-capped mountains and many pine trees. We then walked on a trail above an amazing canyon where the fast-running water had carved out the most intriguing archways and rounded ’bowls’ of rock. Lichen and many other plants clung to the sides, and together with the mist gave the whole canyon an ethereal, mystical atmosphere. It was just lovely to see, and felt so peaceful.
The one sad thing about the park and elsewhere in the Rockies, was to see that so many pine trees in this region are diseased. Their leaves are a burnt orange colour. This has been caused by the pine beetle, which is devastating the forests in the region. This beetle has migrated from Mexico due to the warmer mean temperatures. This is yet another dreadful consequence of global warming.
Many of my photos did not work due to raindrops keeping on falling on my camera lens. And of course it was dark and gloomy for much of the time, but I hope the following photos give you a sense of how stunning this park is.
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| The first lake. |
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| More of the first lake. Notice all the diseased pine trees. |
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| Walking back to the coach from the island from which we viewed the lake. |
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| On the way to Lake Patricia. |
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| The sign for and map of the canyon. |
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| Our first view of the canyon, from one of the bridges. The remaining photos are all taken at the canyon. |
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| It is hard to see the rapids flowing over the rocks in this photo, but they were there! |
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