Jasper National Park {Edith Cavell, Pyramid Island and Maligne Valley}

We were welcomed to Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada, by a herd of elk including this enormous bull that stopped traffic just outside our campground. I was amazed by the campgrounds out here. There are 12 to choose from with more than 2,000 sites available! We camped at Whislers, which despite having 781 sites, is densely wooded and feels fairly private. Our first stop was the visitor center in downtown Jasper to grab maps to help us plan our time here. We also picked up Xplorer booklets. This is Canada's equivalent of the US's Junior Ranger program. Once completed, kids can turn in each book for a colored dog tag necklace with the name of the park engraved.

Our adventure began along the Path of Glacier trail which provided a stunning view of Mount Edith Cavell and Angel Glacier.

Angel Glacier- do you think it kind of looks like an angel flying away?

This lake was a metallic blue/green color! The ice on it looks shallow because of the distance, but it's quite deep with many layers of dirt and snow.

Ahh, the gorgeous view!

Next we went to Pyramid Lake where we walked across this bridge to the island.

The island can be reserved for weddings and events. How fun is that?

Daddy and the kids had a snack while I ran up the mountain to see the view from above. It cracks me up how Asa watches from the back seat.

On the way home we saw this gorgeous rainbow over the river. 

We spent the next day exploring Maligne Valley, first the canyon.
I love the delicate waterfall across from the whitewater.

Their Xplorers book directed them to look for fossils here. They found 3 of the 4 different kinds.

Maligne Canyon reminded me of Watkins Glen in New York but on a much grander scale. 

This canyon is much deeper and the crystal blue water is just striking.

We drove to Maligne Lake to hike the Mary Schaffer Loop trail. It's a beautiful drive.

Holding hands while Daddy carries Journey. 

We found a spot for the kids to work on the Xplorers books. 

Here they were identifying different lichen and plants along the trail.

Such a nice trail along the water's edge.

We stopped to play for a bit at scenic Medicine Lake.