It was another day of discovery, with both excitement and relaxation playing significant roles! We said goodbye to Caleb after we picked up coffee from his favourite café in Gibbons where they serve Black Rifle coffee. The Black Rifle Coffee Company is a veteran-owned, small batch, roast to order coffee company that has a connection to Caleb's 408 Squadron. It was a great wake-me-up as we headed towards another jewel of the Rockies, Jasper!
Jasper is another cute little town, with lots of charm - the Rocky Mountaineer sat there at the station with snow-capped peaks in the foreground, like a postcard! Wouldn't it be something else to ride the Rocky Mountaineer? Even when I am fast-forwarding to get to the next segment of a show I have pvr'd, I always stop and rewind the Rocky Mountaineer commercials - they are amazing examples of advertising!
We realized we went past Milette, so after a brief visit to the town of Jasper, we headed back up. The scenery was incredible - mountains, rivers, larches (which are a brilliant yellow in the fall) and evergreens. I saw a mountain goat that was much closer than the two white dots that we saw way up in the scree at Lake Louise.
But GUESS what else we saw? I am still so pumped! We were about a hundred feet from...
A BLACK BEAR!
As soon as I saw it way up ahead on the side of the road, I knew. Soon other vehicles stopped as well. I did open Roberto's door (but never got out of the rv) to get a decent photograph - don't worry, Mom, there was no danger. The bear was more concerned with eating grass than anything else. He looked up at the vehicles at one time, and I think we made eye contact once. Anyway, in total, we may have had about two minutes with the bear, and then we got rolling again. The adrenaline in my veins was pumping for a while afterwards, though. I wondered if we would see a bear on this trip - and we did! So, polar bear - check (yes, I know the polar bears were in a zoo), and now, black bear - check. I wonder if a grizzly might cross our path next (but at a safe distance, I pray, once again)!
Shortly afterwards, we arrived in Milette where we had the most relaxing afternoon at the Jasper hot springs. There weren't that many people and so we were able to easily check out the four different pools - two that are hot/warm and two that the lifeguard described as "refreshing". The hot springs are in a stunning location, as we were surrounded by the Rockies. The sun shone down on our faces - and then would disappear as it would be blocked by the low clouds. Evergreens and larches added to the visual impact. If you are in Jasper, you must check out its hot springs! We met a lovely young Scottish couple - both police officers from Perth - who want to come to Canada to work in law enforcement here. I could have listened to them talk all day long - I love me a Scottish accent. The husband looked exactly like Ed Sheeran. I also saw a guy in the pool who looked just like Will Ferrell. Dave and I couldn't help but think of an SNL skit when Will was in a hot tub and I think there was a lot of ad-libbing going on. He cracks me up. Anyway, I digress. When I asked Dave to give me his rating of the hot springs, he replied, "I give it five thumbs up." Isn't that something Will Ferrell would say? Apparently, Banff's hot springs do not compare (from what I have been told). It was a perfect afternoon!
Tomorrow is our last day in Alberta as we will be calling BC "home" tomorrow night, and for the next week, approximately.
I'm glad I was able to come down from the bear sighting in the best way possible - with a relaxing soak in the hot springs. No doubt we will sleep well tonight!
Until tomorrow,
your Rockies-loving Roving Redhead xoxo
p.s. Still no ring...yet.
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