Day 2

MARTHA JUST SOUTH OF JASPER

Morning coffee by the roaring river, my idea of how to start the day.  The color of the river is sea foam green due to the silt from glacier run off.  Quite beautiful.  The road up to Jasper is one of the most dramatic roads we have ever ridden.  It was a bit hazy so pictures really don’t capture the beauty.  I am a bit surprised by the amount of Japanese tourists traveling in this area.  Also heard a lot of Russian, met some New Zealanders.  The Ice-fields on the way to Jasper are indescribable.  I have not experienced anything like it.  Looks like ice and snow is oozing from the mountainside at a very slow pace.  Tour buses are everywhere which is an immediate turn off to me and Kurt so we slowed down to experience it on the bikes without the crowds.  We stopped in Jasper for lunch and to pick up dinner supplies.  Lunch at Earl’s consisted of a sandwich of grilled chicken, melted brie, sautéed apples, fig jam and garlic mayo.  Considered one of the best sandwiches I have had.  Sat on a deck overlooking town and the surrounding mountains.  We ran into a GS rider along the way and he confirmed our suspicion that the haze was smoke.  There are many fires burning west and south that are wreaking havoc on the forests and closing roads to the traveler.  We hope it doesn’t ruin our plans.  The rider gave us great advice to check in with the information centers in every town for updates.  We made it to Grande Prairie and stopped to camp at Saskatoon Island on Bear Lake.  I was later informed that it was the second state park created in Alberta.  They have huge campsites (common in Canada we have found out), fire rings (free fire wood), and SHOWERS!   Of course we used our last Loony ($1 coin) for the campsite.  Kurt luckily bummed one for a neighbor so I could grab a shower in the am.  Kurt got a campfire going for me and we settled in for cocktails and dinner.  It is still light at 11:00pm!