Out of Jasper the following day the bus took us on a guided tour of Maligne Lake which is 1800 metres above sea level in the Sub Alpine area. In a bleak winter the temperature here can get down to -30 or more degrees. The Jasper weather was forecast at 19 degrees so we were unprepared for the colder weather at the lake. Rookie mistake! Regardless of the weather, which made the lake look very mystical, the guided tour was very informative.

Again, more wildlife was to be seen. Elk, deer, bears, marmots and eagles were spotted along the Maligne Valley Highway.

The locals have a bear saying. It goes:

If it’s black, fight back, If it’s brown, lay down, If it’s white, GOODNIGHT!

Back on the bus a black bear was spotted very close to the road and put on a show for us. It was scratching its back on a bush and actually stood up to reach the upper branches for berries. Apparently you don’t see a stripteasing dancing bear every day. The bus crowd were ecstatic!

After briefly touring the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and not to be outdone, we then came across a mama grizzly bear and 2 one year old cubs. Brilliant! In fact it was like our own National Geographic moment.

The rest of the day was spent exploring the Jasper township. Jasper certainly has a different vibe to Banff. Jasper wasn’t as busy and seemed to have a more local content workforce with many local characters whereas Banff seemed to have a younger itinerant workforce.

Another day of mountains, rivers, forests and wildlife. There is definitely no shortage of water in this part of Canada as there are rivers and lakes every which way you turn. Also no shortage of firewood from those dense forests. It really is a spectacular place. There is a song by the Arrogant Worms which sums up Canada. It is called Rocks and Trees and they throw in water for good measure.

On leaving Jasper we’re now headed for Mt Robson Provincial Park. We crossed from the province of Alberta to British Columbia and across the continental divide past another magnificent lake – Yellowhead. From now all the waterways we see feed into the Pacific Ocean.Mt Robson is 3954 metres above sea level, surrounded by lower peaks, waterfalls and hiking trails. It is the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies. The peak was surrounded by cloud on our visit.

Yellowhead Highway continued to take us south along the mighty Thompson River and out of the Rocky Mountains. The scenery was changing and the trees were getting bigger and taller. Trees on the sub alpine only have a short growing window due to the climate which in turn stunts their growth. This also explains why it takes so long for the forest to regenerate after wildfires in sub alpine areas. It was nearly shorts and tee shirt weather as we were now descending from the cooler altitude.After a rest stop at Clearwater we took a short detour to Spahats Falls. The sound of the huge mass of water cascading and hitting the canyon floor sounded like thunderclaps. I don’t think our photos did justice to the scenery.

It had been our biggest day on the bus and the Yellowhead Highway had taken us all the way to Kamloops. One of our favourite places to walk in any city is to walk along the river. This was no different in Kamloops. It was a lovely walk in the park along side the Thompson River. The warmer weather had brought out families having picnics and children playing in the splash zones. As we meandered back, we came across the crowd entering the Kamloops hockey stadium. Before we knew it, we were in the free zone having a beer in time for the puck drop for the Kamloops 2023 Memorial Cup ice hockey playoffs. The big screens outside the stadium were broadcasting the game between the Peteborough Pete’s and the Quebec Remparts. An ice hockey game was something we had wanted to do while in Canada and I thought our chance had disappeared. Then bingo!

Early the next day we hit the Coquihalla Highway through the mountains to the ferry port in Tsawwasen. Along the way we had a rest break in a very friendly town called Hope. It reminded of a small country town in Australia. Chainsaw woodcarving is very popular here. Rambo – First Blood was filmed here.

Next stop Victoria, Vancouver Island.