Drive Home - Day 2: Jasper

Day two of driving east led us out of the province of BC into Alberta. Our last stop in BC was at the Mount Robson rest stop. What a busy hive of tourists! We hadn’t seen this many people in one place in weeks! Forget the thought of stopping for lunch, one look at the line up for food, and I decided a coffee would do at this point. We had a gondola ride scheduled in Jasper, so I hoped we would make it there in time to grab a bite to eat before we went up.

We made it to Jasper with plenty of time for lunch. We went straight to the Jasper SkyTram Lower Station, grabbed our tickets, and followed the pleasant aroma of an outdoor barbeque to find lunch. It was the most comical setup – a monster grill set up on a patio beside a Starbucks counter. Caramel fraps and burgers, yum! So grateful we waited to eat because we had some of the best freshly grilled hamburgers ever!

With filled tummies, we loaded into the gondola ready for our “flight” into the skies above Jasper. For seven minutes, we glided along the cable up the side of Whistlers Mountain to the Upper Station, reaching an altitude of 2277 metres! We watched the resort town of Jasper shrink, as we climbed higher and higher into the clouds. This aerial ride allowed us to see a perspective of the Rocky Mountains that was so breathtaking and like nothing else we'd ever seen.

Thankfully, the clouds were few and far between. It was so clear we could see all six mountain ranges pictured and described on the tourist info plaques placed along the boardwalk. We left the platform and walked along a rocky path that felt like we were walking on the edge of the world. We dared each other to stand on top of a boulder on this mountain’s edge to take pictures – only Lily and I took the dare. Our hearts raced wildly in our chests as we waited for Sadie and Brie to take our photo. We spent a good while walking the trail, sitting on the rocks, breathing in the fresh air…briefly losing each other (physically and metaphorically) as we became mesmerized by this spectacular view of Jasper National Park. Eventually, we decided to head back down and continue the drive to Edmonton.