Jasper

We had a lovely week in Jasper at the end of July.  They have had poor weather this year, but we hit a super warm week.  Here is Matthew during a rest stop near Lake Louise. 

Of course Andrew was up for posing for a photo as well.

When you think of great beach vacation spots, Jasper is likely not the first place that jumps to mind, but they actually have some nice lakes with sandy beaches.  Emily was right into the sand and water at Lake Annette.

Andrew was quite brave out in the water.  He loved trying to catch little fish in his pail, pouring water and "organizing" water.  I am not sure exactly how he was organizing it, but evidently he hears me saying that around the house a bit too much!

Emily is doing more splashing and digging at Pyramid Lake.

Here is Matthew in his quest for the perfect sandcastle. 

The boys were excited to go on the boat ride on Maligne Lake.

Here is Spirit Island where the boat took us too.  Unfortunately it was a bit overcast so the photo is not quite postcard perfect.  

It seems we have another good hiker in the family as Emily was keeping up just fine on the Maligne Canyon walk.  

Here is a Maligne Canyon shot.

Matthew was doing some amazing balancing across this log in Pyramid Lake.  Bruce was able to climb Pyramid mountain, featured in the back of this photo, with a like- minded adventurer we met where we were staying. If I had more time I'd figure out how to do an audio link to "Cynthia" by Blue Rodeo as this is the Lake he asks her to take him to in the song.  

Andrew and Matthew were having fun being nature detectives with their magnifying glasses.  

Emily was taking a bit of a rest stop after her hiking.

Another day we drove out to the Athabasca Falls.  I wasn't sure if the rainbow across part of the Falls would show up, but I was pleased to see that it did.  

As much as the kids like time out, they also loved time in our place.  Here is a breakfast shot.  The Patricia Lake Bungalows have a playground where all the kids would come to play, and we made lots of new friends.  

We also were able to take in some paddle boating and canoeing with the kids on Patricia Lake where we stayed.  Bruce and I took turns kayaking in the mornings and evenings on our own.  
Here is Matthew with Jasper the Bear before we took the Tram ride up Whistler's Mountain.

After riding the tram, we did the hike up to the summit.  As is tradition we each added our rock to the pile left by those before us.  

With good visibility when we were at the top of the mountain, we were able to see the white snowy peak of Mount Robson, the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies, towering above the others.  I guess there are not too many days when you can see it from where we were.  

From the mountain you can see two lakes.  The smaller one is Patricia where we stayed, and the larger Pyramid where some of the earlier photos were taken.  

A kind trekker took a photo of Matthew and I at the summit of the mountain.

Some people ask how we can travel with 5 in a car, two bikes and a kayak.  Here is the photo to prove that we actually can manage it.  We saw someone who outdid us with two kayaks on their roof, as well as bikes!

Peeking into the sun at Peyto Lake.

We always joke that with me taking all the photos, we will hardly remember that I was on the vacation, so Bruce thought he should take one of me, on our last day.  

Here is beautiful  Peyto Lake.  I couldn't fit the glacier in on the left side of the photo which feeds the Lake and gives it the pretty coloring.