weather:
Hot - 10 a.m. it is already 29C. The weather has turned and the wind has brought in heavy smoke from forest fires in Alberta; therefor, poor visibility. We can't even see the opposite bank of the Thompson River! Hiway 93 south of Jasper is temporarily closed, so we plan an alternate route across Alberta to go through Jasper and continue on to Edmonton - a city we have never visited.
As we drive north from the city, we pass through T'Kemlup`s First Nation, where the land is dry. It is ranch country, and by 2:00 p.m., it is above 32C. We follow the Thompson River N and here, the river, the road and the railway all fit snugly into the valley.
wildlife:
- red fox along the road
- ravens, and a bald eagle flying over the river
- a full-grown black bear crosses Hwy#5N near Apland, elevation: 2,200m
activities:
- we stop at Carls Roadside Fruit and Veggie Market on Hwy #5 BC,
- lots of smoke creates some difficult viewing conditions; we can still easily see the road, but surrounding mountains are obscure.
- we eat a snack at Grey Wells Lodge, where the road north to the Provincial Park campground is closed because of forest fire dangers
- we notice interesting place names: Burch Island, Lost Creek, Thunder Creek, Moonbeam Creek, Mileage Creek, Albreda River, Clearwater, Blackwater, Cleavely Creek, Dominion Creek, Rosie`s Roadhouse, Lost Horse Inn, Sleeper Mountain, Mount Robson - veiled in forest fire smoke, Mt. Edith Cavall, Ghita Creek, Ghita Mountain, Mt. Fitzwilliam,
- at home in Orillia, people who drive pickup trucks often have a four-wheeler in the back. Here in the mountains, people have 100 gallon diesel gas tanks and generators in the backs of their trucks.
- we see a road marker - 1,025km E from the Pacific Coast and we`re still heading east toward the mountains and Jasper.
- we see lots of aqua coloured water rushing down from snow-covered mountains. The above-mentioned creeks are short, swift and all are running down to meet the Thompson River. Wait, there must be a change in the elevation, now the rivers aren`t all running back to the Thompson, they`re heading into Alberta.
- now it`s the Athabaska River that we are following, not the Thompson.
- there are more vehicles with broken / damaged windshields
- new Time Zone, Alberta border
- we follow the Rocky Mountaineer Train along the mountain valleys and by Moose Lake
- Hwy 97 S to Banff is closed - - forest fire smoke - it is unusually hot - +32C.
- Jasper for night.
The first hotel we stopped at wanted $367/night for a non- air conditioned room
- The next hotel wanted $104 / night for a queen sized bed.
-our actual room was in the Athabasca Hotel, where the hallways were air-conditioned, but not the rooms. Air conditioning wasn't turned on until it cooled down at night, so the front desk attendant explained that to get our room cooled off, we would have to sleep with our door open to the hallway.
Oh, and we had to share with 10 other hotel rooms for separate men's and ladies' shower / bathrooms.
Our room was so small, there was no closet, no cabinet for storage, no chair - we sat on the bed - and only a sink in the corner. To get around the bed, you almost had to walk sideways. The ceiling fan kept us cool.
-we ate a delicious dinner in the hotel restaurant and while dinner was being served, the smoke rolled into town. We had some coughing going on and our eyes were stinging. Locals remarked about how scarey that was, and we could see the local shops, but all the mountains were veiled by smoke.
- our hotel manager suggested coffee next morning at a nearby laundry mat. What? a laundrymat?
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