Jiuly 5th

Our night in lake Louise Campground turned out fine. The trains didn't seem to be running during the night, or, if they were, we didn't hear them. The best part about Lake Louise Campground was the evening program at the ampitheater. We though "Ho hum, another ranger talk," but it was something to do because the evenings are very long here--it doesn't get dark till 11 p.m. Well, it turned out to be the funnest ranger program we'd ever been to. The topic was the relationship between the whitebark pine, the Clark's nutcracker (a bird), and other wildlife. Sounds only mildly interesting, right? Well, it was a hoot! The ranger (they call them "wardens" here) did an amazing job. After she showed us slides and we learned to identify the whitebark pine and the Clark's nutcracker, she pulled out the costumes and asked for volunteers. First, she talked to a tree, and then to a Clark's nutcracker. Guess who was the nutcracker--me! Steve made me volunteer. I wore a baseball cap decked out with eyes and a long black beak. I had a mesh bag filled with bright orange ping pong balls danglind under my chine to represent my "sublingual pouch" that I use to store pine nuts. We had a script that I read, telling the audience all about me. It got even sillier than that. To illustrate the process of collecting and hiding seeds, we were treated to a performance of "The Clark's Nutcracker Suite." A kid in a tree costume, holding up a pladstic "pinecone" bsket filled with more ping pong ball "pinenuts." Frisbees at either end of the stage, to represent hiding places. Two little girls with a Clark's nutcracker hat, AND a tutu. And of course, music--The Nutcracker Suite. The "birds" were leaping and twirling, grabbing "nuts" from the tree and "hiding" them in the frisbee. It was hilarious and adorable. And of course, I didn't have my camera--who ever brings cameras to ranger talks?

We are now camped in Whistler Campground, Jasper National Park, just outside of Jasper, Alberta. The highway between lake Louise and Jasper is called the Icefield Parkway, and is supposedly rated as one of the most scenic highways in the world. I believe it. Imagine the Grand Tetons (my favorite mountains!). Hundreds of them. On steroids. Sprinkle liberally with serene turquoise lakes, each a miniaturized variation on Lake Louise, and dot with pale blue rivers, milky from glacial slit. Punctuate with an occasional waterfall, and have an elk wander across the highway every now and then. That's the Icefield Parkway. Just as I would decide that I had more than enough pictures of mountains, we'd go around a curve and another breathtaking view would appear.

Yesterday we went into Jasper to do laundry and get some groceries. Everything is very expensive here. Groceries cost about twice as much, or more. Examples: a dozen eggs $2.79. Half gallon of orange juice $4.59. A half kilo of lean ground beef (about a pound)$4.99. I asked at the laundromat for a fabric shop or yarn store, and she said, "Well, there's a quilting store two blocks down the street." Joy! Turned out to be a combination quilt shop and yarn store. I didn't buy much, but it was fun just to be there.

Today it's off to fina a lake to kayak in.