Jasper to Grande Prairie

Whistlers Campground in Jasper NP

We spent one night in the National Park Campground called Whistlers in Jasper. We arrived late, due to picture-taking and sightseeing along the way, about 6:30 PM, and the campground was filling up fast. We got site R on loop 64, about ½ mile from the checkin booth. No hookups, but a nice open wooded campground. We thought $27 a night for dry camping was quite high, but then we were in the national park. They warned us when we registered that the elk were calving, and were very aggressive, but we didn't see any. We had dinner, then I convinced Consuelo to take a drive through town if I promised dessert.

Jasper Train Station

Jasper is a relatively small town, but apparently an important rail center. There was a long passenger train in the station when we got to town, and lots of freight train activity. The shops were very tourist oriented, tee shirts and souvenirs of about the national park. There is a gondola ride near the campground.

Like Banff, Jasper is nestled in the mountains. The Athabasca River, which starts at the Columbia Icefield, runs through the town. Canada highway 16 crosses the Icefield Parkway here. When we left town, we took highway 16 east. This section of highway follows the river, and is dotted with many pools and lakes which act as reflecting pools for the surrounding mountains. We stopped near Palisade Mountain to get some pictures. Just off the road shoulder, there was a large, soft sand area, almost desert-like.

Just before Hinton, we turned onto highway 40 north, which would be the bulk of the driving for this day. The road was generally good, with a few fair spots. The terrain was hilly, lots of up and downs, some 8% grades, mostly short. Many, many logging roads and operations entered the highway, suggesting one major business in the area. Numerous gas and oil wellheads were also visible from the highway.

Lunch stop in Grande Cache

120 miles from 16, we climbed into the town of Grande Cache and stopped for lunch at a tiny Chinese restaurant which had a “Smorg” of 3 main dishes, plus the sides, for $12. We then climbed down into the Smoky River valley, which we followed for a ways, then ascended again until we reached Grand Prairie.

We checked our books and found “Camp Tamarack RV Park”, which featured wifi, plus full hookups so we could catch up on laundry. However, on arrival, we found the rate pretty high, $40/night, less 10% senior discount. More annoying, the wifi was $10/day, and we skipped it, chancing to find a wifi coffee shop in the city.

Weyerhauser Lumber Mill, Grande Prairie

As it happened, the Rotary Club in Grande Prairie does a free city tour in a school bus on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 7:00 PM in the city, and I cooked and rushed through supper in order to make it. It was interesting, though confined to the school bus, and probably designed to attract people to move there. The city is a regional center serving about 175,000, so there are numerous malls, “boxter” stores (Walmart, Bestbuy, etc), parks, and medical facilities. Major industries are agriculture, forestry, and oilfields, with tourism close behind.