WEAVER FAMILY: Jasper National Park - A Day to Not Drive so Far

July 18 (Hinton, Alberta)

We had decided instead of heading to Edmonton like we had originally talked about, we would go to Jasper and Banff National Park, so we headed to Hinton, right outside the park. Alana and I drove, Roger and Travis flew, and we arrived in pretty good time. The guys flew into a little strip along the way and walked to the road and flagged us down as we went past. It was just a nice little diversion and we were soon on the road again. It was nice to have a shorter day and have more time at the campsite in the evening. Although, it was a pretty miserable campground, with horrid mosquitoes! We had gone into town and looked for mosquito coils, but we didn’t find any. Walmart was completely sold out, and we knew why after we got to the campsite. It was a provincial park and there weren’t any showers, just a pit toilet, and did I mention mosquitoes?? J We had a nice evening around the campfire, (well, except for the mosquitoes), and also the wood they gave us was very green and it was hard to start a fire. And, they had told Roger on the phone that the fee was $22 a site, but the guy there said it was $22 per tent. He relented then when Roger told him what he had been told, and we’re pretty sure he just pocketed the money. We had some interesting neighbors who had never set up a tent before, and didn’t have any ‘bug juice’. Roger helped them start a fire and had a good chat with them. There was a lake close by that was beautiful with the mountains reflecting in the clear water. Also saw some cute little ducks on the lake, and heard loons. So there were some redeeming features! JOLENE