Elk next to the Schooner.

Whistlers Campground, Jasper AB (3 stars)

A lazy morning at Irvins RV Park. We said goodbye to the neighbours and headed for Jasper. Our first stop was at the BC Alberta border. We always take a photo of the Welcome to Alberta sign. One thing we noticed is the huge amount of garbage at the border on the side that has no facilities, not even a garbage can. Pretty disgusting. Maybe people feel it is too dangerous to cross the highway to where there are facilities.

We get to Whistlers Campground and are immediately impressed by the place. Everything about it is first class. It opened last year after the feds dropped a ton of money on it. It shows. Definitely first class.

In the early evening we were entertained to six or more female elk, grazing through the grass around the RV sites. They were literally right next to the Schooner.

We ended the day with our first firepit in a long time.

A very good weather travelling day - not to hot, not too windy, no rain. We sailed away with the Schooner heading back into familiar territory. I think it's been almost 10 years since we camped in Jasper campgrounds.

So, I have looked up our list of trips (and photos) - 1999 I went with Aaron's school group as camp cook. The kids biked from Jasper to Banff so that really doesn't qualify to compare to our journey. Before that, the family camped with Lee's mom in Jasper in 1992.

Okay! Deep breath - 30 years ago. And much more frequently before then. Life has been busy. So glad to say we are retired and are loving every minute.

We are in the new Whistlers Campground now and I give this a total 3 star rating. Well engineered and well serviced for the camping in big RVs. But the real thrill are the Elk! They are grazing the green natural grasses and plants around, and came right past our RV windows. Needless to say, if we were still using film, Kodak would be making a bundle in film and photo processing sales from the photos taken today.

Each site has a fairly small campfire pits and all the firewood is free. They are set up in a circular fashion. Easy for detaching Chuck and heading out to explore.