Athabasca Falls.

Whistlers Campground, Jasper AB (3 stars)

Lee reviewed the weather forecast and decided that this might be the iffy-ist of the three days we are here. So, we headed for Athabasca Falls. The Athabasca River is low at this time of year as it awaits the spring run-off. All the same, it has a mighty volume of water dropping through the chutes. We grabbed some nice shots.

So much for yesterday's thoughts of heading into familiar territory. Today was more like a good jolt to the old memories! Yes, mother nature does not stay static, and neither does Parks Canada. The mountains have not really changed, but roads are less gravelled and trail access certainly has improved to the point of being safely upgraded with handrails and fencing to prevent losing tourists to slippery rocks and steep drops. The cameras were smokin' again as the views are just so breath-taking and need to be shared with those who have not had an opportunity to see them. There are a lot of Europeans visiting now that Covid restrictions are lifting and we spoke with several Dutch and German travellers over the past two days as we shared the mountain view points.

We noted licence plates today from Alberta of course, also Saskatchewan, BC, Ontario, Nova Scotia, South Dakota, California and New Mexico.

The Athabasca falls are spectacular even if they are still at the spring low. The main snow melt is yet to come from the mountains, and the summer higher waters will change the look and sounds of the falls. There are channels where the falls used to flow - but we have no idea when mother nature ceased to use them. The scenery just had to be recorded for the blog. I'm so glad I don't have to pick only one picture. Interestingly, we have not seen any elk in the RV park today. There are more campers here, so perhaps they are avoiding the area. We did see two bull Elk with fuzzy new horns along highway 93A.