Back to a place we admire.

Whistlers Campground, Jasper AB (3 stars)

Lee laughs. There are no trees, the wind is cool, it is overcast and the Canada Geese have been leaving their droppings behind. But, we are moored in a place that we admire and gives us a level of peace and calm. It is mid-September and Whistlers is the only campground open in Jasper National Park. But there are still a surprising number of RV-ers here.

We go into town and note that life is back to normal after the forest fires and resulting loss of electricity by the entire town. Lez finds a local museum and we are soon engrossed in more history of the area.

The greatest surprise Lee finds is the details about one Edith Cavell for whom a mountain south of town is named. Explorer, politician, religious advocate, who was she. In fact a Belgian nurse who helped wounded German and Allied servicemen during World War I, including escapes to neutral Netherlands. She was betrayed and executed by the Germans for treason. Now you know.

We spent way more time in the museum than we expected. For all our visits, we have never been to it. We read more new information - about the Rocky Mountains. The Columbia Icefields in the Rockies actually feed five different river systems reaching the Pacific Ocean, Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean via Hudson Bay and Missouri in the U.S.

The glaciers of the Canadian Rockies are quickly melting away - a photo of the decline between 1917 and 2011 shows what has disappeared in less than a century. The railway brought people to the Rockies, Jasper Park Lodge their vacation destination. The isolated community grew and was active with many winter sports, cross-country ski trails, a curling club, horseback riding stables and a dance hall at Pyramid Lake. The general store supplied the outfitters, hunters, trappers and park wardens with dry goods. Buildings were made of local cobblestone and timbers. We spent a couple of hours viewing the displays.