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Oh, Judy, I think even worse is the way roads are numbered or named in Canada. It is a total disaster! Let's see:
- Okay, so you have the Trans-Canada, which is a federal highway, with a number "1" in it. Fine, until you get into Ontario. Now, 11 is Trans-Canada, and 17 is Trans-Canada. And then it can be anything in the east. Hm... - Well, Yellowhead is also Trans-Canada 16. Okay. But what about 3 to 15? - Can there be any consistency in numbering the freeways in the eastern provinces? Ontario do the 4xx thing, Quebec likes the multiple of 5, while Nova Scotia uses 1xx. Please... - BC should have some backbone and rename the 9x highways. Do they love the US so much, or they can't think of better ways to number their highways? The other provinces don't use US Highway numbers. [And AB should rename their portion of 93 as well.] --- But enough about the rest of Canada. Since this is the first time I drive in AB, here are my comments specific to the routes I take, and about AB/BC drivers: - Calgary really like its "trails". I think that's cute. Just like some parts of the US that like their "pikes". - Edmonton should fire all its road planners and hire new ones. Do they have any clue what they're doing? Ring roads that aren't really rings, freeways that don't connect? And they seem to be building interchanges one-at-a-time. Can you have some long term plan, please? - Why do Canadians love GM <b>cars</b> so much? Even Americans only buy their trucks. But POS like the Pontiac G6, Chevy Cobalts are everywhere. Hey, Toyota also build cars in Canada too! And why don't they buy more Subarus? They are very popular in the northern states in the US, why not Canada? - People shouldn't tow a heavy trailer with some tired minivans over the Rockies. OMG... You go to Colorado and people there tow with the biggest V8 pickups with 300+HP. On Trans-Canada and Icefields Parkway, people tow with 10-year old Astro vans and Aerostars. In the worse case, I saw this Astro van with a trailer doing about 40km/h going up the Sunwapta Pass from the bottom of the Saskatchewan Glacier. I was worried it might stall and roll backwards. That was just plain dangerous. - And there are other campers/trailers with bad brakes. These vehicles struggled to maintain 90km/h on the uphills on Trans-Canada, but could only do 80km/h coming down. Yikes. - For those who love trucks, AB is a marvellous place. Long trucks like Turnpike Doubles, Triples, Rocky-Mountain Doubles. They have it all! |
I enjoyed reading your review on tripadvisor.com. Shared baths are pretty unusual in this day and age. We had one once at a B&B and once in Alaska and I can't ever remembering seeing any others.
We stayed at Sunwapta Falls for $94.05 Canadian. It was about 30 miles south of Jasper but it was an easy drive. We also were able to walk to the falls which was kind of fun. It also gave us a headstart on the day we drove from there to the Banff area. Thanks for all the detail in your reports. It is enjoyable. Debbie |
Debbie - I'm pretty flexible when it comes to lodging. I appreciate 4-5* hotels when the price is right, but I can also stay at 1* and occassionally hostels if needed.
And shared bath is the norm when staying at B&Bs in the UK, which is almost always delightful and comfortable. A room at the Athabascar with baths would almost double the price. For that, there are many more (and most likely better) choices in Jasper. In fact I'd definitely recommend <b>against</b> getting a room with bath at the Athabasca. |
<b>Monday July 4, Independence Day (US)</b>
Jasper was pretty quiet on this Monday morning, post-Canada Day long weekend. I crossed the street from the Athabasca to eat at the Black Sheep Cafe. Had a nice smoked salmon omelette, and checked my email at one of their computer terminals. I noticed that the owner is a Francophone, and so are all of its young workers. It appears that just like at the hotel, most servers here from other provinces, doing a summer job here. My server at O'Shea's the night before's from the Toronto area and had only been in Jasper for 2-3 weeks. And Jasper really has a very different feel than Edmonton/Calgary, and I'm not just talking about the vista. Alberta is very conservative politically and is probably also the least "French" province I've been in Canada. Road signs, provincial building, are all English only. Hardly any French TV or radio stations. It's interesting how similar Alberta and Texas is. Big trucks, rodeo, beef, oil, conversativism, etc... But Jasper isn't like that. It's more like BC, more like Mont Tremblant. Anyways, after breakfast, I walked around town and looked at the CN 4-8-2 Mountain-type locomotive in front of the train station. Then from a brochure I picked up, I noted that one can drive the mountain road up Mt. Edith Cavell. My adrenaline was immediately flowing when I read the word "switchbacks" when describing the road. I know I have to drive up there. The Cavell Road branches off 93A south of Jasper. It climbs about 700m/2,300ft in about 14km/8.5mi. Initially, it's very steep and has lots of 180-degree switchbacks, but it opens up a bit higher up. Whole road is paved, and it's quite a bit easier than the Mt. Washington Auto Road in New Hampshire, which I've driven 3 times. [That road climbs 4,727 feet in about the same length, and not all paved.] I made the climb to the parking lot (1,762m/5,780ft) in 20 minutes, averaging about 50km/h, which is the speed limit. But I've passed plenty of vehicles, some of which are doing 30km/h or less. From there I hiked up the trail to the icy lake at the bottom of the Angel and Cavell glaciers. The loop is an easy 2km. A higher and longer trail to the Cavell Meadow is not opened yet. Many have already descibed this place, so I won't waste space here. But two things: 1) because buses can't go on the road, there are no group tours here like at Lake Louise or at the Icefield Center; 2) there was a group of hikers with a guide at the top, and the guide said he's never seen the level of the lake so low. Ever. On the way down the mountain road, I stopped at a lookout for the Astoria Valley. No road and development in that Valley, and one can imagine that it probably looks the same 100, 200, or 1,000 years ago. Absolutely pristine and beautiful. After getting down to the base, I followed 93A south to visit Athabasca Falls which I missed the night before, before getting back to Jasper on 93. Well, I was meeting my cousin for dinner in Edmonton, but I still had one more pass to drive. So, I made a left turn onto Yellowhead Highway and crossed over to BC once again, this time at Yellowhead Pass. At 1,131m/3,710ft, this is the lowest crossing of the Rockies in all of the US and southern Canada. CN really had it easy. Once in BC, I was in the Mt. Robson Provincial Park. But to see Mt. Robson (3,954m, highest point in lower BC) means another 20-30 minutes of drive. I made a U-turn and headed back east. The Yellowhead Highway (Trans-Canada Hwy 16) is a easy and fast drive once past the town of Hinton. Well, I was glad I didn't stay there, or else I would have to backtrack for 45 minutes just to get back to Jasper. For the most part between Jasper and Edmonton, the highway parallels the CN Trans-con railroad, cutting through forests. It's quite different from Highway 2 which is open fields and prairies south of Edmonton. Made it back to Edmonton in about 3 hours. |
So, just one more place to go - West Edmonton Mall of course! Largest shopping mall in the world, with a amusement park (3 roller coasters), waterpark, regulation hockey ring, casino, hotel, cinemas, IMAX, three department stores, plenty of sit-down restaurants, Chinese supermarket, etc...It took up 8 times 3 city blocks, including the garages. Pretty amazing.
Well, I am not a shopper, and don't really like malls, but WEM is quite pleasant to walk through. I guess it's because it's seperated into sections, so I didn't find it too overwhelming. I only had 50 minutes, so I basically walked through it. Also looked at Mind Blender, supposedly the tallest indoor roller coaster in the world, though it was down for maintenance on Monday, I believe. And just when I was about to leave, a peewee-league hockey game was starting. Dinner was at Jumbo, a Chinese restaurant just north the mall. After a short visit to my cousin's home, I got back to the airport at around 11pm for my 12:55am flight back to Houston. Because the US immigration and customs at YEG was already closed at that time, this YEG-IAH flight actually clear those in Houston and not in Edmonton. Our Continental flight was the last one to depart YEG that night. Well, that's it, kids. My overly long trip report. Hope you guys like it. --- Now, this has nothing to do with Alberta, but I want to say something about the SUV I rented. As I mentioned I paid for a intermediate car, for about C$70 for 72 hours. But I was upgraded to any SUV they have at Hertz. I took the Ford Freestyle. The Freestyle is a car-based SUV, not a truck-based one, built on a Volvo platform. It's a little lower, a little wider and a little longer than the Explorer, and sits 7 (not that I need it). Very low floor level, and comfortable seats. The one I had is a SEL trim with leather seats, and sunroof. What's most unusual about this SUV is its transmission. It uses something called a CVT, for Continuous Variable Transmission. Instead of 4, 5 or 6 gears, there are thousands of steps between two pulleys. Acceleration is therefore very smooth. Three huge advantage in this operation: First, it makes the Freestyle's acceleration a little more acceptable. 205HP from a 3.0 V6, pushing a 4,000lb vehicel is terrible. If not for the CVT, this SUV will be very slow, and hard to pass other vehicles on mountain roads. Second, it gives excellent fuel economy. I was flooring it all the time, and still get 25MPG. Very good indeed. Third, on downgrades, once I put it in "L", even at relatively high speed, the transmission will find the perfect ratio to hold the speed constant. Even coming down from Mt. Edith Cavell or going down the various highway passes, I hardly need to use the brakes. Very very safe. If it has something like 250-270HP, this will be a very nice vehicle to have. But with just ~200HP, I hear a lot of engine noise but don't feel much acceleration. What a shame. |
Well, rkkwan, I'm sure this will go down in the annals as the best trip report on the Fodor's Canada forum. At least it is the best one that I can remember in the time that I've been participating here. It surely deserves a virtual ((B)).
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Judy - Thanks for the brew! I hope it's Big Rock. ;)
Anyways, I really really enjoy my little 71 hour trip. I wish I had a little more time and a little more preparation (I only decided to go a few days before). Still, it's just a beautiful country to visit, and it's also very "easy". No need to fight to get service, no language barrier (even in QC and NB), nothing to get upset about. And I still can't decide which route I like better - Icefields Parkway or Cabot Trail in NS. Well, I guess I love the driving challenge of the Cabot Trail more, but few vistas can beat the Canadian Rockies. There are still plenty of roads I need to drive. Hwy 99, Hwy 19 up Vancouver Island, and the Fraser Canyon in BC. Across Newfoundland. And one day, I'll drive the Alaska Highway. But I'm pretty happy for now. :D |
Great trip report! Thanks for sharing it. You really fit a lot into a couple of days!
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I would do the Cabot Trail.
Very beautiful drive. kimmer |
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