Our friends very kindly lent us their Ford SUV to travel from Kelowna through the Jasper Banff National Park to Calgary. We set off early, tentatively negotiating early morning traffic on the wrong side of the road (at least an automatic makes it slightly easier).

We made our way through Kamloops and then north running next to the North Thompson River until we got to Valemount, our first stop. The next morning we headed for Jasper driving along the Fraser River.

taking in the mighty Rearguard Falls

and Mt Robson wreathed in heavy cloud. Mount Robson is the most prominent mountain in North America's Rocky Mountain range; it is also the highest point in the Canadian Rockies.

We were now into the Rockies proper and its grandeur and beauty just blew us away. Luckily being in fall there was snow on the mountains and yellow trees dotted amongst the green.

We passed Moose Lake on the Yellowhead Highway running next to the clean white green waters of the  Fraser River, on the way to Jasper.

We encountered a small herd of elk at the town entrance grazing on the side of the road.

After stocking up we made our way to our cabin on a bend of the Athabasca River 10 mins or so south of Jasper.

The view from our front door:

We spent three days here exploring the area. A highlight for us was Maligne Canyon where the Maligne River cuts through the Palliser limestone formation.

We also discovered Medicine Lake, where fire had decimated trees down to the lake edge. The water level was low, possibly waiting for the next round of snow melt.

We found a few mountain sheep on the road.

Some random shots from the area: