Waking up on Tuesday was pretty special. Not only did I have our first full day to look forward to, but I also had the celebration of Jake's 30th birthday. I had originally told Jake to plan the morning, seeing as it was his birthday, but he graciously passed the task onto me.
We shared a cup of coffee, listened to the birds, went for a walk around the campground, packed a lunch and then headed into town.
Golf was at 5:39, so we had the whole morning to explore, and did we ever!
Our first stop was Medicine Lake.
This "lake" is technically not even considered a lake, but rather an area that backed up water gathers from the Maligne River as it flows into the Athabasca River. The intricate underground system works like a backed up bathtub; when the river is overflowing, it backs up into Medicine Lake, but once the "clog" is gone, it drains again.
Many attempts have been made to plug the draining system, in hopes of keeping a full lake at all times but as it was found out, you cannot make Mother Nature do something she does not want to do.
The lake continues to fill up and drain to this day, some days you may see a full lake, and some you may see it with much less water.
Medicine Lake is a moderately accessible lake, right off Maligne Road (you can't miss it).
There is a wooden stair case that leads down to the lake, which leads to multiple paths that you can explore if you wish.
However, if you are like me, you can walk or swim in the lake. Some people found it too cold to even put their feet in, but compared to some glacier fed lakes that we have jumped in, this water felt only slightly cool to me!
One last fun fact about Medicine Lake:
For about the last 10 years, the same set of bald eagles have called this lake home, and we were some of the lucky ones who got a glimpse of their nest, and their babies! Keep in mind, I did use a large zoom lens, as to not disturb the babies, and we respected the closure signs around their nesting site. The Parks employees have closed a section of the walkways along the waters edge, as to provide privacy and safety for the eagles.
In the photo below, taken at the top of the wooden stair case, I have highlighted the tree that the eagles nest in every year.
It may be a bit hard to see, but this is the only clear photo that I have of the 2 new babies. We did not see mom or dad, but we were in awe of the gorgeous babies.
After spending a good part of the afternoon at the lake, we packed up and started to make our way back towards the Fairmont, where Jake was about to make a big check mark on his golfing bucket list!!
As we typically do, when driving along any mountain road we keep our eyes peeled for hidden, unmarked gems. We were lucky to find a beautiful waterfall that was formed from a river flowing from one part of the valley and connecting with another.
It amazes me that there are so many little gems like this one just waiting to be discovered. It just goes to show, when you're driving through these roads look out the window, you truly never know what gift Mother Nature will be presenting you, and in the blink of an eye it can be gone.
We had this fun little waterfall all to ourselves, and as we sat and listened to the water roaring through, I reflected on how lucky we are to lead the lives we do.
It's pretty fun doing life with my Jake.
Notice the nice thigh bruises that I have already somehow collected. It's not a mountain trip if I don't come back with at least 3 new exploration bruises, and this trip was no different.
For what seemed like a lifetime to Jake I'm sure, we arrived at the Fairmont. Excitement and nerves were ever so present as Jake gathered his clubs and headed into the clubhouse. From our first glance, I knew we were both in for a treat; Jake got to golf at the #1 rated golf resort in Canada, and I got to be immersed into the mountains in a whole new way.
After signing in, Jake made his way to the driving range and the putting green. I plopped myself into the grass, admired my surroundings, and basked in the smile that was on Jake's face.
Soon after Jake finished off his bucket of balls, we were told we could start early if we wanted, and we could have the whole course to ourselves- as I'm sure you can guess, that is exactly what we did!
Throughout his 18 holes, I had my camera in hand, and tried to snap as many pictures as I could while still living in the moment of where we were. I hope you enjoy the photos I present to you, and I hope that they bring a smile to your face, like golfing at the Fairmont did for Jake.
My old man Jake, getting ready to tee off at the Old Man hole. hahah hilarious right?!
Here we can observe a Jake in his natural habitat, studying his new yardage book.
If you notice the trees in the background, you will see that some of the pine trees are brown, and some are a lush green. During this trip I learned that about 60% of the pine trees in Jasper have been attacked and killed by the Mountain Pine Beetle (a small bug about the size of a grain of rice). The beetle gets deep into the trunk of the tree, and cuts off all nutrients to its branches, eventually suffocating it until it dies. Because most of the pine trees in Jasper are about 200 years old, they don't have the greatest defense system, and it is estimated within the next couple years, about 90% of the pine trees will be dead as a result of the bug.
However, as Mother Nature does, in the next 5-15 years, we will see new growth, resulting in stronger and more resilient trees.
Even the name signs were gorgeous at this resort; it isn't hard to understand why they are rated #1!
After the round of golf, we stopped in town for a beer and an appetizer. Following that, we headed back to our campsite to have a late dinner, relax, and reminisce about the day that we just had.
Life is pretty beautiful, you just have to keep your eyes open to the beauty around you.
Hope you enjoyed reading about day 2!
Cannot wait to share what we did with you on day 3, so stay tuned!!!
xoxo
char hazzard
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