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Friday, 8/9/2002 - Day 6
Last full day in Jasper...and it was a good one. We did a lot of hiking in Maligne Canyon - I've never seen a gorge that deep - and I got pictures to prove it. Today I even saw the first real evidence of my dad's fear of heights...we were on a narrow footbridge over the gorge - I leaned over to get a picture of the drop...he made a beeline for the other side, looking straight ahead - he wouldn't look down to save his life. Luckily he wasn't the only one with a camera, so I got some good pictures of the depth of the canyon. It's really a beautiful place. We also went to Pyramid Lake again - it's always a great place to go. We chilled on a boat dock for a while, just watching the sky...also had this great wild sockeye salmon steak for dinner at the Caledonia Grill.
The conversation came up at dinner about time for reflection while we were up here in Jasper...this week of the vacation has always been the "time off" part, where I lose track of what day it is and I just generally have time to sit back, enjoy the view, and clear my head. I'm sure there will be more of that tomorrow night when I'm up in the dome car...if I'm not talking to some other passengers. Anyway, my mother was asking what I was thinking about, when I had that time. To be honest, I'm not really sure. There were a few times when I kind of decided to think about what it would be like to be up here with a girl instead of my family, or who she would be, or something along those kind of lines...other times I'd be lost in a particular song on my CD player, trying to soak in as much of it as possible, thinking about what it might remind me of. I thought a bit about what I'd put in here, knowing it's going to go up on my journal too. I didn't answer my mother beyond telling her I did give a lot of things some serious thought, but I guess I haven't really reflected on very much. Maybe I'm wrong, but I certainly haven't come to any new revelations about anything. Everything is about as figured out now as it was a week ago...but all the same, it's still nice to look out at the mountains, close my eyes, and imagine someone...or to just revel for hours in the knowledge that I'm here. This is without a doubt the most beautiful place I've ever been to. I want to come back here many times. And I want other people to come here - see what I've seen and try not to be as amazed.
Random observations:
- There was a Japanese couple in a tour group right next to us on the Maligne Canyon trail. Not once did they stop to take a picture - until we get back to the kitschy little restaurant/gift shop. The guy whips out his camera for a picture of his wife standing next to the sign on the building. "MALIGNE CANYON GIFT SHOP." What a memento.
- My dad made this observation: these Japanese tourists pay thousands of dollars to travel thousands of miles to come to this place, and once they get here, where do they eat every single night? The Japanese restaurant, which serves food they can get down the street from home in wherever. It's almost like they want to alienate themselves, that they've come here to observe the place much like you'd go to a zoo to observe the animals and their exotic habitat. I don't mean to sound bigoted - I'm not - I just call it like I see it, and it's an odd way to act. I wonder...what are they afraid of?
- There was a gigantic rainbow over the town this evening. I was caught without my camera, but it was just amazing. I've never seen one so close to being a complete arch in the sky - except for once before, 3 years ago, in the exact same place.
- I haven't seen a plane in the air or a contrail for days. It is so quiet here - all I hear at night, or even in the middle of the day, is the rustle of trees in the wind, the sound of the rapids on the Athabasca River, and the occasional car, sometimes a distant train. It's the most peaceful place I've ever been...lying here with the window open, just breathing the cool, clean air...