We stopped by and spoke with Ashland, John and Trish before leaving thecampground. We were planning to stop at Jasper Brewing Co. tonight andinvited them to join us.
Andrew and I went up the the MietteHot Springs for asoak this morning. This hot springs was a developed, commercialpool. The water was chlorinated and there was a lifeguard on deck. They also had a cafe that welcomed wet bathers. We soaked for about anhour.
We went into the town of Jasper for lunch. We wandered around a bit andfound a place for a burger. We checked into our B&B, Deb and Tony’sPlace, put some stuff into the ‘fridge and rested for a while.
The National Parks here in Canada are a bit different than the US. There is a real town within the park. US has concessionaires that dealwith services within the park. On one hand, the Canadian Parks welcomefree enterprise and commerce, with some regulation from the Park system. The US parks sell out to a concessionaire and the visitor has to deal with whatthey are offering Most Park Lodges in the US are very expensive, whereas,at least in Jasper, the Canadian Parks offered Bed & Breakfasts which werejust a very affordable room or two in a private house.
Around 8pm, we went down to the Jasper BrewingCo. for a beer. We metJohn and Ashland there. We talked with them about traveling pros and cons,where they had gone and how long they stayed at some places. They had goneinto Denali National Park about threeweeks earlier than us and had great weather, but it had begun raining when theyleft. We also talked about everything and nothing until about 1am. We tried to be as quietas possible while we got back into ourB&B and not wake our neighbors.