18th day, August 7th, 2016 Jasper, Wabasso - sunny.

After a peaceful night, it was time to say goodbye to the beautiful Whistler Campground in Jasper. We didn't have a big tour planned for today and wanted to explore the town of Jasper. The weather was once again very nice and we made our way into town. We parked the RV on the main street and walked 10 minutes to the center. Jasper is a small town in the eponymous National Park on the Athabasca River. It used to be a trading post of the Hudson Bay Company. Today, it is heavily influenced by tourism and is the headquarters of the park administration. There are about 4,500 inhabitants. There are many souvenir shops, outdoor shops, cafes, and restaurants here. We strolled along the shops and enjoyed the sun and the hustle and bustle. It was much less crowded than Banff and very relaxing. In the center of town, we found the tourism office. It was housed in a very beautiful old building and of course, connected to a gift shop. There was free Wi-Fi here, so we could check all our messages from the past few days. Unfortunately, Anne received a message that her father was sick and she was worried. Thanks to WhatsApp, she could communicate with her brother.

We treated ourselves to some Moose Cace ice cream and then slowly strolled back to the RV. We then made our way to the Wabasso Campground. It is located on the Athabasca River on Highway 93A south of Jasper. After leaving the Icefields Parkway and turning onto Highway 93A, the children suddenly called out that there was a bear on the left side. I hit the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road. The children got out and walked back with the camera. Unfortunately, the bear had disappeared deeper into the forest and we couldn't take a photo, I hadn't seen anything. Then we continued to the campground. At the entrance, there was a sign that said 'no vacancy'. It was our last campground that we had reserved. The campground was very large and beautifully located in the forest. Unfortunately, we didn't have an electrical hookup, but we did have a fire pit. After setting up on our site, Marie and Anne went to the washroom to do laundry. Marie didn't find it very funny, but she didn't have anything else to wear. After having coffee, we went for a hike to the Athabasca River, then along the shoreline. Anne had the bear spray ready, of course. As loud as we were, we couldn't spot any bears. When we were at our RV, I made a fire at the fire pit and we could roast marshmallows. When I tried mine, I quickly realized that it's not for me. Disgustingly sweet and sticky.

In the evening, a small thunderstorm rolled in. We all slept well.