Saturday

Saturday, May 17th, Day 7.

So today we were leaving Jasper and heading to Edmonton which would be our last stop. In the morning we made a quick run through the mountains near the town of Jasper. Here we found a young male Elk who was just chillin in some trees. So we got out and started getting some sweet pictures. He was hiding in some trees, but it made for some interesting scenery and cool photos. The rest of the day was meant for travel, but as usual we would make stops when we saw fit to get some shots.

On the way, we stopped when we saw a small heard of sheep on a very steep cliff right next to the road. This was really neat. Paul really has allowed us not only to get some great pictures but to really get up close to the wildlife and see them acting naturally as they do in the wild. During our drive we spotted some huge, giant male big horn sheep. Since we hadn't seen any in a while, Paul Dad and I took off onto the mountain side to get some good pictures. This is where something really funny happened.

We were shooting with the sheep about 75 feet in front of us. In the meantime, Mom came up and went into some trees behind us to use the bathroom. Right as she walked back, Paul Dad and I moved back down the hill side to get a better angle. As we did that, the sheep started moving back into the trees, literally right to where mom was peeing. We waited in anticipation to see what would happen. To ouch delightful surprise, mom came running out of the trees. haha. She had a nice suprise while her pants were down.

After that we pulled out our food and gear and had lunch on the side of the road in a pull out overlooking a coal mine. It was pretty neat, as there were a couple of big horn sheep around us.

The rest of the day was uneventful. When i say uneventful, I mean the drive to Edmonton as the most unscenic drive we've had so far on the trip. I used this time to sleep, and finish my book White Noise (its really weird).

In edmonton we went to a restaurant called Johnny Tomato. It was really really good. Similar to Macaroni Grill. I had Chicken Alfredo Pasta. Wonderful. Paul and Mom insisted I order a beer since the legal drinking age in Canada is 18, so I had a pint of the local favorite along with my pasta. Tastey.

After our delicious dinner, which included dessert, we headed to our next place of resting. This turned out to be one of the coolest parts of the trip. We were staying in a placed called the Chipmunk Bed and Breakfast. It was owned and operated by Jean-Claude and Lilly, two wonderfully amazing and friendly people from the lovely country of Switzerland. Their place can be described in one word. Wood, and amazing. Nestled in the woods on a 40 acre property, was an architecturally profound cabin to end all cabins. There is no way to explain it without showing pictures so I will get to that later. All you need to know is that Jean-Claude and Lilly are some of the nicest people I've ever met. Jean-Claude speaks wonderful english while Lilly struggles a tiny bit, but this in no way kept them from having wonderful conversations and debates while we sat on their porch and watched the sun set. By far the best placed we've stayed and I will gladly make a large effort to make sure I can stay here again. Breakfast at 6 o'clock sharp!