A pre-Christmas mountain trip

Christmas lights in Jasper

For a few days before Christmas, our little family went to Jasper, Alberta, to enjoy fresh mountain air and a wee winter break. It was cold but gorgeous. We arrived to moonlit mountains and, after checking into our hotel, immediately went stargazing near Patricia Lake, where we experienced not the sound of music, but the sound of wapiti calling in the woods surrounding the lake -- a strange, sometimes grating or whooshing, sometimes thumping sound.

Lee and Christina got in a bit of skiing while the rest of us took a walk with a friend around Lake Beauvert. We hit the best pizzeria in Jasper for lunch, did a bit of shopping, and took a wonderful winter nap before a marvellous meal at L&W Greek restaurant. Returning to the hotel, we took a dip in the hot tub and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

My favourite moments of the trip were the next day at Pyramid Lake, 

where we skated on the ice loop,

Julia tried some woodblock curling

and we had a crazy game of 3-on-3 boot hockey. 

After a late lunch, a few of us walked up Maligne Canyon to see the ice falls, which is something I've always wanted to do.

We cooked supper in our kitchenette and hurried to down town Jasper on foot to see Star Wars, but arrived just as the manager of the movie theatre was posting a SOLD OUT sign. Oh well. Back in our room we saw the movie Philomena instead, an amazing story of loss and forgiveness.

It was a beautiful break, and continues to be a relaxing holiday.