2015 Summer Roadtrip: Day 32–Wed—7/15: Jasper: Long Mountain bike ride through forest—partly in the rain--right next to huge elk, rivers, and lakes. Jasper Park Lodge.

We slept in today. There is a mountain bike trail that runs through the middle of our large forested campground. It then connects with other trails that go through beautiful forest along rivers, streams, and lakes. As we were riding through our campground with Sarah in the lead, she stopped when there were 4 huge elk right in front of us just off the trail. They didn’t mind that we were there and just kept eating the grasses and leaves off bushes. We were probably only about 20 feet away from them. They were huge and beautiful animals—we loved it! We then continued on along the Athabasca river under towering mountains. There were dark clouds all around us and we could see rain up ahead on our trail. So we put on our rain pants and jackets and continued riding next to a small stream and then a few beautiful lakes in the rain. It was really fun. But as usual, Andrea and I decided to haul the kids on a trail that was too long for them J. When we were about 1 mile from our final destination, Ryan was just done (in defense of him, we all have mountain bikes with shifting gears and he has a single-gear BMX bike). Fortunately, we were only about ½ mile uphill from the 5-star, luxurious Jasper Park Lodge (rooms in the summer high season start at $400 per night). Built in 1915, the main lounge is stunning, overlooking a lake and mountains. Ryan wanted to eat lunch here but a hamburger was $39. So we opted not. It started to rain more and Ryan was not going to ride anymore. Our original plan was Andrea or I would ride back through the forest back to the campsite, get the car with the bike rack, and come pick the other 3 up. But with the rain, and with the trail mostly climbing slightly up hill on the way back, we opted to just take a taxi back to the campsite. Fortunately, a van came and was able to fit all 4 bikes and all 4 of us! When we got back to camp, there was a herd of 21 Elk—including adorable babies and males with antlers—right in front of the entrance. Andrea and Ryan headed back to the RV but Sarah and I rode our bikes to get up close to the elk. They were great to see—especially the babies. It was fun watching them eat. They would take the bottom of a branch that had many leaves and put it in their mouth. Then they’d strip off all the leaves form the branch in one motion as they turned their heads. All the leaves would end up in their mouth while the branch would snap back and out of their mouth. Awesome. It is now raining hard. We love the sound of the rain hitting the top of the motorhome. Although a bit loud, it is soothing. Off to sleep now.