Jasper to Hinton.

Today we rented a car and drove to the nearby town of Hinton, Alberta to do some much needed clothes shopping. The town of Jasper does have clothing stores, however the range and style of clothing here is limited and also quite over-priced. So we organised to rent a car and travel to Hinton with a girl named Ashlee, who came over from Australia with us on the plane.

Geike St, just outside the hotel I work for. Note the snow on the parked cars.

We got up "early" (**in contrast to our 5:45am wake up for work, this was a sleep in of sorts) and walked to the rental place through the heaviest snowfall we have seen so far. This was by no means heavy by Jasper standards, but it was constant enough to be covered in snow by the time we arrived. Also, the ground was lightly covered in white powder, which we hadn't seen before! On our way down Connaught Drive we came across some geese crossing the road. They were so funny! They all waddled in unison and at the sight of an oncoming car, the "boss" goose let out a short honk to warn his friends about the traffic. It was very amusing to Stu and I, and was the first time we'd seen geese in town.

Stu, walking on the crunchy snow.

By the time we finally arrived at Avis my black jacket was covered in white flecks. It did sort of look like a bad case of dandruff, except it was all over me! We have figured out that we must be adjusting to the cold temperatures here, as this morning when we saw the current temperature was -1, Stu thought "oh, that's not cold," and decided not to take his warm jacket, instead opting for his aussie adidas jacket. A decision which he later regretted, but the mentality is definitely adjusting to the cold. Most mornings when we walk to work the puddles on the street have turned completely to ice, but we walk to work in little more than a hoodie.

Our friends, crossing the road.

When we got our rental car, we noticed it was covered in ice and snow that had frozen all over the windscreen and back window, as well as the roof. Being 25 meant I was the driver, and my immediate habit was to get into the car on the right hand side, with the keys in hand, ready to go... until I realised there was no steering wheel on that side and sheepishly got out. Stu laughed, but I think he would have done exactly the same thing! :oP

For the first part of the trip, we had to drive through Jasper to pick Ashlee up from the staff accomodation she lives in, which is just out the back of the Lobstick lodge, my hotel. It was so weird turning onto the opposite side of the road, and getting used to the turning lanes being different. Stu was fairly nervous about me driving (**as if! Whatever boy, I'm a way better driver!**) and gave me fairly continuous prompts until I promptly told him to shut up. hehe. We picked up Ash and were on our way.
The trip to Hinton is a good one, taking approximately 45 minutes in total, so it was a nice drive, even though it was fairly snowy in Jasper. The roads were clear and fairly straight so even though we were on the other side of the road to driving in Australia, it wasn't half as stressful as we thought. The overtaking lane here is on the left too, so that took some adjusting to.

And of course, in typical Canadian tradition, the views were spectacular. The drive is straight through Jasper National Park, which is the biggest National park in Canada. We followed the Athabasca River along, winding in and out with new mountain ranges every 2 minutes or so.
Some of these views just take your breath away. It feels almost like you're watching a movie, but then you remember you're looking at it in person and it just overwhelms you. I know it sounds corny but it really leaves you speechless of God's creation. I just keep thinking how amazing it is that he did this in 7 days... And it turned out so darn beautiful! I can't really get my head around it.. or Him. ha!






When we arrived in Hinton, we weren't greeted by much. The Mall Walmart was situated in wasn't much bigger than ringwood square or warriewood, although the Walmart experience was quite interesting. It's a lot like big W, but with a few very noteable differences, and wasn't as big as we were expecting it to be, although it's likely to be a small outlet, being in a small town. As mentioned in the previous blog, Halloween is next week and we are quite enjoying the new experience, even though Halloween doesn't mean anything to us. I've changed my shifts so I will be working Halloween night, as some of my co-workers really wanted to get all dressed up and go out trick or treating. Walmart had a decent range of costumes, although most of the female ones were limited to witches, ghosts or princesses. All of which are incredibly stereotypical. But Ash managed to get a very cool Cleopatra costume, which will look great on her. They must really go all out here in Canada for holidays.. Thanksgiving was a big affair and now with Halloween.. Not to mention the incredible amounts of what can only be described as "Christmas Crap" that they sell, all year round here in Jasper. Although I am most definitely looking forward to a white Christmas, and seeing the snow lined streets lit up with decorations and lights!

Jack-o-lanterns. The electrical kind. On sale. Buy now!

The biggest noticable difference between Walmart and big W? That would be the guns. Yes. I'm not kidding. They sell guns and ammunition at walmart. Granted, it's mainly hunting rifles (and paintball guns!) but never-the-less, Guns. We are definitely not in Australia anymore. It's funny, you adjust to so many cultural differences, but I don't think I'll ever stop feeling weird about the ready access to guns. I'm glad that's not something we do in Aus.

guns, anyone?

Stu, Ash and myself got some amazing bargains at Walmart, including some much needed thermals and snow boots for the coming winter. We will definitely be keen to head back there again, but it will have to wait for some other payday! We spent a lot of money, but we got 3 massive bags full of clothes and shoes in exchange, so in my opinion, it was definitely worth the trip!

McDonalds gets into the Halloween spirit.

We headed over to a familiar sight, the golden arches (**we are so world class**) for lunch, and it would probably be the nicest most un-mcdonalds-looking-McDonalds I've ever seen. Ash and I tried the baked apple pie, which is soo much nicer than the Aussie deep fried version! McDonalds is a rare treat as there is not one in Jasper. Not that there's not a steady barrage of deep fried, artery clogging options to choose from, but either way it was nice to eat something a little more familiar.

Our new friend Ashlee!

We had a quick look throughout the mall and then realised we had to make tracks back to Jasper to return the rental. So off we went. We made it back juuust in time (**ok, maybe 10 minutes late!**) and caught a cab home. SO, today, I:

1. Drove a left-side drive car on the right-hand side of the road safely.
2. Shopped at Walmart.
3. Watched an ice hockey game.
4. Spent way too much money!

And tonight, we are heading out to watch the local ice hockey team the Jasper Wolves play at the activity center. (yes, I spelt it that way deliberately because that's what it is here.) What a good day!
Also, write to us!! PO box 2253, Jasper, AB, Canada T0E-1E0.

Lv b.

P.s.... one cool thing about Walmart I forgot to mention? They sell the following:

Yep. Scrubs.