The other side of Jasper

Jasper, being a vacation hub for thousands of visitors, has plenty of hotels, restaurants, bars, and gift shops in which to spend your hard-earned discretionary income. Heck, even the Whistlers campground has more than 700 campsites. Like most popular resort towns  most everything is full or as the multitude of signs up here proclaim - "No Vacancy". As my wife Sophie constantly points out to me,gone are the days where you just show up and find accomodation. Prior planning is definitely required for a trip to Jasper and reservations for the campgrounds begin promptly at 12:00 midnight on January 2, 2019. But heads up, the Whistlers campground will be closed for major rennovation in 2019 so you'll have to head for the nearby Wapiti campground which does feature riverside campsites.

Dig a little deeper though and Jasper is still a real town where folks get up and go to work, raise their kids, and live a life apart from the tour bus masses that fill up main street. I took a stroll around the real Jasper and found an eclectic mix of homes and beautiful gardens lovingly maintained. Some date from the 1920's and '30's and most, to this not architecturally savvy observer, seem to be bungalows. Like Denver you do see the occasional scrape-off where someone has torn down the old original and put up a more modern home. And like Denver, Jasper needs to be careful that it doesn't lose its special charm. And charming describes these little bungalows with their immaculate lawns and glorious flowers. Here are two short videos showcasing some of the homes of Jasper,

a place it's easy to fall in love with.