Road trip issues

I had planned to go to Jasper, Alberta for the Easter weekend. I had booked my room well ahead of time on February 20, 2018 and got a really good rate. I had planned on leaving early on March 30, taking Highway 1 from Calgary to Lake Louise, then Highway 93 north to Jasper. It seems that every time I plan a weekend trip this year something weather related comes up. This better not happen in August.

There was a snowfall warning for a large part of western Alberta as well. I debated with myself, where I kind of had a few "should I stay or should I go" moments. No guts, no glory. I left Thursday night, north on Highway 2, and stayed overnight in Leduc area at my cousin's place. Friday morning I headed west on Highway 16 towards Jasper. I got as far as Evansburg where that part of the highway was closed. Apparently someone committed a murder in Calgary, got as far as Evansburg where he was killed in a shootout with the RCMP the day before. One officer had his head grazed by a bullet in the exchange. They were still processing the scene. A detour of what seemed like ten miles and I was back on the highway.

There was a bit of a snowstorm. Along the way there was a weather alert stating that the RCMP did not advise highway travel in the Hinton area. You have to go through Hinton to get to Jasper. Jasper is about a half hour from Hinton. Well, I travelled this far. By the time I got to Hinton the highway was slushy and it was snowing. Nothing seriously bad. So I kept going.

Nice bare highway until I got about ten miles to Jasper. Then nasty icy road conditions. I passed one vehicle in the ditch and one flipped on its roof. The Jasper Park Lodge is just barely outside Jasper. I was not staying there. I was definitely stopping there. I got a seat in the lounge and ordered a beer. At that point I felt I deserved one as some kind of reward for getting there.

The next day was fantastic weather. Whatever snow or ice there was on the highways around Jasper quickly disappeared. 

Jasper is always worth it.