Mid-June 2026
Whistlers Campground had elk that hung out here every day! It was pretty cool. You never knew where they’d be, but it was a thrill when we looked out our windows or stepped outside, and there they were!
Site for our first night…It was a great, level and roomy site with a direct path to great showers. However, we changed sites for the next two nights because this site was a “fire pit site” that has an extra charge each night for that. We are not going to be having a fire…the wood is all wet right now.
Of course the morning we have a shuttle bus tour with Maligne Adventure to catch, we have elk in front and behind Sadie! So cool, but we were almost late! LOL
Hoary Marmot–this stump was a frequented spot in the morning and afternoon sunshine.
Barry booked a shuttle bus and boat tour to and from our campground to the Maligne Lake boat tour. Whistlers Campground was the first stop for the shuttle which allowed us the front two seats on the “passenger side”. Our driver/guide was Logan. We really lucked out getting such a knowledgeable and personable guide!
We saw a couple of elk cows on our way to the additional pick-up locations.
Which turned out to be about 5 elk – all female!
But wait-next a baby calf emerged!
TWO calves…
Seeing these two young calves was such a treat! Logan told us that female elk are the source of the majority of human injuries -even over moose and bear! The elk cow is especially aggressive at this time of year since they are birthing their calves. He told us that these two calves are likely only a couple of weeks old. Calves are born much smaller but quickly grow.
Beauvert Lake…
Another elk! Beautiful setting!
We arrived at Beauvert Lake to pick-up the last guests from the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge for today’s adventure. (You could feel the money here!) Here Logan pointed out a marmot, and a ground squirrel. I think this was the Columbian ground squirrel.
As a bird biologist, Logan identified various birds people simply heard-both near and distant throughout the day. He definitely has a passion for nature. He was always in true conversation with us, never just delivering a script. He provided so much additional information and insight when you asked a follow-up and unrelated question anytime throughout the ride/tour. We loved it!
MORE ELK alongside the road as we headed towards Medicine Lake. I wasn’t all that excited seeing it was “just a cow elk”, but then we saw a couple bulls. These guys were more mature than the ones in our campground!
STOP at Medicine Lake
Medicine Lake was originally named Bad Medicine Lake by the indigenous people because of the baffling, supernatural ability it appeared to have for the high water level in the spring to just go way low within just 2 or 3 months without a visible outlet. Medicine Lake has fractures that are hidden most of the time under the surface of the water within the limestone. As the level drops you can hear the water draining in some areas. To the indigenous people it was viewed as a bad omen.
There were two bald eagle nests here along the shore. The higher one is an older, abandoned nest. The newer, lower one currently had two bald eagle eaglets in it. A parent was perched in a nearby tree.
The eaglets were about 7 weeks old. In another two weeks they will start flapping and fledgling to develop their wings and body for flight. About 10 weeks they will start short flights and trying to find food, but the parents will still feed them as necessary. Barry and I have watched Shadow and Jackie from Big Bear California via YouTube over the past few years, so this was really cool to us to see these in person up here.
Logan pointed out various species of squirrels, marmot and chipmunks today.
I thought this little guy was a chipmunk. This one is actually a yellow-mantled ground squirrel! (Thank you, Logan!). Here he is enjoying a snack…
Below is the yellow-pine chipmunk. His body was even smaller than the yellow-mounted ground squirrel above. Notice the stripes also on the head/face. The white flowering plants here at Medicine Lake are wild strawberries. (Thanks, again, Logan!) This little chipmunk really likes them!
Dandelions are especially liked by bears. I wish I could show a picture or video of that, but no luck for seeing any bears today.
MALIGNE LAKE and SPIRIT ISLAND!
Maligne Lake Boat Tour. What a beautiful boat ride. Asher was our boat guide. He pointed out the Maligne Glacier.
The two prominent peaks above: Mt. Charlton – on the left, and in the center of the picture is Mt. Unwin.
We docked at Spirit Lake where there was a 5-minute walking loop for spectacular views of the lake! We were trying to take a selfie-but somehow this is where a bump to my right arm caused me to drop my phone off the edge. The lookout where my phone went over the railing…
My NEW iPhone 17 (for this epic trip) bounced a couple of times down the hill, but stopped in some brush near a little tree. My heart sank as I let out an expletive! I felt sick, but my hero came to my rescue! Barry remained calm reassuring me “we” would get it. He carefully scrambled down the hill. People above helped direct him towards the phone. GOT IT!!! He was getting his picture taken by people up on the platform as well as those at the shoreline below. I took his hero picture with his phone that he entrusted to me before clambering down after mine!
Afterwards, we had someone take our picture with Spirit Island in the background instead of trying a selfie. 🙂 Perfect!
It was time to head back.
There’s just something about being on the water and being surrounded by such majestic beauty!
Whoops, I accidentally get in “portrait” setting sometimes, then the background is blurred. 🙁 But Barry sure looks great!!)
As we approached the docking area I got a huge adrenal rush!!! There was a young MALE MOOSE standing in the water over near the shore! OMG. This is the picture we both wanted!! Being on the open deck at the back of the boat, I had a great vantage point from the water- although it was distant. But all of a sudden we were in a mass of tiny gnats or some kind! I could not hold my phone still. I did my best…
As soon as we could get off the boat, we raced over to the path that went near the shoreline where we could get more pictures. The moose was grazing between the lake and the walking path! This was so cool!
We had to skedaddle back to the shuttle. No time to shop or eat, but the moose experience and getting some pictures took priority! Glad we packed a lunch with us that we could eat on the bus!
Logan stopped off at another place where he thought we might see a bear, but it was also a warmer day than they’ve had. He said that the bears haven’t fully lost their winter coat yet, and that the warmer temperature was likely keeping them out of the sun.
Last wildlife for the day. As we were heading to Maligne Canyon Overlook a side road had this small band of juvenile mountain goats! They were licking the salt off the rocks.
Earlier today Logan informed us about the disastrous 2024 Jasper forest fire, and how it was more of a disaster for the people of Jasper than to the animals. Fires are nature’s way of regenerating the earth and giving nutrients back into the soil to allow regrowth. Forest vary in age and density. The oldest ones in the area are the most dense and will be more susceptible to a fire. If they have trees killed by the pine beetle they provide even more fuel for a fire, and will cause it to burn even hotter. Those fires can create a fire tornado just like the 2024 fire did. The winds of the 2024 Jasper fire were up to 200 km per hour! It was the tornado fire winds that wiped out huge areas of the trees and the homes in the southern part of Jasper! The people of Jasper are just now making it back with homes and condos being reconstructed at the south end of town. For the forests lost It takes about 30 years to mature to a forest at the pre-fire heights and density.
We stopped at the Maligne Canyon Overlook. Here you could really see where the force of the fire tornado simply pushed the huge span of trees down.
The curious curve to the edge of the cliff in the distance was formed by a glacier.
Walking back to the shuttle, we went by brush and shrubs. Nothing that really would make you stop. However, Logan pointed out a larva caterpillar worm on a leaf. The white maze was so cool. From a distance it just looked like bird had hit the leaf with its poop shoot! The tiny worm was at the end of the squiggles. Some leaves had a maze over its entire surface.
Barry and I were fascinated and looked at several more leaves.
What a spectacular day!! Money well spent! We truly lucked out to have such a knowledgeable guide!
More elk the next day at our new campsite at Whistlers Campground! This time this cow was right outside Barry’s window! She and Barry were about as close to being eye-to-eye as you could get. 🙂 Watch her consume a bunch of dandelions! She stops momentarily to pee, and then resumes her feast. You can even see her swallow completely!
Evidently bears aren’t the only ones who love these greens! Why not? While living in Washington I occasionally added clean dandelion greens to our salads.
Thanks for the great pictures. You both rock.
Jerry & Belinda