Jasper is an intimate community that originated as a railway town that just happens to be in the middle of some of the most gorgeous protected wilderness in the world!
It’s cute little town that has the mountain town that makes you want to just walk around and window shop.
WHAT WE DID IN TOWN:
TRAIN WATCH:
Case just so happened to be obsessed with trains at the time so we sat and watched the large Canadian Rockies trains load up and go by.
ICE CREAM:
We had to stop and get ice cream at a cute little shop on Main Street called Granma’s Place. Delicious.
VISITOR CENTER
We’re a sucker for wanting to meet the rangers and talk to them about the area and what is best to know. We always seek out the visitor centers whenever we can! Jaspers was beautiful.
BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS:
The town was FILLED with hanging baskets down the streets and on every home. It was just so charming.
OTHER IDEAS:
If you would like to learn more about the town of Jasper and what else you can do, Click here to go to their website.
BACK TO:
Click here to return to our Complete Guide to Banff and Jasper National Park
It was charming and perfect with the moss covered tress and soft moss covered earth all around.
The huge trees covered by moss really made a nice separation between each site so it felt like we were more secluded.
After lots of research we chose to camp in the Wapiti Campground. After driving around to some other campgrounds we were happy with our choice and would stay their again. Wabasso Campground would be our 2nd (if you’re wondering).
We felt like it was a mix of Glacier National Park and the Pacific Northwest as well.
We saw a huge Elk 🦌 at the kitchen shelter that was around 5-6 point bull! And a few Black bears in our campground as well! Oh, and let’s not forget the endless hot showers for FREE.
They also had a nice fun playground for the kids!
Alberta parks seriously have it going on. We felt spoiled.
COST:
$25/night – tent site
$45/night – electrical hookups
AMENITIES:
Wapiti Campground is a year round campground offering private sites for tenting and electrical hook up spots for RV’s. In the summer months the campground boasts 362 sites and during the winter months it offers 93 sites. Visitors can enjoy amenities such as hot showers, electricity and fire rings. The campground can accommodate most motorhomes and trailers.
LOCATION/ DETAILS:
On the shore of the Athabasca River and off Highway 93, Wapiti Campground located in Jasper National ParK.
We booked our campground sites in July when we went in September, so if you don’t have to plan too far in advance.
FAVORITE CAMPGROUND APPS/ SITES
You can take a look at what is around you and choose a campground or wild camp for free. These 2 apps are great. (ioverlander is best for international and wild camp travel)
Maligne Canyon is the deepest canyon in the Rockies! It looked and felt like we were in the Pacific Northwest surrounded by mist and covered in moss.
Maligne river, that originates at Maligne lake flows underground from Medicine lake, until it reaches Maligne Canyon. At the canyon, carved into the Palliser Formation — a layer of limestone deposited in a shallow tropical sea by lime-secreting plankton, the underground streams join force, to become the mighty flowing water that still whittles the canyon away. Maligne canyon has a depth of more more than of 50 m at certain points.
It was so neat to be able to see. It’s a great “hike” for kids. All the walks are paved and really nice. It was overcast and raining while we were there so the walks were a little slick. The farther you go in the steeper the walks get, it was even more beautiful and green in person.
LENGTH:
Distance 3.7 km (from the Sixth Bridge one way) 2.3miles
Allocate 1 to 3 hours.
TRAIL DETAILS & GPS COORDINATES:
Depending on your time and agility, you can choose from a variety of hiking options. There are three ways to access Maligne Canyon.
From the main parking lot near the tea house and the Hi Maligne Canyon Lodge, which gives you access to the first bridge. GPS : 52.920728,-117.999004
From fifth bridge. GPS: 52.9214565, -118.0168955
The sixth bridge. If you start from here, you will be doing the full loop. GPS: 52.933431,-118.030225
The spectacular canyon views are near the first and second bridge. There are trails on either side of the canyon. The tallest waterfall is near the second bridge. If you are short on time, cross the first bridge, walk along the canyon ridge and then cross back at the second bridge and turn back.
If you want to see the Maligne Canyon at its best, go till fifth bridge (at least till fourth if short on time). 4.4 km return with 100 m elevation gain.
The advantage of hiking up from fifth or sixth bridge is that you will be able to avoid the crowds in high season.The distance from the fifth bridge to sixth bridge is ~1.6 km. This is a shared trail (bike + horseback riding)
The trail head to 2.1 km flower loop and the 15.5 km(one way ) Overlander trail starts at the sixth bridge.
THINGS TO DO:
Hike down the canyon from the parking lot near the tea house and observe the natural rock formations and large dry potholes.
Walk along the rim of the canyon to the subsequent bridges, reading the interpretive displays: Enjoy a lesson in geology.
Marvel at the deep canyon, the water falls and the power of the churning, swirling river that created it, from the first and second bridges. Notice the water that disappeared at the Medicine Lake flowing into the Maligne Canyon through the underground cave system from the fourth bridge.
Observe the mosses, the lichens on the canyon walls . Try to spot American dipper as it swoops down to feed on underwater insects, check for Black swift and raven nests on the canyon walls.
Observe the river becoming wider and the river gaining in water volume by the time you reach the sixth bridge (due to more water from underground lakes), near the junction of Maligne and Athabasca river.
Enjoy Aurora-gazing / stargazing at Maligne Canyon during Jasper Dark Sky Festival – 2016 Dates: October 8, 15 (moon viewing), 19, 22, 29 | 10:30 PM
LOCATION:
Maligne Canyon sits at the gateway to Jasper’s Maligne Valley, just minutes from Jasper and home to some of region’s most breathtaking scenery and iconic adventures. Named for its haunting atmosphere, Maligne Canyon is the deepest canyon in the park, dropping to a depth of more than 50m at some points. Six bridges built across the canyon allow hikers of all abilities to explore this incredible natural landmark.
DIRECTIONS:
To get to the Maligne Canyon Trailhead, follow Highway 16 towards Edmonton; go 1.8 km past the east Jasper exit to the Maligne Road. On the Maligne lake road go 2.1 km and then turn left at the Sixth Bridge sign. If you want to shorten the hike a little you can turn left at the fifth bridge(at 2.9 km), or just go straight to the Maligne Canyon itself(at 6.1 km). *The hike from the sixth bridge would be considered a must from our point of view.
Maligne Adventures : 3 hours – Rate/ Price:$65.00 +GST; Youth (7-14): $32.50 + GST. GST extra. Not recommended for children under 7.
Sun dog tours : 3 hours – Adult: $65.00 & Child (6 -12): $29.00 + GST. Not recommended for children under 6.
Maligne Canyon Ice Walk on Your Own (DIY)
If planning to do the Ice walk in Maligne Canyon on your own, get waterproof snow boots and fit it with ice cleats/crampons/micro spikes. Plan for two hours. Please make sure that you are in a group. It is good to do it on a guided tour.
Park at the parking lot near the tea house and walk till the fifth bridge, enjoying the frozen waterfalls and ice sculptures on the canyon rim as you peer down the canyon from the rim. The winter hiking trail for Maligne canyon ice walk starts near the fifth bridge. Follow the frozen river, and walk up the river into the canyon.
Walk on the frozen river bed enjoying the astonishing natural ice sculptures, and frozen water falls. Watch the ice climbers making their way up. Turn back once you reach the third bridge. You can continue further, but it is safer to turn back at this point especially if you are alone.
Another option is to park near the fifth bridge, and enter the canyon from here for the Maligne canyon ice walk.
BACK TO:
Click here to return to our Complete Guide to Banff and Jasper National Park
Case is a big helper, cuddly, silly guy that keeps us all laughing with his quick witty remarks that come out of no where and are hilarious. I don’t know where he comes up with half of it.
INTERVIEW WITH MOM:
WHAT I GAVE UP FOR FULL TIME TRAVEL: All my socks. (Again, he always says things to just get a laugh out of us… and you bet that one had us all rolling!)
DREAMS OF: Living in a Candy World so he can eat everything candy. And living in a Pokemon world so I can catch Pokemon in real life and BATTLE!
WANTS TO LEARN: To do a Backflip – Learn about Cars – Talk to animals – How to swim – Karate
EXCITED TO SEE ALONG THE PANAM: Sloths, Penguins, and Baby Sea Turtles hatching!
FAVORITE GEAR: Fishing Rod
LATEST LOVES: Beanie Boos, Guns and Swords
FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE VAN: His own Room – his bunkbed.
MOST NERVOUS ABOUT: I don’t want to die (He’s overheard conversations with our family and their fears… They’ve scared him)
WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT LIVIGN ON THE ROAD? We play games a lot and have more fun. I also like to stop and look at places.
Below we explain the Meal Plan Guide in more detail and give a few more planning tips.
ORGANIZE YOUR THOUGHTS
FIRST: ASK YOURSELF
WHERE ARE YOU CAMPING?
Where you are staying will play a part in what kind of meals you are preparing. Will you be camping in a campground, staying in a hotel, or backpacking to a lake? Knowing where you will be helps to organize your thoughts on what amenities will be available, to better prepare what you want to cook.
WHAT ADVENTURES ARE YOU GOING ON?
Keeping track of what you have tentatively planned helps create a meal that aligns with your daily adventures and timeline. Quick meals are perfect for long adventurous days and longer prep meals are better saved for low key days.
So, where are you going?
Not sure where you want to go yet? Check out our Adventure Guides to get you excited for what is out there.
Create a list of meals and snacks you like for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and of course some Sweet Treats.
KEEP IT SIMPLE TO KEEP IT FUN
We have created a free printable Favorite Meals Brainstorm List you can use to help list all your ideas together in one place with some practical notes included as well.
PRACTICAL NOTE:You can camp and eat for the same amount as you would eating at home. Yes, it is possible to stay within your weekly food budget. It is super easy to overspend on a weekend camping trip and come home with a lot of food you didn’t’ eat. All too often we get excited when going on a trip and the impulse buys add up quickly.
Think about it – if you stay within your weekly food budget then your Adventure Budget just increased.
After you assign your meal – create your shopping and packing list you need for those meals.
Don’t list the same item twice. Go to the item previously written on your shopping list and add a x2 and so on.
Don’t forget to write in PENCIL.
YOU’RE FINISHED
Now get ready to move meals around!
I do not live and die by this list. I am very flexible and move things around a lot.
So be prepared to erase and move meals around on your adventure as new things will always come up and meals will need to be adjusted. As you erase and switch things around it will still keep your thoughts and meals organized and not forgotten. This is more applicable to longer trips.
NEED HELP?
EXAMPLES FROM OUR PAST ADVENTURES:
Included are 2 example Adventure Meal Plan Sheets. I have filled them out and added in my thoughts in ORANGE on how I think and plan.
What should I wear? I like to first ask, what am I going to be doing? Then I take that knowledge and plan my clothes around what adventure I will be doing that day.
THE OTHER BIG QUESTION: What’s the weather going to be like?
If you are using one of our Adventure Guides from our website it will already have a full year average temperature spreadsheet so you know what to expect and plan for.
If you are not using one of outs then just Google it. Just search “What is the average temperature in __________. ” Google will tell you everything you need to know.
ORGANIZE
I actually cut up pieces of paper. On each paper I write; the day, adventure TENTATIVELY planned, and weather predicted. I then pick out my full outfit for the day and place it with the label in my packing cube.
Yes, I am crazy… maybe you’re crazy too.
I write the day only because it helps me organize my clothes by day in my packing cube, but I really grab my clothes by adventure and weather more.
I capitalized tentatively because plans can and will change at some point of the journey.
Weather is important because mountain region weather is all over the place. It could be sunny and hot one day and raining and cold the next.
I have included a label sheet that you can print and cut out and place on your full outfit when packing. No more searching through bags trying to remember what you packed and trying to decide what to wear. Just search for the label with your adventure listed and you’re good to go.
Full outfit includes: everything; shirt, pants, socks, underwear, etc.
I roll my underwear in my pants
Roll my shirt with my socks
Place them in a tight row in my packing cube.
Place the label on top.
If you don’t have a printer then do what I used to do. Rip up a piece of paper you find on your floor or grab a sticky note pad. Whatever works all you need is scrap paper and a pen.
If you do have a printer feel free to print these labels I have listed below.
We’re free to spend all our time together. We’re free to travel the world.
Where did this idea even come from?
Ever wonder… What if we went on an adventure and didn’t come home? What if we just kept exploring, and left all our responsibilities behind…. What would that feel like?
WHAT LIT THE FIRE?
We planned (for about a year) a big 10 day trip to Canada. It’s what we talked about and dreamed about for so long. The trip was better than we ever imagined! It wasn’t even Canada… It was being outdoors, disconnected, with each other for 10 days straight with out any calls from work or ANYONE. We were together. Just us. On the road. No worries.
There was only 1 problem…. Coming home. NO ONE wanted that feeling and experience to end.
That trip changed us. It lit a fire inside and we couldn’t wait to plan and do it again.
Then the question came….Scott asked “What if we quit our jobs and traveled the Pan American Highway?” I couldn’t believe it… “Quit our jobs?, yeah right! You’re crazy…there’s just no way.” However, after a week I couldn’t shake the thought. “Could we?” “Gosh… what would that be like…?” The next week I told Scott “Lets do it!” and the planning began.
WHERE TO BEGIN?
How to plan a trip through 18 countries?
How much does it even cost??
Is it safe with a family?
I searched the web for everyone who had done it or were doing it and created a spreadsheet of every cost I saw or thought we would have to pay. I then eventually added in excursion prices that gave me a high and low total of what it would cost for us to live for 2 years. We had a goal. A savings goal. We’re guessing it will take about 40k to make it happen.
We eventually figured it out, and are now free.
Free to spend all our time as a family. Free to travel the world.
JOURNAL ENTRIES
Here are some Journal Entries on how we got to this point, and how we made it happen.
EL GATO GORDO: 2008 Dodge / Mercedes Sprinter Van- 170 high roof, 2500 diesel
— If you would like to know more about each build click here.
We’ve included details and links on what we used for our builds, as well as listed our thoughts on why we chose and built each component the way we did.
We hope these guides help you build a camper van now or one day in the future.
If you have any questions feel free to reach out to us. We would love to help you in any way we can.
We started this homeschool or shall we say ROADSCHOOL adventure in January of 2020.
Homeschooling was the one thing I was scared most about traveling full time. The thought gave me fear and anxiety, however it’s turned into something I love, and something that Scott and I CAN actually do.
Yes, we had our doubts and just hoped we wouldn’t ruin them, but the future is looking better each day for these 2 kiddos.
We struggle with a schedule and being consistent when adventures are all around us. The kids struggle with realize and respecting we are their teachers. However, when we do slow down and focusit’s really special and something else we’re never going to forget.
Here are a few curriculums we are using and loving.
This is a place that you can let your imagination take off! These knobby sandstone “goblins” are as far as the eye can see! They are irresistible for kids and adults who love to climb and explore and let their imagination come to life in a place that makes you feel like you’re really on Mars.
Description
Our favorite thing about this park is that it’s free-roaming – no trails. You can go and explore and play all day. It’s huge so even though the parking lot might seem busy, once everyone gets spread out and you head out past the main area then you have the whole place to yourself. There are a lot of fun destinations for families in the world, but how often do you get to take your kids to a place that feels like another planet?
AMENITIES:
Camping, picnic tables, primitive bathrooms, small gift shop and visitor center. Junior Ranger program.
LENGTH:
2+hours
The Valley of Goblins, the most well known attraction, spans nearly 3 square miles that can be explored at your leisure. Beyond that area the park also offers 6 miles of hiking trails as well! We haven’t explored those yet, but would love to one day.
TRAIL DETAILS:
There is a parking and picnic area above Goblin Valley with great views. Parking can fill quickly on busy weekends and school breaks, so arrive early or late in the day to avoid problems. Once you are parked, Goblin Valley is large enough to accommodate everyone.
The picnic area is a covered pavilion with tables. The only bathrooms in the day use area are nearby. Once you walk down into the valley, there will be no bathrooms or trash cans.
Walk down the short gravel path from the picnic area into the hoodoos and unleash your imagination from there!
WEATHER
As you can see, the weather is hot in the summer, and there isn’t a lot of shade unless you hide under the hoodoos. If you would like to venture farther out away from the crowds the sprint and fall is the best time to go, however, the park is open all year round.
COST
Day- use Fees: $15 per vehicle (up to 8 people) Check the official website for updated fee information.
LOCATION
Goblin Valley State Park is located on Highway 24 in southeastern Utah, not too far from Arches, Canyonlands and Capitol Reef National Parks.
DIRECTIONS
24 miles south of I-70 on Highway 24, turn at Temple Mountain junction, follow signs 12 miles to park.
20 miles north of the town of Hanksville on Highway 24, turn at Temple Mountain junction, follow signs 12 miles to park.
GPS COORDINATES
38.5737° N, 110.7071° W
WHAT WE NEEDED
Pack plenty of drinking water, snacks, and a picnic. Check the forecast and dress for the weather. Wear sturdy shoes with some traction. Don’t forget the sunscreen!
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WHERE ARE YOU CAMPING?
WHAT ADVENTURES ARE YOU GOING ON?
