We fished for large-mouth bass with friends Mike and Kathy Campion at Camp 400, where they and 9 other families who own 400 acres and pristine little Bass Lake, have tended over their northern Minnesota property and cottages for more than 40 years.  A serene, pastoral place, if ever there was one!

Camp 400 and Little Bass Lake near Merrifield, MN.

The dock at the cabin of Mike and Kathy Campion.

Mike is getting ready to fish for large-mouth bass.

Mike and Kathy have a beautiful place to relax.

We caught the bass…

… and cleaned the bass.

… and cooked the bass

… and ate the bass!

… And then we watched this loon and world go by! 🙂

We head to Edmonton tomorrow.  We ate tonight in downtown Jasper.  See the mountains in the background.

Sunday night dinner at the park in downtown Jasper. Great view of the mountains from anywhere in Jasper.

Just before we set up for dinner we were driving on the highway 93 (the Ice Field Parkway) about 5 miles south of Jasper.  Suddenly we saw a grizzly foraging alongside of the road.  We pulled over as did LOTS of other people.  The biggest danger is the traffic jam and the real possibility that someone will get hit by a vehicle.

One man ran close to the grizzly with his camera and the bear charged him.  Grizzlies can do a bluff/charge and this is what happened.  The man bolted back across the highway without looking.  The guy was incredibly unwise getting so close.  Suddenly a Canadian park ranger pulls up and blares over his loud-speaker, “Everyone get in your vehicles … now.”

Geesh … but what a sight.  Our car happened to be the closest one to the grizzly.  Wow…

We made it up the spectacular Ice Field Parkway.  It’s a 4-and-a-half drive where wild life and glacier dance in unison…

Standing on the east side of Lake Louise, with the Canadian Rockies behind us. Almost every hiker we met had bear spray strapped to his side. You can see mine under my Banff t-shirt on my left side.

Lake Louise… Nope, this is not a painting. Someone actually created this.

Picturesque waterfall on this afternoon’s hike.

Oatmeal and french toast both this morning!

This is the Athabasca glacier. Solid ice 10 feet thick for miles.