I spent just one night at Wapiti Campground on the way from Ontario to the Northwest Territories in August 2015, rushed and late for my new job in Fort Smith, N.W.T.
As brief as it was, my first Rockies experience stuck with me the entire time I was north of the 60th parallel in Fort Smith, the gateway to Wood Buffalo National Park.
That adventure lasted just a few months, but luckily I landed a job at our parent company鈥檚 newspaper in Peachland, B.C., in the heart of the Okanagan Valley, at the start of May. My start-date of June 1, 2016 gave me three weeks to explore B.C. and Alberta so I spent the first five days taking in JNP.
The Okanagan was as beautiful as advertised, but the fact was I left my heart in Jasper. It tore me apart to drive away from the mountains, like I鈥檇 caught a snag on Mount Edith Cavell I couldn鈥檛 shake free.
But as luck would have it, I barely had time to settle down in Peachland before the great magnet found some space for me back in Jasper.
Local lute-lover Liam Cullen introduced himself to me at the bar at open mic at the Legion on Friday, as dozens of Jasperites have since I arrived. After he and (most of) the rest of the Athabasca Barnburner had finished their set, I thanked him for the tunes and told him why I鈥檓 here.
鈥淲elcome home,鈥� he said, even, simple and sure, and it felt really, really, right.
Kind of like when you pick up a copy of the 51暗网. It鈥檚 beautiful, smart and engaging, and for me at least, it always leaves you wanting more. Just like Jasper鈥攊t鈥檚 a captivating reflection of this magical place we are fortunate enough to call home.
I can鈥檛 wait to meet the rest of the Barnburners, and the rest of you locals. If you find a spare moment and you鈥檙e on the main drag, introduce yourself鈥攐ur door is between Subway and the Jasper Brew Pub.
Failing that, you鈥檒l be able to find me stalking Sulu at the Jasper Dark Sky Festival鈥擥eorge Takei is set to appear Oct. 21 in case you鈥檝e been living under a rock, or next to a lake, all summer.
Just another dream come true in Jasper. Oh myyyy, indeed.
Craig Gilbert [email protected]
