That was 75 minutes I will never forget.
Feast at Loulou's Pizzeria
After we got back and showered it was time to find food. We ended up at Loulou's where, as usual, we ordered a feast.
The food wasn't anything incredible, but for a bunch of hungry runners it was more than sufficient.
I'm pretty sure there was an omelette, an egg sandwich, and a yogurt parfait. With lots of toast and peanut butter.
Shopping in Jasper
After we ate we walked along the main street in Jasper checking out all the shops. I bought myself an amazing plastic all-in-one utensil that I have gotten a ton of use out of in all of my travels/flights!
We also stopped at SnowDome Coffee Bar which is an awesome laundromat/coffee shop where we got iced Americanos that really hit the spot.
I also bought wooden stud earrings that look like little mountains and I have worn them 98% of the days since I've been back. I am obsessed with them.
Lake Maligne Lake Cruise
Prior to leaving for Canada (okay, months and months in advance as is my style), we had booked "Jasper Explorer" combo packages through Brewster tours. This got us reservations with the Lake Maligne Lake Cruise and the Glacier Adventure ($140).
The drive from Jasper town to the Lake Maligne Lake Cruise was stunning and when we arrived we checked in and boarded the boat right on time.
Our tour guide was personable and knowledgeable and dropped some interested perspective on forest fires - while they're scary for people living in the area and detrimental to tourism - they're actually part of the life-cycle of any forest!
It was a beautiful day for a boat cruise (I picked the last departure for the day since I like late-afternoon light best for pictures!) and as we made our way to Spirit Island our tour guide pointed on glaciers and other notable parts of the surrounding Lake Maligne landscape.
When we arrived at Spirit Island we were given some time to get off the boat and walk around - taking our own version of the iconic photograph that made Spirit Island famous.
A Kodak photographer, Peter Gales, found this remote location and took a picture that would come to be used as part of a giant photo display in Grand Central Station throughout the 1940s.
It seemed a little silly at the time - that this entire boat cruise exists so that people can see the island from the famous photograph - but once we were on shore looking out at Spirit Island, I had to admit it was beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that I had my own picture printed on metal and plan on hanging it in my room!