Spirit Island and Bears and Smoke and Laundromats and Good Coffee

How's that for a title? It's 11:00 a.m., and it's laundry day. That's why I waited until now to post. I knew I'd have a little time. Each laundromat has its own personality. I happen to really dig this one! In fact, I think it's possible to bring this business plan to St. Louis...more on that it a minute.

Before heading out yesterday, we got a quick bite at Jasper Brewing Co. Elk carpaccio, wings, and a wild boar bahn mi:

Yesterday, we headed out to see more wildlife and to visit Spirit Island, one of the most photographed places in Canada. In fact Kodak, introducing a new film and put a picture of this at Union Station in NYC. There's more to that story, but I didn't listen to our guide very well. I was too busy gawking. As we rode out to the lake, we saw the effects of the wildfires in British Columbia. Everything was covered in a thin veil of smoke. It made for pictures that were less than stellar, but it's still hard to beat the mountains in the haze. We took an hour boat ride on Maligne Lake to the island. and saw more glaciers along the way.

Here are a couple other shots from that ride:

Aaaaand the money shot:

Spirit Island

The haze from the smoke and the clouds rolling in blow out the background, but even in that condition, it's beautiful!

On our way up, we saw bears! Two in a meadow, munching on grass and one on the side of the road eating up berries!

By the time we got back into Jasper, the full on smoke had settled in. Mountains we could see very clearly were barely visible:

That leads me to today. The smoke is still here. (I didn't take a picture this morning.) Additionally, there's a seventy percent chance of rain. This does not make for great mountain viewing. What is does do is give a chance to do our laundry...at the Snowdome Coffee Bar and Laundromat--pure genius. This joint is jumpin'! Nestled in the corner is a coffee bar:

I intentionally snuck in the washer on the left. 

They serve great coffee, muffins, cookies, and bars:

A place like this forces the person who can afford a $3.50 cup of coffee to mingle, if not with just a sideways glance, with folks who are using the laundromat. Granted, most of us using the laundromat are travelers...backpacking, granola-eating, hostel-staying folks mixed in with folks like us, who very well could be staying in above average hotels. They offer free wi-fi for customers, and a washroom that doubles as a place to take a hot shower for the back-packing crowd. Like I said--genius!

And now we're off to the next adventure!