Rocky Mountains - Revisited

Gurneyville and Rocky Mountains
August 31st/September 1st
Gurneyville ... 
Over the past two days we have done over 2,000km.

On Friday we packed a picnic lunch and headed north-east via Elk Island to visit Gurneyville. This is where Janine's grandfather and father lived until they immigrated to Australia. Alex Hall was the postmaster (among other things) and had been granted parcels of land around Lake Muriel after he returned from fighting for the 1st Canadian Rifles in the Boer War.

He named the area 'Gurneyville' after his wife's maiden name.  The area is about 300 kilometres northeast of Edmonton. After over 100 years, there is not a lot there. No sign of the settlement and with the Lake receding, it's hard to find any landmarks. There is a 'Rustic RV Park' close to the lake shore, but even it seemed overgrown and somewhat abandoned.

The local museum in nearby Bonneville didn't really have much information - but it was great to finally be in the area where the family came from.



On Saturday we decided to head back to Jasper and the Rocky Mountains to take a second look at the Rockies without smoke. Whilst the round trip involved 10 hours of driving, Diane was happy to get behind the wheel again. The forecast was good and we finally experienced the magnificence of the mountains.

I'll let the attached images tell the story.

Today, Sunday, is a rest day. Phew!

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