On four instances of good luck in Jasper

Www.Tekarracolorlab.com

Remember that URL. If you are ever in need of camera help in Jasper, go to Tekarra Color on Patricia Street.

My camera had been giving me battery overheating warnings the instant I turned it on despite the fact I have just replaced the batteries. I had been thinking on sending the camera, the spare batteries and the charger ahead to Saskatoon along with other unwanted bits. I was ambling along and popped into Tekarra Color camera shop to see if someone there could fix the issue. I pointed out a little corrosion on one of the connections as being a possible cause of the problem. The gentleman behind the counter was so sure, but instead cleaned the connections with a swab anointed in a cleaning solution. After replacing the batteries, the camera seemed to work normally.

Today, I biked up to Maligne Canyon partly by mountain bike trails. Maligne Canyon in some senses is the opposite of the Grand Canyon being very much smaller but all the more remarkable as at some points it is something like 60 meters deep but only 2 meters wide. I could jump it! The camera got a good work out.

I biked back along more mountain bike trails and the Fairmount Jasper Park Lodge. The latter has the initials JPL and may explain why I overheard a woman yesterday talk about having worked at JPL which meant to me at the time “Jet Propulsion Laboratory,” a part of NASA.

At a section of single track trail, I met an Englishwoman going the other way, having just come up a rise. She stopped and from he glances backwards she was waiting for somebody to catch up. I didn’t want to meet the person in mid-hill, so I pulled off to wait. Thankfully, I did as the Englishwoman commented that someone had lost a shoe. I turned around to see one of my sandals on the trail, despite having firmly put a cord through it. I thanked her profusely which with she said was nothing. I replied that I’d once had a nervous break-down triggered by losing a pair of sandals. (In Eastend, Saskatchewan to precise.)

I went downtown to investigate various ways to spend my afternoon. I stopped into Tekarra Color on Patricia Street to thank the man who had cured my camera. Before I did so, he looked at me and asked if had been in yesterday. I said yes, you fixed my camera and I am here to thank you for it. He reached beside the cash and produced my helmet mounted rear view mirror. It had been in my convertible handlebar bag/fanny pack where my camera had been stored. Evidently, it had fallen out. I noticed its absence from the bag earlier in the day but assumed it was back at the Hostel. I thanked him profusely and promised to say nice things about the place on my blog.

Remember: Www.Tekarracolorlab.com, Tekarra Color on Patricia Street in Jasper.

I returned to the Hostel to sort out bits to send to Saskatoon and shower. A Philippino couple from Los Angeles arrived as I sorted through my clobber. They were interested and moderately amazed by my cycle-touring.

I returned to the downtown area to mail my duffle bag, pedal wrench and the extra clothes I brought for the Train ahead. I bought a sandwich for tomorrow’s lunch and wandered in to an outdoor store in search for a bandanna. They didn’t have one. However, as I was about to leave, I noticed they had Tilley Hats including one in a size and colour for me in order to replace my old one which went AWOL some time ago. I have been relying on a old black U.S. Army pattern BDU cap which has some unfortunate connections and doesn’t cover my ears or the back of my neck. So I now have a proper hat for times when the helmet isn’t needed.

The Icefields Parkway tomorrow.