I’ve spent the last couple of night in Jasper National Park, home to the world’s largest Dark Sky Preserve, dedicated to maintaining the darkness of the natural night sky.
This is a scene from Friday night, taken well before darkness, as the waxing Moon shone in the twilight above the Athabasca River and the peaks of the continental divide. For many years in the early 19th century fur traders plied these waters. Now rafters do.
Jasper is far enough north of me that I don’t get there very often. I’ve been spending most of my mountain time in Banff. I realize it’s been a decade or more since I’ve driven all the way up the Icefields Parkway to visit Jasper. But I was happy to be back. It has some great sites for nightscape photography.
I got two clear nights this past weekend, so a few more shots will hit the blog in the next few days.
— Alan, July 29, 2012 / © 2012 Alan Dyer
The Amazing Sky 
Your photos of Jasper bring back wonderful memories. Not only of great times in Jasper when I used to drive their from Edmonton just for coffee but watching you set up your equitment for your deep sky shot. Keep up this great site you have going.
When I drove the Maligne Lake road and passed the Jacques Lake trailhead I thought of our little group’s treks to Jasper and hiking its trails back in the 70s.