Day 23: On the Alaska Highway

We got an early start, both of us having woken up early with the time change.  Leaving Crooked River State Park, we headed north toward Dawson Creek.  The terrain was rolling hills with many beautiful small lakes and streams. For awhile we returned to some significant mountains, but nothing as rugged as the ones we saw last week.   At Chetwynd we stopped to look at some of the amazing chain-saw sculptures that line the streets of that town; then we picked up a few groceries and filled the gas tank before cutting through on Route 29, the Hudson's Hope loop.  

Much of this route was logging country so while there were some pretty areas, there were other sections that were clear-cut and fairly ugly. Once we got to the section along the Peace River, it was a bit nicer, and at the end of Route 29, we finally reached the Alaska Highway.

We had thought of stopping at a provisional park near that intersection, but it was early afternoon, so we pressed on.  Probably a mistake.  At the first place we stopped for the night, Pink Mountain, they were totally booked, but the woman suggested we try Sikanni River Campground about 20 miles further along.  And yes, we could stay there, but the regular sites were all taken, so we are parked behind the little office/camp store with a view out one side of the back of the building and a view out the other of the campground woodpile and shed.  The manager was kind enough to run a drop cord out the back so we have 15-amp electric, and yes, we finally have wi-fi, though our cell phones show nothing.  
The Alaska Highway is two-lane with none of the passing lanes found on earlier routes. There are many, many large trucks, including log trucks and--more common---trucks related to the booming natural gas and oil business up here.  In fact, much of this campground is taken up with "riggers" who are working temporarily on the oil rigs, leaving not much space for vacationers.  I suspect that will be the case for the next few days along the route.  Getting behind any of these big trucks slows down progress considerably.

We'll try for an early start in the morning, in hopes of getting a space at one of the provisional parks along the road ahead.

While I have wi-fi, I'll try to post a few pictures from the past week.

Lake Louise

Athabasca Falls, along the Icefield Parkway

Dan and Ranger on the Bow River Trail, near Lake Louise tent camping area

Lake Annette, outside Jasper

Day 22: Jasper through Prince George

This is one of those “what a difference one day of driving makes” entries.  We are in a different province (British Columbia), a different time zone (Pacific), and a different environment.

We left Jasper early, filling up the gas tank since the next available gas station was over 90 miles away.  We were surrounded by the rugged, snowy, rocky mountains that we had been experiencing for the past week, taking Route 16, the Yellowhead Highway, named for the one of the blond-haired early trappers who looked strange to the native people. (We also went through the town of Tete Jaune, same origin, but from the French perspective.)   There was a fair amount of road construction along the way, so it was somewhat slow going.  We passed Mount Robson, the tallest peak in the Canadian Rockies, and the mountains started becoming rounder, greener, and smaller.  Two rows of them defined the Robson Valley, a dairy-farming area. 

Much of what we drove through was very remote, with few houses or towns.  There were many marshy lakes and fast-running creeks.  Road signs warned to watch out for moose on the highway, and we didn’t see any moose but we did see one black bear and one coyote. 

Original plans were to stay near the small city of Prince George, but we arrived there in early afternoon (given the time change) and it seemed too early to pull in, so we filled the gas tank again and headed north on Route 97.  About 50 miles north of Prince George, we pulled in at Crooked River Provincial Park, on Bear Lake. 

This is our first experience with a provincial park, and so far it is positive.  There are no electric or water hookups, but there are very clean restrooms and tidy campsites with gravel base and picnic tables.  The sign at the entry said to select a site and “an attendant will come by to collect the fee”.  Very trusting. (The very young attendant did come by a few hours later to take our $16 and fill out the necessary paperwork.)

After setting up, I took Ranger for a walk around the campground loop and came upon a man from California.  He had turned in at the entrance to the park just ahead of us, and we had followed his truck and trailer around while selecting a site.  I asked where in California he was from, and (another of those “small world” situations) he was from Santa Cruz, where my sister and brother-in-law live and where Kelly completed her undergraduate degree.  He and his wife had left there on May 1, heading for Alaska, and they are now on their way home.  They chose to tour by connecting with a caravan of visitors with a tour guide who explained various sites along the way via two-way radio and who made all the arrangements for campgrounds and so forth.  He stated that Alaska was definitely worth the trip, not at all a let-down after all the planning and driving.  He also gave us several tips of “must-see” places, including Dawson City BC and Valdez AK. 

Ranger and I relaxed while Dan did some bird-watching along the lake (with good results, finally---many more birds here than at higher elevations).  With the time change, it was an early bedtime for us both before continuing on to Dawson Creek tomorrow. 

Day 21: Relaxing day in Jasper

We stayed around the campground on this Sunday.  As we were going to be plugged in all day, I started dinner in the crock-pot…easy dinners from leftovers for the next few nights.  It rained on and off all day, just gentle steady rain, but between showers we were able to take Ranger for a walk around the perimeter of the campground, almost a two-hour walk with stops to watch birds.  There are many more birds here than we’ve seen in the past few weeks, though nothing unusual or spectacular: robins, crows, ravens, mountain chickadees, juncos, pileated woodpeckers, and such. We also saw several groups of elk along the way.

We ate dinner sitting around the campfire, and when we had had enough of the fire, Dan went to see whether the people in the next site would like to take our remaining firewood while I did the clean-up.  When he hadn’t returned in quite a long time, I went over, and we ended up having a conversation with a family from Denmark who had flown over and rented an RV.  Dan asked whether they had ever travelled in the US, and the man replied that he had lived in Maine for about three years.  I asked where in Maine, and when he said, “a small marine science center on the coast”, Dan and I both said, “Darling Marine Center!”  Yes, the man had earned his PhD there, the same place Kelly went for hers.  He was there a number of years before her and now teaches microbiology and toxicology at a university in Denmark.  Small world!

After a week of enjoying the Canadian Rockies, we will be spending more time driving this week, with over 1100 miles to go before we reach Alaska.  No specific plans for the coming days---just drive and stop for the night when we feel like it.  Next weekend will be spent in Tok, Alaska!

Day 20: Jasper

Our friend Helmut described Jasper as “the prettiest place in the Rockies”, and he was probably right. (We haven’t seen it all yet!) 

When I made reservations for this campground, I was not able to get three consecutive nights in one site, so we had to move one site over, in the same loop, for the second night.  Since we had to unplug and pack up anyway, we took the opportunity to drive around the Jasper area a bit before returning to Whistlers Campground.

We started out in the town of Jasper, which really is charming: building styled with logs and stone, lots of flowers, and interesting little shops.   We did a bit of grocery shopping, then wandered the downtown for awhile.  We then drove to Lake Annette and Lake Edith, taking Ranger on a walk around the former, which was incredibly blue and had perfectly clear water.  In contrast to previous places we have visited we saw some birds, including a loon and some warblers. 

After lunch we followed a narrow road up the mountain to Patricia Lake and Pyramid Lake, with no stops because the other cars were many and the parking spaces few. 

Returning to the campsite, we set up again and then I went out on my bicycle to explore the campground.  Of note here are the elk which walk freely through the sites; I saw three on my bicycle ride.  It was a pleasant evening for hamburgers cooked over the campfire and a few cold beers, before the late night rain set in. 

Day 19: Lake Louise to Jasper,, and a Happy 4th of July to all!

No fireworks, no parade…but the best day yet on the road!

We got up early to try to beat the crowds at Lake Louise, and that strategy worked.  We easily got a parking space and set off to finally see the lake.  It was well worth the wait!  Gorgeous blue-green alpine lake surrounded by mountains, including a glacier at its far end.  The stuff from which picture postcards are made!  If I ever win the lottery, I’m going to stay at the Chateau Lake Louise for awhile and just stare at that view.  According to the placards along the trail, people have been vacationing at the lake since early in the 20^th century when the hotel proprietor brought in guides from the Alps to take visitors out along the trails, which ended up at lovely teahouses in beautiful locations.  Now that’s civilized outdoor activity!

After filling the gas tank----no gas stations for miles ahead---we headed out the Icefields Parkway, a scenic drive between Lake Louise and Jasper.  It is somewhat like Skyline Drive in Shenandoah in that it has a lower speed limit, many pull-offs to look at the views, wildlife along the way, beautiful lakes and waterfalls, and as has been the case for the past week, amazing huge, snow-capped mountains.  We took our time, stopped often, did a few short walks to waterfalls, and took lots of pictures (which because of weak internet and Verizon I will need to post later).

Our destination for the day was Whistlers Campground in Jasper National Park, just outside the town of Jasper.  This is an enormous campground, with 780 sites.  The environment here feels quite different from that at Lake Louise, where there was a uniform cover of very tall, dark evergreen trees.  It’s more open here, with a mix of pine (or fir?) with birch trees, and open enough for lush grass to grow beneath.  The latter was no doubt the attraction for that elk that walked right by the camper while we were preparing dinner.  While this is still bear country and there are reminders of such, the message is not quite so insistent as at Lake Louise with its electric fence and signs at the start of every trail. 

Speaking of bears, we did see our first yesterday, along the Icefields Parkway, having a leisurely brunch while a large number of people pulled over cars and were taking its picture. 

We finally were able to have a campfire here.  (Weather and park policies have prevented them up until now.) Canadians handle campfires differently from us: instead of buying a bundle of firewood, one pays by the day ($8.80) for the privilege of having a fire, and the park supplies as much wood as one would like to take.  We loaded upon wood at the wood lot, enough for the coming nights, and I look forward to more evening hours in front of the fire. Even though it’s still not dark until after 10 o’clock. 

Day 18: Quiet day in Lake Louise

Today was a relaxed day, no long travel, no major hikes.  After a slow start to the day, we had a big breakfast; then I walked to the village for a bit of shopping.  We both enjoyed hot showers and some reading.  In early afternoon, we took Ranger for a walk of about an hour along the river and through the campground.  There are still few birds to view in this area, just a few ravens and magpies.  All the trails around the campground and village warn people to watch for bears and carry bear spray, but so far we haven’t seen one.  That’s a good thing. 

A summer storm came through in late afternoon, frightening Ranger (as always) and dropping the temperature about 20 degrees.  We plan an early start tomorrow, heading up to the actual Lake Louise, hoping to beat the crowds, then traveling the Icefields Parkway to Jasper.  

Day 17: Banff to Lake Louise

Our travel today was only about 50 miles west, from Banff to Lake Louise.  We’re still in the same national park, but the terrain has changed somewhat.  All the trees in this area are very tall conifers, and while there are still huge snow-covered mountains, the landscape is less dramatic and rugged.

The campsite here is quite nice, very private, plenty of space.  We did soon discover that the bathrooms close by are out-of-order so we have a bit of a trek to get to the next one, and even farther to get to the showers.  In addition, we are in an area far from the main kiosk, so wherever we go, the walk is that much longer.  The ranger was kind enough to tell us that this is also the section of the campground in which there have been the most bear-sightings.  So much for choosing a site number on the Internet!

Before plugging in and getting set up, we thought we’d drive out to the lake to see it.  What a mistake!  There were three large parking lots there, and all were packed with cars and RV’s.  Vehicles were driving around and around the loop, just waiting for someone to pull out and make a space available.  Needless to say, we did not see the lake---that will need to wait until another day.

Once settled in at our campsite, we decided to hike the 7 km Bow River Trail.  We planned to connect with it near the tent section of the campground which is surrounded by electric fence to keep out the bears (both black and grizzly).That should have been a clue right there.  After about five minutes of hiking we encountered red tape across the trail with signs stating that the trail was closed due to grizzly bear activity. Since the trail was a loop, we turned around and went the other way, which took us into the main part of the village of Lake Louise.  It was also FULL of tourists, but I was able to have an excellent ice cream cone, very enjoyable on this warm afternoon.  The visitor center also had some good displays about the bears and caribou in the park. 

We’re back at our site again but may go to the camp amphitheater later this evening for the program on…what else?  Grizzly bears!