Thursday, August 30, 2018 Gardiner, Montana I made it to the north side of Yellowstone and may have found some things to keep me here over the weekend. More later.
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Tuesday, August 28, 2018 Cabin City National Forest Campground, Montana https://maps.google.com/?t=h&q=47.37650,-115.26390 I'm in a nearly deserted campground just off I-90 just into Montana from Idaho. Last night I stayed in a ciy park campground on a lake just at the border in north central Washington: It's been days of driving and not much else. I went down to Bella Coola and, while it's nice, it's not “stay a week” nice. Their bear viewing platform doesn't open for another week, so there's really nothing to keep me there. So I've been driving. The plan is to get to the north side of Yellowstone tomorrow and decide if I want to stay there over the Labor Day weekend or go home. To be honest, there's not a lot to keep me there, either. It'll be crowded and there will be no wildlife – August and September are the worst times for that. So, I'll probably drive through the park on Thur...
Thursday, August 24, 2018 Escott Bay Resort, 200 miles west of Williams Lake, British Columbia, Canada https://maps.google.com/?t=h&q=52.50374,-1 25.33088 It's a fishing resort on a lake: www.escottbay.com It's been 2 days and 800 miles of smoky driving. It's clear here, but 30 miles up the road, I wasn't so sure it would be OK, it was so smoky. But, then, it quickly cleared. I figured if I got here today, I could take a day trip in just the truck down “The Hill” to Bella Coola to see if I want to move camp there or not. The lady in the office said it was smoky there, so we'll see. This way I avoid taking the trailer down that 6 miles of gravel road with 18% grade in places, if I don't have to. This evening, I went out to photograph the smoke coming over the lake: And rthe fellow in the next campsite said “Look at that!” I got a picture: It wasn't near the fires – it's ...
Wednesday, August 22, 2018 Prudhomme Lake Provincial Park, 20 minutes east of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada https://maps.google.com/?t=h&q=54.24097,-130.13310 I've decided to move on tomorrow. I took a few pictures of Prince Rupert, though. The WalMart: An idea of the water around Prince Rupert:
Friday, August 17, 2018 Camp Run-a-Muck, Hyder, Alaska https://maps.google.com/?t=h&q=55.91994,-130.03175 It's been 4 days since I got here and not much has happened. Each day I go up to the viewing platform about 3 miles above town and each day no bears. There are lots of fish – more than anybody's seen in 10 years, but not a single bear has come to feed on them since I've been here. Those gray oblong shapes lined up with the stream are not rocks, they are all salmon. Each one 2-3 feet long. The stream is like that for the next 200 yards. Nobody knows why the bears are not feeding on them . Stories like it's been to hot and they are up high abound. My theory is that this is a banner year for fish and all the streams are full. They can eat all they want and not deal with the road or the platform and the associated people. In the meantime, I did see a bear on the river just outside of town: And others have seen them ...
Monday, August 13, 2018 Camp Run-a-Muck, Hyder, Alaska https://maps.google.com/?t=h&q=55.91994,-130.03175 Well, I made it to Alaska: It was another uneventful drive. First, it was following this big river – the Skeena: The road gets more isolated the further you go. The last 100 miles before you turn onto the Stewart/Hyder road is pretty much this: Before Stewart is Bear Glacier: Hyder is this little hamlet of about 100 population. A couple of BnB's and small eateries. And Camp Run-a-Muck: I went out to Fish Creek this afternoon and stayed till 7:00 but no bears or wolves. They have been seeing wolves in the early morning, but not much in the way of bears, yet. There are lots of salmon in the creek, though.
Sunday, August 12, 2018 Tyhee Provincial Park, Near Smithers, British Columbia, Canada https://maps.google.com/?t=h&q=54.70501,-127.03923 It was a mainly uneventful drive here. About 250 miles. The only thing was the smoke in the middle. It got so bad, the visibility was measuered in hundreds of yards. I was beginning to worry, but then, about halfway here, it started clearing and was soon all gone. I had gotten west of it. This is another BC Provincial Park on a lake. Like the otheres, it has a campground: And a lake with a nice beach area: The story of the fire north of Hyder is that it's about 150 miles north and shouldn't be an issue.
Saturday, August 11, 2018 Purden Lake Provincial Park, east of Prince George, British Columbia, Canada https://maps.google.com/?t=h&q=53.91651,-121.95384 I've stopped here before. It's a nice campground on a lake about 4 hours west of Jasper. I have 3 days to get from Jasper to Hyder, a distance of about 650 miles. Going halfway would be OK, except there's no camping anywhere near the halfway point, so I'm doing it in 3 steps. I fully expected the campground to be filled. It's a summer Saturday and this place is less than an hour from Prince George, a town with a population over 70,000. Last time I was here, coming back from Alaska in 2013, I got the last site available. This time, the first-come-first-served sites were about half filled. Obligatory campsite picture: Anyway, it's been cooler but grayer and still hazy. Here's the lake: There's a trail that goes along the edge through d...
Friday, August 10, 2018 Whistlers Campground, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada https://maps.google.com/?t=h&q=52.85031,-118.08386 Today I drove up to Maligne Lake. It's about an hour drive from Jasper. It's still busy and hazy and hot. On the drive up, there's a lodge with a cafe.The parking lot for the lodge was full and the cafe had a line out the door at 10:00 am. You also pass Medicine Lake. This is a strange lake with sinkholes that drain to the nearby Athabaska River. That means that during the spring, when flows into the lake are geat, the lake level rises. As the summerprogresses, the lake then starts to drain. It's draining now: At Maligne Lake, there is another lodge with a cafe and boats that take people on tours: At $90 for a 90 minute boat ride and $40 for a buffet lunch, I declined both. Later, I updated the blog at the Jasper Library. They had really fast internet – 150M...
Thursday, August 9, 2018 Whislers Campground, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada https://maps.google.com/?t=h&q=52.85031,-118.08386 This was a chores day – laundry and more groceries. It started out interesting, though. As I was getting ready to leave, the woman camped next to me said there were 2 elk bedded behind my trailer. Sure enough, 30 feet or so away: This is the calf, mom is to the left, but I didn't want to get any closer and there are lot of trees. Maybe they'll be back. The rest of the day was laundry, in the same basement laundromat I used 5 years ago, and groceries that need to be refridgerated – because the store is much closer to the camp than in Banff. The rest of the day was trying to escape the heat. It got into the lower 90s today. It's supposed to do it again tomorrow and then cool off starting Saturday.
Wednesday, August 8, 2018 Whislers Campground, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada https://maps.google.com/?t=h&q=52.85031,-118. 08386 Another driving day. It isn't far from Lake Louise to this campground just outside Jasper. (It's so close, we had the sounds of a rodeo PA for a while). It's only about a 2 ½ hour drive, so I took my time leaving this morning. I stopped at the Icefield center and watched a short movie, but left without eating lunch because it was so crowded. There were long lines out the doors of both restaurants. Also, the idea of a $14 burger didn't appeal to me. The drive was pretty, even if it was hazy because of the smoke: I got here and it turns out I'm in the same loop I was in 5 years ago on the Alaska trip. Tomorrow is another chores day – laundry.
Tuesday, August 7, 2018 Lake Louise Campground, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada https://maps.google.com/?t=h&q=51.40744,-116.16974 My last day at Lake Louise. Today was supposed to be a chores day – get groceries and update the blog. But an adventure happened. I was driving down to the town of Banff and saw that the road that was closed earlier because of the fire was now open. So, I decided to drive a ways down and just see the scenery. I got past the fires – some still smoking – and turned around. On the way back, out in the middle of nowhere, was a woman with 2 small kids walking along the shoulder. I stopped and she said shehad a flat tire and couldn't fix it herself. It was just a couple hunded yards up the road, so I went up and started looking around. After a bit of trouble trying to figure out how to get the spare tire out (hint: look in the owner's manual) it all went well and we had her back on the road in about a half an...
Monday, August 6, 2018 Lake Louise Campground, Banff Narional Park, Alberta, Canada https://maps.google.com/?t=h&q=51.40744,-116.16974 So, early this morning, while still in bed, I looked out the window and saw blue sky. That meant a chance for a good photo of Lake Louise. So, I got there a little after 7:00 am. The lower parking lot was nearly full! I later talked to a fellow who said that the Lake Moraine parking lot, up the same road, was full at 6:00 am! Anyway, I did manage to get a pretty good shot of the lake: Later, driving along the Bow Parkway, I saw several people with cameras at a turnout. They were all looking down at the river. Thinking it might be a bear or something, I stopped. It turns out that this was a famous photo in Canadian advertizing. The railroad companies use it. Everybody was waiting for a train to come by to photograph. So, I waited too, talking to them. I didn't get a good train shot then, but later, I...
Sunday, August 5, 2018 Lake Louise Campground, Banff Narional Park, Alberta, Canada https://maps.google.com/?t=h&q=51.40744,-116.16974 More driving around sightseeing, today. Last time I was here, I tried to get to Takakkaw Falls, in Yoho National Park. But, the road was closed because it was too early in the season. So, I tried again today: It's pretty spectacular – about 1000 feet high. Then, it was up to the Columbia Ice Fields and the Athabasca Glacier. I'll be closer to that area later when I'm in Jasper, but I've only got 2 days there and one is going to be a laundry day. The drive itself is pretty impressive with lots of scenes like this: The glacier is still there, being fed by the icefield on top of the plateau:
Saturday, August 4, 2018 Lake Louise Campground, Banff Narional Park, Alberta, Canada https://maps.google.com/?t=h&q=51.40744,-116.16974 Today I went to see how crowded the Lake Louise view point is early in the morning. It was a chilly gray morning. 1809 In answer to how crowded it was, this was at 8:30 am: The answer is very. Even the distant parking lot is nearly full: This is a holiday weekend here, and it is Saturday, so that is to be expected. If the weather clears, I'll try again earlier in the morning for a good photo, and maybe walk the trail along the north shore. Then I went to Banff to get some groceries and check on a place for internet. I found the one I used 5 years ago still there and possibly another much closer.
Friday, August 3, 2018 Lake Louise Campground, Banff Narional Park, Alberta, Canada https://maps.google.com/?t=h&q=51.40744,-116.16974 Afrter yesterday, I slept long and hard, not getting up till after 9:00. I drove part way down the Bow Valley Parkway. The main road through Banff National Park in the Trans-Canada Highway – Canada 1. It's like an interstate – 4 lanes, 60 mph speed limit, on and off ramps. It's also not good for sightseeing or wildlife. Before the big highway was what is now the Bow Valley Parkway. A 2 lane twisting road with a 35 mph speed limit. It has lots of turnouts with educational signs, lots of viewpoints and picnic areas. That's the road to take for scenery. It follows the Bow River: Yes, the water is that color. It's full of glacial “flour” - rock the glaciers have ground up and made its way into the rivers. The mountain scenery was good, too: It...
Thursday, August 2, 2018 Lake Louise Campground, Banff Narional Park, Alberta, Canada https://maps.google.com/?t=h&q=51.40744,-116. 16974 This was a long day. I expected it to take 7 or 8 hours to get here. It took 15. The plan was to go up the west of Glacier, Waterton and Banff National Parks. I had been up the east side, through Calgary, several times, and wanted something different, even though it would be about an hour longer. That was my mistake. It started out OK, I got an early start and got into Canada with no problem. When I got to Radium Hot Springs and turned onto the road to Banff, things began to go wrong. The road to Banff and Lake Louise was closed due to fire. The detour was about 60 kilometers north to Golden (the one in British Columbia, not Colorado) and then down the Trans-Canada highway to Lake Louise. That's about 150 km but I've still got lots of time – it was only 2:00 pm or so. I'd still get there around 4:...
Wednesday, August 1, 2018 Devil Creek Campground, Flathead National Forest, Montana https://maps.google.com/?t=h&q=48.25142,-113.46329 My last day in the Glacier area. I've got a campsite booked a Lake Louise in Banff National Park for 6 nights starting Thursday. Today I finally got into the Many Glacier area of Glacier National Park. Each time I tried before, the sign at the entrance road said all parking was full, so I didn't try. Today I got there at 8:30 am and it was open. Later, I saw 3 bears on Going to the Sun road. These were close enough to photograph: Finally, I saw mountain goats close enough to photograph. Heck, it was almost close enough to touch, In a bit, I'm going to go to the pizza place and use their internet to update the blog. It'll probably be 4 or 5 days before I update again.