Don't forget you can double click the pictures to make them bigger.
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| Collins in front of the RV - we had a "bra" made for it to protect it from rocks,etc |
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| Our car also has a special cover to protect it |
Friday we had to make a stop in Watson Lake. It is known for it’s Sign Post Forest. Many travelers post signs with their names or their towns here. There are over 72,000 signs there now. We didn’t have anything to leave, but we enjoyed taking a look at the ones that had been left. It was started by a US Soldier from IL who was working on the construction of the Alaska Highway in 1942. He added his hometown to a mileage signpost & people have been posting signs ever since.
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| Bison along the road |
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| Herd of Bison |
The trip from Watson Lake
to Dawson Creek was filled with wildlife. We saw herds of bison, many right along the side of the road.
After our 3rd or 4th bear cub sighting, we decided we’d only stop for pictures if we saw more than one at a time, we didn’t.
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| Laird Hot Springs |
One day we stopped for lunch by Laird Hot Springs, which is a natural spring. We took a walk over to take a look, but couldn’t convince the guys we should take time for a dip. It was very clear & the water was quite warm, when I stepped in with my bare feet.
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| Muncho Lake |
There was also a really pretty lake called Muncho Lake. It was so blue, It too is caused by tiny rock fragments settled at the the bottom of the lake & reflected back by the sunlight. It sure was beautiful
On our way to Dawson Creek, we experienced some trouble with our transmission. We were really glad to be traveling with someone else at that point. At least we knew if we broke down in a place with no phone service, they could go ahead & call someone to come get us. Luckily, we were able to limp along until we came to a town with an Allison Transmission repair shop. Considering the fact that so many of the towns we passed thru were places with almost no services, we were extremely lucky. They were so nice & took us in first thing in the morning. Fortunately, it was just a small part called a sensor, & they were able to fix it & have us back on the road in 2 hours.
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| Murals on the buildings |
In Dawson Creek they had murals painted on the back walls of some of the buildings
We spent a few days in Dawson Creek, just “chilling”. It’s nice to have a few kick back days after traveling everyday for awhile. It was a decent sized town, even had a Walmart. Dawson Creek is “Mile 0” of the Alaska Highway, which is about 1387 Miles.
The other end is in Delta Junction, Alaska.
Our RV & car were extremely pleased to find the roads were in considerably better condition than they recently experienced. Nighttime parking, however, was at a premium, necessitating our need to stay one night on a pull off twenty feet from the road. Road crews advised us early the next morning that we had 20 minutes to vacate because the road was being closed for repairs.
This was followed by a National Park representing it's spaces as adequate for our 41 footer (they weren’t)
We also ended up staying a few nights in a grocery store parking lot in Hinton, Alberta because they were having some festival in Jasper & there were no campgrounds to be had. So we stayed in the IGA lot that said RVers welcome & had a special area on the side of the store. This is the advantage of traveling in your home: push a button & the jacks level the RV, the water heater allows you to take showers at your leisure, & the generator gives you more power than you need. The little bumps in the road of life are meaningless.
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| Jasper National Park |
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| Elk |
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| Elk & calf |
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| Mountain Goat |
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| We weren't sure what these goats found so interesting under the car |
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| Athabasca River |
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| Athabasca Falls |
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| Gorge cut by the waterfalls
There were a lot of interesting glaciers on the mountains
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| Pretty Waterfalls |
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| Glaciers in Jasper Park |
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| Pretty blue river |
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| Pretty Blue River |
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| Another pretty blue river |
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| Lake Moraine |
The rivers & lakes in Banff National Park (Lake Louise & Lake Moraine) are a deep Caribbean blue & green caused by finite minerals washed off the mountains that are suspended in the water, defusing the sun’s rays to give these beautiful shades
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| Lake Moraine |
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| Lake Louise |
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| Us at Lake Louise |
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Those views were only surpassed by two actual double rainbows and a third with its “end” just off the road. Don’t believe that “at the end of the rainbow” pot of gold stuff: the leprechaun we caught said it was only a story adults created to occupy their children’s time so they’d stop driving the parents crazy.
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| Joann meets a bear |
The Fairmont Hotel at Lake Louise was beautifully landscaped
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| Downtown Banff |
Tomorrow we leave Canada & our traveling friends Elka, JoAnn, Terry & Jim. The friendship & fun realized with these folks is a perfect example of RV living. We first met at a Park in Washington in May & came to realize we were traveling much the same roads. Because of Karen’s keeping in touch with them, & they with her, over the subsequent weeks, we ended up together at another two sites. From these encounters it was decided by all to travel the remaining distance together
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| Joann & Jim |
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| Terry & Elka |
The camaraderie made the daily excursions all that much more fun, as did our 5 PM happy hours. It quickly became apparent that Terry & Collins had the same level of “fun” tolerance & joked about their “bucket lists being full” whenever that level was surpassed in a day. Since we are all planning on traveling in the same geographic area (far west) next year, it would not surprise me if we didn’t cross trails again.
Snuggles doesn’t care where we go as long as she’s got a blanket & a pillow
We didn’t stop in Calgary, but we passed the Olympic Downhill Ski Slopes. they don’t look so scary with no snow!
It was good to arrive back at the US Border. The Border Guard just asked us a few questions & welcomed us back to the USA
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| Boundary Marker for Canada & US |
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| US Customs Office |
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| Checkpoint at Border |
Aug 20 After our frequent sights of never ending glaciers, majestic waterfalls & herds of wild animals, we were more than slightly disappointed with Glacier National Park, MT. The glaciers are all but gone due to minimal snowfalls & global warming, & the remaining sights weren’t all that impressive.
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| Long Horn Sheep |
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| Bear cub at stream
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| Lake McDonald |
We were pleased to find a spectacular body of water called McDonald Lake. The colors coming from this lake are also like that of the Caribbean. As you viewed its beauty, & clouds passed by, or the sun simply shifted, the greens & blues took on different intensities. Since the water’s clarity, & hence colors, come in part from the melting snow, this beauty may well be lost if the lack of snowfall continues.
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| View from our campground |
The campground we stayed in wasn’t much to look at, but it was right outside the park entrance & it had really nice views.
I thought it was time to slip in a few of my weird signs collection
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| Watch your valuables in your car |
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| Self Explanatory |
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| Hot Springs |
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| Motorcyclists be careful on the bridge |
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| This is two fold- beware of avalanche or rocks |
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| Bumpy road ahead |
Sept 1 Having spent 80 days making the Canada & Alaska trip, we still felt in need of an extended break from the road. In addition to us needing a rest, there were a couple minor RV repairs needed from the beating it took on those god awful roads. Hence, we crossed back into Spokane, WA to R n R RV Center. While Karen’s research gave this facility high marks, we were pleased to discover they were understated. With two small parts needing to be shipped in, we were required to relax four nights in their over-night facilities. While this might conger up a parking lot with zero amenities, it’s actually quite nice with full water, electric & sewer hook-up; Snuggles especially liked running in the large spaces of thick grass & using the landscaping to evade us in games of ”catch me if you can”. Life is really good. The four days also gave us time to spruce up the rig, inside & out. While Collins did some general chassis, engine & body maintenance, Karen cleaned several layers of dust off everything from ceiling to floor. Concluding the repairs, we traveled to Fairchild, a nearby Air Force Base &, other than going to a County Fair, we vegetated for several days.
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Of one interesting note: while at the Fair we decided to take in a concert. It was a group called the Eagles tribute to Hotel California. Anyone not around in the later 60’s & 70’s, feel free to skip ahead. For the rest of us, it was a trip to that time when “music” blasting at 140 plus decimals was the rage. Afterwards Collins observed that anyone having a heart attack during the show had nothing to worry about: the bass from the multiple speakers, each the size of a car, was so strong it guaranteed keeping the heart pulsating. He felt that being half deaf was this time a blessing. The music was great & we had a fun day.
Sept 12 We are presently in Joseph, Oregon (Wallowa Lake & Hells canyon). The two hundred mile trip from Fairchild, which should have taken four hours, took an unexpected six as a result of our decision to take a “scenic short cut”. While Karen got to appreciate the beautiful views, Collins got to appreciate the term “switch-back”. The mountains were over 4,000 feet high & we traveled up, down & around them many times over. Thankfully, while the road was narrow, it was also in good condition, & lightly traveled… go figure
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Joseph is small, artistically quaint & a day’s drive from anything having a McDonalds or Wal-Mart. It is especially known for its bronze castings, some of which are located in the “town center”. Since the town is only two blocks long we had no problem finding this Mecca.
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| Collins with old carriage |
Of the thirty something States we have presently visited, Oregon continually has by far the best RV State Parks. Our present location is just a few miles from Joseph & within a pine forest with full hook-ups next to a large, pretty lake. And to ensure you have something to see while walking your dog (you can’t get in without a dog), they import herds of deer. During our last venture to the lake, we saw 6 bucks with racks from little spikes to eight antlers. Snuggles wasn’t impressed, even when we took her out one morning for a walk & found a doe sleeping under the rig. Tame doesn’t express how friendly these creatures are. If you’re carrying food, they will literally follow you home or until fed
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| Young Buck |
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| They stuck their heads right in the car window |
Sept 13 Mt. Howard’s summit is about 9,000 feet high & has a tram ascending 8,150 ft. Since today was a do-something vs. do-nothing day, we took the tram & then walked several of the trails circling the summit.
Here’s a few interesting items about this location: · We saw four States from its summit: Washington, Montana, Idaho & Oregon
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For every 1,000 feet you ascend, the temperature drops 3 degrees · At 10,000 feet, your oxygen is reduced 15% from that of sea level * There are white bark pines over 1000 years old
·The trails are rated easy to difficult; we forgot these are subjective terms based on one’s physical condition · There is a wind sock in an open area near the top so that a helicopter can pick up those old folks that tried to reach it & died. While we made the top, we only thought we were going to die.
We also took a couple of Scenic Drives while at Wallowa Lake. Karen really wanted to see Hell’s Canyon since we were so close & it was well worth the drive.
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| Road Scenery |
The drive to Hell’s Canyon had some unique rock formations
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| Road Scenery |
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| Hell's Canyon |
Our first glimpse of Hell’s Canyon took our breath away. The pictures do it no justice.
Sept 19th we left Wallowa Lake to begin our journey towards Las Vegas, Nevada. We have reservations at Nellis Air Force Base Nov. 9th & will be leaving the RV there at the end of November. In the meantime. We will take our time & check out more sights along the way.
1 comment:
Great post, thanks for taking us with you.
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