Over the Continental Divide and back to the lower 48

Monday August 31, 2009

Today was a long 10 hour day on the road passing over the Continental Divide.
Last time we traveled through Kootenay National Park (2003) there were so many fires in the area that all the stops along the road were closed. Even though the air was a bit smoky we were able to stop at the Paint Pots. This area has three springs and the mucky ground is thick with orche (red to yellow earth). The native Indians used the pigment for their ceremonial paints for body and to decorate containers. Later commercial mining took over the area. In 1916 when the park was developed it was finally determined that mining the orche was not compatible with the park’s mission and intent to preserve this land. The short hike and historical signs were very beautiful and interesting.

In Cranbook, B.C. it was 920 giving us an excuse for one last visit to Tim Horton’s for Iced Cappuccino and a box of TimBits. Donut Holes, 20 for $2.79. We will miss Tim Horton.

At 4:42 PM we finally crossed back over to U.S. soil into northern Idaho after giving up our contraband (oranges). Ellen was glad to be back in her home state, even if only for a short time. Turning west at Sandpoint we headed to Newport, WA then slightly NE to Little Diamond Lake a Thousand Trails park for a week.

We will be here through the holiday weekend..................

Jasper and Baniff Parks

Sunday August 30, 2009

Jasper and Banff National Parks were fairly smoky from forest fires. Therefore, the majestic mountains in the area were obscured.

Snowy white mountain goats frolicked on the hillside and were fun to watch.
We also came across some Stone sheep later in the day. Where is my mom?

Will you please move that truck!

Passing Mt. Kitchener and the Columbia Ice Fields the temperature soared to 83 degrees.
If you look you can see the snow coaches on the Glacier. We did that last time so skipped it today.

Pulling into Rampart Creek Campground and a couple of others we discovered that most campgrounds are for tents and small rigs. Even when we found a spot long enough we couldn’t get into it without scraping both sides with branches.

However, traveling on we ended up staying at Mosquito Creek campground which had a few nice big spots toward the front of the campground. The creek is nice and we passed a pleasant evening. There was not even any bugs!

Tomorrow back to the lower 48.........................

Cleaning the RV and veggies

Friday and Saturday August 28-29

Friday was a day to clean the dust and dirt from the RV. Ed has a great pressure washer for his semi-trucks which got the RV spanking clean. I don’t believe the roof has ever been so clean.
The ladies raided the garden and Judy sent us off with lots of fresh produce which we will really enjoy.
After another one of Judy’s scrumptious breakfasts on Saturday morning, we hit the road once more, making it as far as Hinton Alberta, just east of Jasper National Park. Tonight we take advantage of Walmart’s hospitality and tomorrow we’ll head into the Park.

Friends and Edmonton Mall

Wednesday and Thursday August 26-27, 2009

Leaving Alberta Beach, we passed through miles of rolling farmland and arrived in Edmonton in time for lunch at Costco. Canadian Costcos have more variety in their food-court than in the U.S. and we just love their Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza, with Canadian bacon unlike anything you’ll see in the U.S. They also have something we’ve never seen…French fries with brown gravy and Portine, a soft French cheese.

We then headed to Ft. Saskatchewan (northeast from Edmonton) Alberta to visit our friends Ed and Judy at their beautiful country home. We met them last winter in Yuma AZ. We spent the rest of the day catching up and indulging in Judy’s wonderful cooking, made even better by produce from her abundant garden.
Thursday we spent most of the day at the Edmonton Mall, the biggest mall either of us has ever been in. There is so much to do here (amusement as well as shopping) that you can rent “theme” rooms to stay the night as it isn’t possible to take in all there is to do in one day.
There is a huge mini-golf course, Captain Hook’s pirate ship and sea lion shows.
We were particularly taken with the large swimming area, complete with lounge chairs on the beach and waves to play in. Of course we had to have a cup of coffee to rest up at Tim Horton’s before further exploring. We are trying to fit in with the Canadians. Tim Horton’s is even more popular here than Starbucks is in the states.

Next to Tims is a offical size Hockey rink as well.
It is literally amazing the amount of entertainment. The “Amusement Park” in the mall is like having Disney Land rolled into a shopping mall. We were in awe! I couldn’t resist the temptation to ride on the roller coaster, which had some of the most severe drops and loops (3 of them) and turns of any coaster I’ve been on. The guy next to me was about to wet his pants.

A great day and a must see if you are ever in Edmonton, Alberta.

Dawson Creek Mile "0" then on to Edmonton

Saturday – Tuesday August 22-25, 2009

Before arriving at Dawson Creek we took a side trip down the only original remaining road left on the Alaska Highway. It is 10 miles long and your journey will take you on broken pavement and gravel. The highlight will be crossing the only original bridge remaining today. It is a wooden curved piece of art.

Today we traveled to Dawson Creek where we took in a very nice little museum at the visitor’s center as well as took the requisite pictures of the beginning of the Alaskan Highway. There are two signs, one at the visitor’s center on the new highway

and the original marker in an intersection in the middle of town.
This Mile “0”. Your first or last stop in our case when driving the Alaska Highway.

We drove a little out of town to stay at a municipal campground that was in the Milepost as a $5.00 bargain. The campground is now privately owned and was now $11.00 for dry camping, $16.00 for hook-up. We stayed 2 nights to again do school work and take a break from driving. The total mileage is now close to 7000 miles traveled since June 1.

Monday we crossed from BC into Alberta and found a Passport America park, The Alberta Beach Golf Resort. We decided to stay a couple of days where we had full hook-ups to do laundry, defrost the fridge and all that stuff we don’t have time for while traveling so much. Strangely we find that the water here is not potable, so won’t be able to do all the cleaning we’d hoped.

Tomorrow we head a little north of Edmonton to visit with friends we met during our stay in Yuma last winter. Then we are homeward bound. We will be going through Jasper and Banff National Parks. We have visited this area many years ago with my sister Julie and her husband and think the scenery is just magnificent. I hope the weather holds out so the mountains can stand proud.

Stay tuned……………………………………………..

Leaving Muncho Lake heading to Dawson Creek Mile 0

Thursday and Friday August 20-21, 2009

We sadly said good-bye to Muncho Lake, intending to have a short day’s drive which ended up being on the road for 13 hours. It was however, a day with several wildlife sightings which we always enjoy. Since it is a little early for the caribou migration, we were delighted to have 2 different occasions to see a caribou in the wild. They are truly magnificent and carry themselves with dignity and pride. With the white trim near their large hooves, they look like they are wearing spats.
We also spent 20 minutes watching the Stone Sheep licking minerals from beside the road that winds up the mountain.
After awhile they crossed the road in “follow the leader” style and bounded up the steep, rocky hillside.
This is a picture of Stone Mountain from a distance.
At the top of the climb is picturesque Summit Lake. This is Historic Milepost 392 and the highest elevation on the Alaska Highway at 4250 ft. There is a very nice campground here.
There are several rock patches on this road and we acquired our second rock chip in the windshield. The truckers do not follow the speed signs and throw rocks everywhere.

We stopped at Kledo Creek wayside for lunch and on to Fort Nelson. Here we took in a popular stop, the Ft. Nelson Heritage Museum. We met founder and curator Marl Brown who has been collecting for decades. He keeps many of the vintage vehicles and machines in running order and there are hundreds of interesting artifacts and wildlife displays including an albino moose. There is also original film footage of the building of the Alcan hwy. there are several buildings, each holding a piece of history from fur trapping to telecommunications in days gone by.
Some miles north of the little town of Wonowon we encounter the worst frost heave of the entire trip. There were several in a row with no flags on the side of the road. By the time we saw the skid marks it was too late to get slowed down. The truck and trailer became air born, but not at the same time. We feel lucky that the hitch or something else didn’t break. Pulling over we found that dishes, books and other things were flung out of the cabinets and the floor was covered with broken glass and a generally big mess. This was not a great way to wind down our long day of travel.

We pulled into the small town of Wonowon (at Historic mile marker 101, of course), found a level spot in the parking lot of an abandoned gas station/restaurant. We stayed two days to clean up the mess, and check that the trailer and truck were OK. It is also the last place where we can get Internet on our satellite dish until we start southwest again.

So we may not be able to post again for a few days…………………………..