Robson national Park, BC

We made it to Robson Mountain campground. The mountain is quite imposing rising straight up from the plaines. Naturally, there is a glacier on top. The smoke from the fires is pretty bad making photography problematic. One night at Robson then we drive into Alberta. The further south we went, the worse the smoke. I took a couple of shots along the way. The images are of mountains very close to us but look faraway and out of focus due to smoke.

Eventually, we got far enough south that the air cleared somewhat.

The last two images are of Bow Glacier and lake, one of my favorite views. We ended up at Chain of Lakes Campgrounds in the Alberta prarie lands. I think if I lived in Canada it would be here with the gently rolling hills covered with thick grasses and high mountains in the background. I love the wide open spaces. Here is where I feel closest to the land and the warmth of home. The coming and going of the sun for some reason is a magnet that calls me to watch. These are sunset, something we didn't see many of in Canada and Alaska.

Today we will be in the US at Glacier National Park, Saint Mary's campground. Tomorrow we will travel on to Great Falls, MT where I have the oil changed in the car and go to the Charlie Russell Art Museum. Can't wait for that. It is raining softly, hopefully, cleaning out the air from smoke. Our route home will take us to Yellowstone for a couple of days then on home. Of course, any of our plans are always subject to change.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Totem Poles

Last night we stayed at Seely Lake Provincial Park. I don't know why but I find these lakes so lovely. Perhaps it is because they seem so quiet and pure with very little wind to rumple them up so the reflections are quiet wonderful.

The next morning the sun was shinning and we headed down the road. For the next couple of says we would be stopping at old Indian Villages to see very old totem poles.Totem poles have no religious significance, however, show family ties to different clans such as the Bear, Wolf, or Raven clan.

The first village, Gitwangak, with a pop. of 405, had several totem poles and a museum that wasn't open. This village was more modern than the last one we visited and, consequently, more trashy. Litter was everywhere. It is a shame and seems to be representative of the poor. Not unlike poor small towns in Arizona or New Mexico on reservations. The Totems there were quite old and stood in their original locations. One can only imagine what the village must have been like.

The next village, Kasan, was definitely for tourists, manicured with large long houses and a museum. They even had a very nice RV park. These buildings are representative of how the Indians lived long ago. The paintings on the front of the long house represent the clan living there. About fifty people lived in each house, perhaps 5 to 6 families.

The weather has turned hot. We are officially out of the rain forest and in the interior where they have not had rain in some time. In fact, there are forest fires in several places. The next 2 nights we would stay on lakes in provincial parks. A lot of Canadians were enjoying the weather that would soon turn cold.

Tonight we will be in Prince George where we will stay in a commercial park with hookups. I need to go online and see where the forest fires are so I can plan a route home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kanaskan Provincial Park

 

We drove 170 mi to Kinaskan Park and it seemed like 370. The road is quite narrow, gravely with potholes. Consequently, we had to go slow. We were rewarded by a young bear nonchalantly crossing the road. He could have cared less about us; however, the road was far too narrow to stop for photos. Shortly after that a huge moose started to run into the road. He came out from behind a tree, saw me and swerved. Thank God, because I surely would have hit him. A bit frightening.

Kinaskan is a lovely place and once again we both had sites on the lake. The ranger was really nice to us and she only charged us half price to stay. I was out early to get a couple of sunrise shots and Carol managed to get some of a loon last night. The lake this morning was very still and quiet. We haven't taken many photos because the road is so narrow and there are very few places to pull out. This is a particularly wild area with services only about every 150 mi. Of course, it is quite beautiful. Mostly we see native people along here. The photos I posted earlier of the lake at sunrise were actually of Kinaskan Lake.

Last night I calculated that we have 975 mi to reach the Washington state border. It will probably take us 8 or 9 days. After that we will have phone service again. Most of our camping is dry camping (without electric) so we take bucket baths and our hair washing has to wait till we have elec. The commercial RV parks are typically on gravel and not very attractive. Most of the time you have to pay for showers, $2 for 2 min. I hardly get my hair wet in 2 min. Camping in the provincial is so much nicer as you are there in the quiet and with the wildlife. The only way to go.

I do have a camper shower, a plastic 2 gal container with a spray hose. You fill it up then set it in the sun to get hot. I threw it in the back of the truck to heat up while I travel. Now, if the sun will shine I'll be in business. Water is provided at the campgrounds but you have to use an old fashioned pump to get it.

A typical day for us starts at 5:30 or 6. I take Fox out then settle down with coffee to do some writing, not before checking the area for wildlife, however. There are often great photos to be had in the early morning. After coffee and breakfast we walk the dogs and prepare to get on the road. We travel pretty slow, stopping frequently to get photos or visit sights along the way. We stop anywhere from 2 to 4 in the afternoon depending on where our campground is. Every night we have dinner in my trailer. Carol is the salad and cornbread chef and I create whatever entree we are having. I make a lot of homemade soup. Last night was tortilla chicken soup and cranberry cornbread. After dinner we plan the next day's drive and where we will camp. The campgrounds are easy to come by since our map lists them all.

Time to get going!

 

 

 

Boya Lake Provincial Park, BC

We are now driving the Cassiar Highway, very narrow and no shoulders. You really have to pay attention to your driving. Thank God there is very little traffic. This country is the epitome of wild. No gas for 146 mi and no real town for another 300 when we hit Prince George. We had been driving everyday for ten days and I was tired. Since I was leading I decided to pull into Boya Lake and spend the day resting. It was 10:30 am. Carol was all over that idea so we made camp and took naps.

Boya is a beautiful, glacier feed lake and the campground is very pristine. Both of us got sites right on the lake. Very peaceful and rejuvenating. I would love to kayak but every time I think of it I remember my torn rotator cuff in my right shoulder and wince a little.

I am enjoying my coffee in bed looking out on the lake as I write this. Must get going and get on the road. The best time for us to drive is in the morning, in the afternoon we're pretty much cooked. Oh, at our last camp we met a lovely young couple WALKING to Newfoundland. They had a roller apparatus with a plastic bin affixed to it with their food and supplies. They are from Ontario but started their walk in northern Yukon and had been walking for 2 months. They told us they expected it would take them a year and a half. We told them to do it while they are young because we could barely DRIVE it at our age!

I did go out and take a couple of sunrise photos.

A little tiny bat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skagway and The Ferry

 

The day dawned bright and partly sunny, perfect for a ferry ride. We had to queue up at the ferry two hours before putting to sea so I walked around taking photos, walked Fox and ate my lunch. Port security came around to check that propane was off and went inside units to look for stowaways. That was kinda funny, guess they get a few of those. I was next to last to board and was told by this very jolly port security lady that I would have to BACK on. I said NO WAY! Not me. She assured me that the fellows would tell me exactly what I had to do. So there I was, stuck. It's not that I can't back the thing in, but over a narrow plank onto a ship is another thing! The guy in charge told me every step of the way exactly which way to turn the wheel and I drove her right on!

IWhen I got up on deck this passenger stopped me and told me what a good job I had done. Carol said no one could see the man helping me and everyone thought I had done it myself. I was the heroine of the ferry! We were outside on the deck when a couple came up to talk to me. She said "Oh, you're the one who backed the trailer on! Then she gushed for 30 minutes about Carol and I traveling all the way to Alaska alone. Her husband said, see, if they can do it so can you. What a pair.

The ride was only 1 hr and went by pretty fast. A fun experience. We got off in Skagway and found our RV park and low and behold here is the couple from the ferry right next to us in a 40 foot diesel pusher! Well, when she first introduced herself she says "Lakewood, CO, First Baptist Church in Westminister! Now they live in CA. What a character. The next morning when we left she comes running up to me arms outstretched to give me a big hug and says she is going to hold us up in prayer, that we have changed her life. I have to say she was a real love. She also gave me her address and said she had hookups at her house and we were welcome anytime.

That morning I went to the grocery and had to wait 30 min for it to open so I walked around and took a few photos. Skagway is a really quaint little town. Three cruise ships were in port and the town was crawling with Asians taking photos with iPad's and iPhones. The men all had huge honkin big cameras. What a funny lot. Of course, Carol and I had to get out of the crowd. It was much better at 7:30 in the morning when I went for groceries. IGA had a paucity of fruits and veggies, expired lettuce, a few apples and acorn squash. So, there you go. I bought a couple of bags of frozen berries and stir fry veggies. A half-gallon of organic milk was $6.99.

We left for Teslin, YT at around 8:30 and followed tour buses through the canyon to the Canadian border. At the border we were unfortunate to have a train pull in just before our turn and had to wait another 45 min before we could be processed. We stayed in a campground just outside of Teslin. Carol caught a cold and wasn't feeling too hot but we did mange the 78 mi to Boya Lake, a state park in BC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Haines, AK

From Deadman's Lake we traveled to a campground on Kulane Lake just the other side of Destruction Bay. It was another beautiful spot and the wind was blowing so we had very few Mosquitos. This part of the drive is by far the worst. Yukon roads leave something to be desired and that is an understatement. Lots of frost heaves and loose gravel so you are going 25 mph. I already need a new windshield but that can wait until I get home. We were very tired when we stopped for the night and had only gone about 90 mi. Fortunately, that was all behind us and from now on the roads would be better. One good thing about this stretch of road. . . we had a grizzly walk across the road in front of us. I managed a shot of his back. It was fun to see him.

The next morning we continued on to Haines. Beautiful country! The air was clear and a brilliant sun filled the sky. We stopped several places for photos of the glaciers and landscape. . . just astoundingly beautiful.

 

Our first stop was the Klukshu Indian village used as summer homes by the Indians. It was pretty early in the morning so no one was out and about. The village sits on the edge of Klukshu River where the salmon come to spawn every year. Here is where 2 tribes gathered to trap the salmon then dry them in drying sheds. The salmon were hung over poles with a smoking fire under them to keep the flies away. The Indians always let some salmon go to spawn and only took what they needed. After drying the fish were stacked in bales and stored in caches for use during the winter.

Cache shown above and large drying shed below.

Klukshu River

About 20 mi out of Haines is an eagle sanctuary where more than 3,500 eagles spend the winter. They come in around Oct. however, there are resident eagles there all year. We didn't stop here but did see eagles later.

Arriving in Haines we looked for a place to camp. Oh Boy! Unbeknownst to us, the Southeast State Fair was going on. The place was packed, state parks full, highway pullouts with campers and the parade grounds at Fort Seward full of tenters. We managed to get 2 spaces at Chillkoot RV Park right next to Ft Seward. The bathrooms were filthy as was the laundromat, no fresh water as the faucet handles were broken off. In short, it was awful but available. The next day (last day of the fair) we found spaces at Chillkoot State Park. Beautiful setting on Chillkat Lake complete with eagles and lots of fisher folk catching salmon.

 

Our experience in Haines wasn't exactly the best. First off we tried to have breakfast at the bakery and never got the food we ordered so we left. The wait boy kept whining that he had done his best (of course, he went on break while we sat there waiting). He told the owner he had done everything right. I told him he should have come back to our table and let us know the food would be late. He wasn't about to take responsibility for anything and I really wanted to slap him. AAASSHHHHHHHH!

Next, we went to IGA to get groceries. The prices were astronomical! 6.99 for a small bag of lettuce that was already expired. $5.75 for a quart of strawberries and $5 for one avocado. We left empty handed. Hopefully, it will be better in Skagway but I have my doubts. The gal at the visitor center said no one can afford to live here. It is high all over Alaska but this beats them all.

Today we get on the ferry bound for Skagway. We hear it is a beautiful trip and aim looking forward to it. We have to be at the dock at 11:15 so that gives me time to do a hike around the park. Yesterday, I walked up the river bank and was lucky enough to see an eagle bathing. After a bit he took off and I managed a shot. Not the best but you know it's an eagle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deadman's Lake

It was too sunny to leave Palmer but, alas, we had to go. The last view over looking the valley was another one of those breathtaking experiences. The sun glinting off the peaks and the winding ribbons of the glacial river spread out below us. It was magnificent.

Once again, driving by the majestic Matanuska Glacier I was awed by the quiet beauty of this planet. This experience, while difficult in many ways, has nourished my soul, made my heart laugh and my whole body vibrate with the energy of the cosmos. This isn't Chicken Soup, folks! This is where our emotional serenity comes from. . . Mother Earth and her love for all that's living and all that exists here. I awoke and walked Foxy in the early morning the quiet broken only by the creek rushing by. This kind of silence is a gift we have forgotten. We must preserve it at all cost.

That night we camped at Deadman's Lake on the Tetlin Wildlife Sanctuary. This turned out to be our favorite Alaska campground. I had a view of the lake out my side window. It was far enough away from the road so the only sounds came from birds and squirrels. After dinner we spent about 3 hours photographing. We met a lovely young couple from Quebec who were camping in an enormous bus he called his little baby. He said he just sold his company and retired and I'm thinking he had millions. He looked to be somewhere in his thirties!

An Athabaskan lady gave a demonstration on how to make birch baskets and showed us samples of her work. Now I can go home and make my own baskets! Later sitting at my table I watched a beaver swim slowly toward the shore right by my camper.

The next morning dawned early, as usual, but with unusual sunshine. I took Fox for his morning outing, a low mist hovered just above perfectly still water with the sun creating shimmering reflections scattered about. Almost shrouded in the mist, her huge hulk presented her. I could hear the water gurgle as she slurped her underwater breakfast with loud crunching sounds and hear her leg slide through the grasses as she moved forward. What a stirring moment watching this magnificent animal in the absolute silence of the early morning. Again I felt humbled and blessed by this extraordinary sharing of nature's wonders. The moose raised her head, turned toward me, then slowly walked off toward the shelter of the forest. A truly enchanting experience and a fitting farewell on my last Alaska morning.