Alberta, Canada

Located in western Canada, the province of Alberta is bordered by the Canadian Rocky Mountains to the west and vast prairies and badlands to the east.  To the north lie the Northwest Territories.  The state of Montana is the southern border.

Alberta scenery is much different than that in BC.  In a lot of ways it is prettier, some ways boring.  Instead of the mountains and lakes, you get rolling hills with fields and cattle and some sheep.  The roads may not be in as good a shape, but there are divided highways with higher speed limits and the towns have a more modern feel to them with more of the chain stores and fast food.

I thought it was very cool that the TransCanada Highway goes right through Jasper National Park on its way to Edmonton.  The smoke was terrible, but I bet the scenery was outstanding, if you could see it. There was a herd of caribou having dinner beside the road, creating quite a traffic jam.  Rather than contributing to the mess, I didn’t stop for pictures .. but it was cool to see.

Because of the smoke I decided to cancel my reservations at Jasper and head north.  There were actually two reasons, besides the terrible smoke, that I opted to take this detour; because of the short summer season, I don't know when I will be able to get back up into the Northwest Territories again ... and they were so convenient to my current location.  The other reason was the Auora Borelias.  I arrived a little too late for a viewing in April and wanted to see the Northern Lights before I went back south.  The Northwest Territories is suppose to be the very best place, so ....

The first stop on my way was in Peace River for the night and another trip to the tire repair.  That one tire is going to be the death of me on this trip.  I have since found out that the problem is not in the tire or the stem, but in the tire monitoring sensor.  So I took it off and all seems to be fine .... except that I worry myself to death about it.

While at Kal Tire, I had an interesting conversation with Chris about the Manning Moose.  He grew up in Manning and, when I told him I was going there to photograph the moose, he laughed.  Apparently, the moose used to be a piece of  plywood and the townspeople (youth?) kept stealing parts of the moose so the city finally replaced it with a large metal one.  The only problem is that the body of the “moose” is a horse and they added antlers.

The next stop was High Level and a visit and stay at the Mackenzie Crossroads Museum.

From here you head north on the Mackenzie Highway, the only road in/out of the NWT from Alberta to Yellowknife. 

And as you approach the border to the NWT, there is just mile after mile of the same … it may have been the most boring drive so far but the good news is I got 10 miles per gallon vs my normal 8.5 mpg, which is good considering the price of diesel up here.

Port Rupert

I can't believe how far behind I am in these blogs ... almost a month has gone by since I had the adequate internet to write these.  As I mentioned before, it is really a pain going back that far to recreate these memories and to find the pictures.  Bare with me ...

In listening to the news reports, there was a tanker spill at Frasier Lake and another fire; that air quality between the smell and the smoke, they were asking people to stay away, so when I left Hyder/Seward, I took a detour to Prince Rupert at the western end of the TransCanada highway#16 to buy some more time.  Highway 16, also known as the Yellowhead Highway, has the lowest grade of any highway that crosses the Rocky Mountains and the Coast Range.  It follows the route of the Hudson Bay Company fur traders in the early 1800s.

North Pacific Cannery National Historic Site – It was established in 1889 and is the oldest remaining salmon cannery on the West Coast of North America and ran continuously for almost a 100 years.

 

 This train ran across the front of the cannery.  Note there are no guard rails or anything blocking the rails and train from the public!  Nope, we're not in California anymore.

Heading east toward Frasier Lake, there are a lot of emergency vehicles … fire trucks, water transport, EMT …. heading “back.”  I hope that means the oil spill and fire are contained.

 Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

Vanderhoof is the geographical center of BC.

I don’t know why I take it personally, but I get embarrassed when an RV is holding up a line of vehicles and won’t let them pass even after ample opportunity, or if someone in front of me is holding up the line and the cars behind me think it is me.  If I’m the cause, and the car behind me can’t safely pass, I pull over, even if it is only one vehicle.  There is a trend of inconsiderate (younger generation?) RVers that give the RV population a bad name, not just by blocking traffic, but by being inconsiderate and thoughtless in general; leaving trash, abusing parking privileges, and a host of other offenses. It reflects badly.  OK, that rant is over.

Hyder/Stewart

Cassier Stewart Highway

Can you tell I finally have access to some internet?  ha.

Hyder/Stewart was a surprise.  Hyder is, of course, in the US, so you “cross” the border from Canada.  Hyder, however, is about 1 mile long, so when I went to get gas in the Jeep before driving out the gravel/dirt road to Salmon Glacier, I had to cross the border back into Canada and forgot to grab my passport.  I keep it by the driver side in the coach and it didn’t occur to me until I was at the border inspection that I didn’t have it with me.  Fortunately, there was a very nice Canadian official that let me cross with the promise I wouldn’t forget it the next time. 

One of the recommended places to eat in Hyder was The Bus.  For over 20 years, this very nice lady has been cooking her husband and son’s daily catch in this converted school bus.  I ate there twice and the fresh halibut was soooo yummy.  Once I had it sauté with garlic and the other it was breaded.

The converted school bus/restaurant is a popular idea.  I think there was at least one in every place I stopped and they were usually on the recommended list. 

The 27-mile drive to the glacier was good – no flat tires, no injuries – ha.  I am always surprised at the cars that speed past on these gravel roads like they have a mission.  I always expect to find them pulled over with a flat, but apparently, that only happens to me.

You know those signs that say “Beware of falling rock”?

 

I spent my two nights in a turnout facing the Portland Canal, a 70-mile-long ocean fjord that forms a natural boundary between Canada and Alaska..  For those of you non-RV readers, the “rule” is you can stay in a turnout along the road as long as it is not signed that you can’t and you are a minimum 10feet from the road at all times.  There is not as much road noise as you would think on these highways and the views are often spectacular, and the price is always right.  When I was getting ready to leave here, a man with a delightful accent offered me half of his morning’s salmon catch.  Unfortunately, I had to decline because of 1. I don’t clean fish and 2. I don’t have any freezer room.  But it was a nice gesture, and he was very complimentary about my coach. 

My coach is really in bad shape, between the body damage, the neglect and the dirt, that it is an embarrassment to me right now.  I feel anxious to get back to the “states” so I can clean it up and make it pretty again.  It looks really bad.

When I crossed the border out of Hyder into Stewart, I asked the Customs official what was the procedure if you needed to cross during non-working hours.  Of course, I also asked what would happen if you just drove up the US side of the road instead of using the Canadian side (there is no border check going into Hyder) ….. it is a $1,000 fine the first time; you don’t get a second time.

I basically had the road to myself again as I headed west, except for a black bear cub playing alongside the road.  I think the black bears are cuter than the brown bears.

I am surprised as I drive these roads how many of the mountains have blue ice at the top.  I bet it was spectacular before the glaciers started to melt.

Carcross to the Cassier Highway

The drive to Carcross was disappointing.  From what little I could see, the scenery looked spectacular but everything was socked in fog.  I took my time but it didn’t burn off during my drive.  There was a line of bicyclers coming from the other direction and I was very glad to see they were followed by an end vehicle with flashers, otherwise, you would not have been able to see them in the road.

The summit was at 3200ft.

I feel for the people in the tour buses stopped along the road for pictures and you can’t see your hand in front of your face.  How disappointing.  You can hardly read the signs telling you what you can’t see.

I would be interested in the difference in views from taking the train and driving the road.  Maybe I’ll take the train if I come back this way.

Unfortunately, it is hard for me to take any pictures while I drive, especially with my wrist and a dirty windshield (I’m eliminating the mosquito population one at a time), and when there is somewhere to pull over usually the view is blocked by trees.  You’ll just have to come to see for yourself how awesome it is.  The pictures do not do it justice.

Carcross is actually a shortened form of Caribou Crossing, a name earned for the herds that once migrated through the narrow strip of land between Bennett and Nares lakes before the gold rush.

Carcross Commons / 4 totem poles designed and carved by Master Carver Keith Wolfe Smarch.

They also claim to have the world’s smallest desert; one square mile of rolling dunes.  Although not technically a real desert, this geological anomaly is still an exceptional sight.  Plus, it is home to two rarities:  the endangered Baikai Sedge plant and a moth with a name I can’t pronounce – Gnorimoschema Moth.

To get to the Stewart Cassiar Highway (Hwy 37), I had to drive a part of the Alaska Highway I had driven back in April when it was completely covered in snow.  It did not look familiar.  Ha 

I am very glad the ranger suggested that I take this road back rather than at the beginning because it would have been hard in the snow, (and I would have missed all the beauty).  It is a narrow, two-lane road and no shoulders, with no cell service and few services, all of which would have been closed for the season.  I also found parts of it very windy.

Although I know the song refers to the Rocky Mountains, I couldn’t help but think “purple mountains majesty” when I saw this view.

That is actually fire

I only spent one night at Dease Lake because the smoke was so bad, it was unhealthy. In hindsight, I wish I had just spent the night at one of the turnouts. The lakes were so beautiful and the smoke was not yet as bad.

Haines to Skagway

 

Haines is situated at the upper end of North America’s longest and deepest fjord.  It is 14 miles south of Skagway and 80 miles north of Juneau.  Also, Haines has one of the highest concentrations of Bald Eagles in North America.

So I’m ready to leave Haines by ferry, only my reservation was messed up (it showed October rather than August) and I was delayed a day.  No big deal. It actually gave me some time to try to see the bears catching their dinner out of the river.  Unfortunately, I didn’t find any hungry bears, but there were tons of eagles just sitting in the trees!  The Chilkoot State Recreation Area river and lake was a beautiful spot.  As my luck seems to go, several people in my Alaska 2018 group posted pictures over the next couple of days of the bears!

 

I spent the night at a turn-out off the highway and then headed back to the ferry in the morning … only there wasn’t any place along the highway wide enough for me to turn around so I drove to the end of the road, unhooked the Jeep, turned the coach around, and then re-hooked the Jeep.  I get lots of practice.  That’s probably why my wrist won’t heal.

So, I arrive at the ferry, unhook the Jeep, check in and then move into line.  This is quite the production.  Very organized.  It took about 2 hours to load all the vehicles. The ship sure didn’t look big enough to hold everyone.  The rigs back down the ramp and park in lanes bumper to bumper, and I mean tight, and then the passenger cars drive on and park.

The ship is very nice and comfortable and the hour passage took no time at all.  Because the parking lot in Skagway is a little farther than the one in Haines, I gave my Jeep keys to Andrea, a very nice lady that has worked for the Alaska Marine Highway for 9 years.  I drove the coach off, parked, and then ran back to the ship …. The workers all cleared room for me to pass, but I still didn’t make it and reached my Jeep on the ramp.  While hooking up again, I gave a demo to a couple of workers that had questions.

In Skagway, I ate at a restaurant on a side street and ended up getting some really excellent veal parmigiana; the sauce was delicious.  I’ve had veal a few times as it is not the expense it is in the States; about the same price as chicken.  As I have been to Skagway before, I spent the day and then moved on to sleep in another turn-out on the way to Carcross rather than get a campsite in Skagway.

One of the things I like to do when visiting a new town, besides checking out the quilting shops and sampling the local ice cream, is to visit a grocery store and find new items. For instance, I’m surprised to find kimchee and the amount of sushi-type products in these small towns.  Even Dawson Creek had quite the selection.

Haines, Alaska

Haines is a nice little town.  Unfortunately, the three days of Alaska summer are gone and it is cold and rainy.  Everything I wanted to see while I'm here is outdoors, so its a challenge.

They do have a couple of indoor museums - the Hammer Museum (yep, 8,000 hammers) and the Sheldon Museum (history of Haines) - but I've reached my limit on museums.  Its sort of like when I was on the east coast .... you reach a limit on the Civil War and you're done.  That's where I am on the gold rush.

Today was a bust on the sightseeing, because of the rain, but I stopped at the library for internet and went out to lunch.  What I tried to see was the Chilkat Inlet and Davidson and Rainbow glaciers.  They were pretty socked in, and I got a slight view, but not enough to attempt a picture.

I also drove through the Chilkat State Park, where I had originally intended to stay while here.  The guidebook said there was a 35 foot limit on vehicles for the campground so I didn't attempt it.  The sites are plenty long and the length was no problem; according to the camp host the issue is the road into the campground.  It is pretty rough (potholes big enough to swallow a small car :)) and a 14% grade.  I think I could have made made it, but glad I didn't try.

I took the self tour of the Haines Packing Company.  It was very wet in the rain, and they were pretty well done for the day, but the gift shop was very entertaining.





It actually poured rain - by the bucket - the remainder of my stay so I didn't get to do any of the touristy stuff.  I may make a trip back .... for tomorrow I take the ferry to Skagway.  I sincerely hope it stops, or slows, raining in the morning when I have to hook up and head for the ferry, because I have to unhook and drive my coach and Jeep onto the ferry separately, which is going to be a challenge.  I back the coach on, then "run" back to the staging area and drive my Jeep onto the ferry.  I reverse the process in Skagway.  I hope the rigs/people behind me in line are patient.  And it won't be much fun if it is pouring rain!

I actually didn't get anything accomplished while I sat here in the rain.  My wrist hasn't healed - I'm starting to worry as it's been a couple of weeks now. In fact, I'm typing one handed because I do not have much use of my fingers, wrist or arm on my right.  So I couldn't do much cleaning or chores or internet catch-up .... so I read for three days.  Works for me, but I feel a little guilty.  I tried to clean the bugs off the windshield one-handed - didn't work out too well.  If you want a laugh, you should watch me try to dress, eat, hook up the Jeep or the hose .... its as painful to watch as it is to do.  :)

So from here I have Skagway, Carcross and the drive down the Cassier Highway.  I understand there are some fires on the Cassier and more road construction, but it is passable.  According to my Alaska 2018 internet group, the smoke at Jasper and Banff is really bad.  I hope it clears by the time I get there in a couple of weeks.  I basically have about 5-6 weeks left before I cross the US/Canadian border for home.

Whitehorse, Yukon

As I was leaving the campground in Carmacks, I had to wait for a couple of black bears to clear the road ....

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures from the highway between Carmacks and Whitehorse because my windshild was covered in bug guts and there wasn't much room to pull over.   There were lots of pretty lakes, forest and wild flowers.  Really pretty.

I spent a day in Whitehorse before heading down to Haines.   I drove around, got a pizza, stopped at a great fruit stand and visited the SS Klondike.  There was an interesting film on site.

SS Klondike

When I started out for Haines I went 25 miles in the wrong direction before I got turned back around.  Apparently my GPS wanted me to go to Skagway first but I wanted to make the loop in the opposite direction.