Sunday, June 20, 2010
Happy Fathers' Day
20 June 2010
Sunday
We began our day with breakfast at the Fort Nelson Hotel cafe. No picnic table means we can't really cook at the campsite. Dad should really get the day off anyway, right? We decided to culturize ourselves and visit the Ft. Nelson Heritage Museum but it turned out to be some old guy's great collection of oil artifacts and antique cars, so we were soon on our merry way to Lake Watson in the Yukon Territory.
Today's animal count:
*4 black bear [not including the dead one in the ditch]
*1 mama moose and her baby
*1 very shy caribou
*3 grizzly bears [a mama and two cubs]
*34 buffalo
*4 Stone sheep [including a mom and kid who posed nicely for us along the road]
And yes, we were able to get lots of pictures. Those will be in the next post.
Sign for today: "A fed bear is a dead bear"
We follow the Tetsa River to its source at Summit Lake and pass again through the mountains. Summit Pass is the highest pass on the Alaska Highway. Lots of wildflower sightings along the road as well: roses, arctic lupines, bunchberry and some purply stuff I couldn't identify.
New thing learned today: the mountains we are going through are called the Terminal Mountains because they are the northern edge of the Rocky Mountains. Those mountains ahead of us include the MacKenzie Range and the Alaskan Range. And, the Rocky Mountains officially end at Santa Fe. NM. Who knew?
We are now in the Yukon Territory. We traveled through some construction. [It is Summer after all.] We now have a pretty good idea what the road may have been like when this highway first opened: gravel and lots of dust.
Today's distance traveled not including side trips: 317 miles.
Here in Watson Lake we are lodged at the Downtown RV park where we are greatly outsized. Yeah, but I bet we get better mileage than you guys! First thing we did was hike around one of the many lakes near here having been assured by our very gregarious proprietor that all the bears have been moved away for the summer. Then we walked to the local Omni Theater [oops: theatre] called the Northern Lights Centre where we enjoyed a film about the Aurora Borealis since we can't see them here this time of year: the sun sets at 12:30 and then rises at 12:35. We forgot that it's the Summer Solstice tomorrow and we are in major daylight time! If we would like to witness the Aurora Borealis first hand we will need to return in the winter. Uh, no thanks. The average temperature here in January is -11. The average summer temperature is 59 degrees; however, today it was 77 when we arrived.
Tomorrow we visit the famous Signpost Forest on our way out of town. Next stop: Whitehorse, Yukon Territory at 61 degrees latitude. Subarctic anyone?
Sunday
We began our day with breakfast at the Fort Nelson Hotel cafe. No picnic table means we can't really cook at the campsite. Dad should really get the day off anyway, right? We decided to culturize ourselves and visit the Ft. Nelson Heritage Museum but it turned out to be some old guy's great collection of oil artifacts and antique cars, so we were soon on our merry way to Lake Watson in the Yukon Territory.
Today's animal count:
*4 black bear [not including the dead one in the ditch]
*1 mama moose and her baby
*1 very shy caribou
*3 grizzly bears [a mama and two cubs]
*34 buffalo
*4 Stone sheep [including a mom and kid who posed nicely for us along the road]
And yes, we were able to get lots of pictures. Those will be in the next post.
Sign for today: "A fed bear is a dead bear"
We follow the Tetsa River to its source at Summit Lake and pass again through the mountains. Summit Pass is the highest pass on the Alaska Highway. Lots of wildflower sightings along the road as well: roses, arctic lupines, bunchberry and some purply stuff I couldn't identify.
New thing learned today: the mountains we are going through are called the Terminal Mountains because they are the northern edge of the Rocky Mountains. Those mountains ahead of us include the MacKenzie Range and the Alaskan Range. And, the Rocky Mountains officially end at Santa Fe. NM. Who knew?
We are now in the Yukon Territory. We traveled through some construction. [It is Summer after all.] We now have a pretty good idea what the road may have been like when this highway first opened: gravel and lots of dust.
Today's distance traveled not including side trips: 317 miles.
Here in Watson Lake we are lodged at the Downtown RV park where we are greatly outsized. Yeah, but I bet we get better mileage than you guys! First thing we did was hike around one of the many lakes near here having been assured by our very gregarious proprietor that all the bears have been moved away for the summer. Then we walked to the local Omni Theater [oops: theatre] called the Northern Lights Centre where we enjoyed a film about the Aurora Borealis since we can't see them here this time of year: the sun sets at 12:30 and then rises at 12:35. We forgot that it's the Summer Solstice tomorrow and we are in major daylight time! If we would like to witness the Aurora Borealis first hand we will need to return in the winter. Uh, no thanks. The average temperature here in January is -11. The average summer temperature is 59 degrees; however, today it was 77 when we arrived.
Tomorrow we visit the famous Signpost Forest on our way out of town. Next stop: Whitehorse, Yukon Territory at 61 degrees latitude. Subarctic anyone?
Saturday, June 19, 2010
The Urban Hikers
19 June 2010
Saturday
Today we hung out in Fort St. John, BC. The green rocket [the van] needs to have its oil changed and its tires rotated. Unfortunately we couldn't find just one place to do both but in the end, the job got done. Canadian Tire was one of the locations and we noticed that there were a couple of WinCraft racing clocks on the walls in the establishment. [Dave, you can tell Clint that they were mostly Jeff Gordon clocks.] Funny how home is always with you.
While we waited we hiked to a nearby restaurant for breakfast, then to buy some cherries in the parking lot [lunch], then spent a bit of time hanging out on the Internet to get some chores done, followed by a long walk around the area for our daily hike.
By 2 PM we were on the Alaska Highway and heading north to Fort Nelson, about a 300 mile foray through oil fields, amazing forests, river valleys. The road was mostly quite good; even the bad spots were good. We are wondering how Canada constructs their roads to last through their nasty winters. Again some super nice people all along the route. Close to 6 PM we arrived in Fort Nelson: gas is higher here--$4.71 per gallon. With their pricing per liter, it makes the gas look cheap until it takes forever to fill up.
Animal count for the day:
3 dogs running on the road
a smattering of ravens
1 gigantic bull moose--rather dead in the ditch
We are lodged in the Triple "G" Hideaway: definitely not Duncan Hines approved. Sign on the front of the office: "No trespassing. Violators will be shot. Survivors will be shot again." You have to pay extra for your showers: one loony [a $1.00 Canadian coin] will get you 5 minutes of out-of-control water.
The climate according to the Visitors Guide: Winters are cold with short days. Summers are hot and the days are long. In mid-June [Summer solstice] twilight continues throughout the night. As Madeline would say, "Oh my goodness!"
That's all, folks.
Saturday
Today we hung out in Fort St. John, BC. The green rocket [the van] needs to have its oil changed and its tires rotated. Unfortunately we couldn't find just one place to do both but in the end, the job got done. Canadian Tire was one of the locations and we noticed that there were a couple of WinCraft racing clocks on the walls in the establishment. [Dave, you can tell Clint that they were mostly Jeff Gordon clocks.] Funny how home is always with you.
While we waited we hiked to a nearby restaurant for breakfast, then to buy some cherries in the parking lot [lunch], then spent a bit of time hanging out on the Internet to get some chores done, followed by a long walk around the area for our daily hike.
By 2 PM we were on the Alaska Highway and heading north to Fort Nelson, about a 300 mile foray through oil fields, amazing forests, river valleys. The road was mostly quite good; even the bad spots were good. We are wondering how Canada constructs their roads to last through their nasty winters. Again some super nice people all along the route. Close to 6 PM we arrived in Fort Nelson: gas is higher here--$4.71 per gallon. With their pricing per liter, it makes the gas look cheap until it takes forever to fill up.
Animal count for the day:
3 dogs running on the road
a smattering of ravens
1 gigantic bull moose--rather dead in the ditch
We are lodged in the Triple "G" Hideaway: definitely not Duncan Hines approved. Sign on the front of the office: "No trespassing. Violators will be shot. Survivors will be shot again." You have to pay extra for your showers: one loony [a $1.00 Canadian coin] will get you 5 minutes of out-of-control water.
The climate according to the Visitors Guide: Winters are cold with short days. Summers are hot and the days are long. In mid-June [Summer solstice] twilight continues throughout the night. As Madeline would say, "Oh my goodness!"
That's all, folks.
Greetings from Ft. St. John
19 June 2010
Saturday
Here we are spending the day in Ft. St. John: time to change the oil and rotate the tires. Last night we camped at Charlie Lake where the sun goes down late [at 12:30 am it was still light] and comes up early [maybe 3:30? We were asleep so we missed the sunrise.] Got the truck in for service and spent the rest of the AM being tourists: ate breakfast OUT at A and W [Did you know it stands for Allen and Wright?. We learned something new!]
Yesterday we drove from Jasper to Prince George and then to Chewynd and Fort St. John. Along the way we have met some great people including an editor for the MILEPOST. Lots of UP the mountain and DOWN into the valleys. Gas mileage has been quite good: yesterday's check was 22 mpg. Gas is running about $1.06 per liter. In one spot it was $0.97/l. Keeping the speed down to 60-65 [the posted limit, the curvy roads, the animals and the scenery] seems to be the ticket. Maybe it's the good gas up here, EH? [Heard our first EH today in a parking lot.]
We took a side trip along the Peace River from Chetwynd to the Alaska Highway. Even though we won't be "legally" starting in Dawson Creek where the official "0" milepost is, we like our choices. Animal sightings include bears, elk--right in the parking lot at the Jasper campground. Made me think I was on the set of Northern Exposure and finally a MOOSE; no, make that two of them. YES, it was a moose!!!!
We are in oil and gas country now and will probably see a lot of evidence of oil rigs and exploration as we head north toward Fort Nelson.
After breakfast this AM we walked to the Info-Centre for internet access, post cards, free coffee and to kill time. Later we plan to visit the local museum where there is a yard sale and a Farmers Market today.
Love to all
Saturday
Here we are spending the day in Ft. St. John: time to change the oil and rotate the tires. Last night we camped at Charlie Lake where the sun goes down late [at 12:30 am it was still light] and comes up early [maybe 3:30? We were asleep so we missed the sunrise.] Got the truck in for service and spent the rest of the AM being tourists: ate breakfast OUT at A and W [Did you know it stands for Allen and Wright?. We learned something new!]
Yesterday we drove from Jasper to Prince George and then to Chewynd and Fort St. John. Along the way we have met some great people including an editor for the MILEPOST. Lots of UP the mountain and DOWN into the valleys. Gas mileage has been quite good: yesterday's check was 22 mpg. Gas is running about $1.06 per liter. In one spot it was $0.97/l. Keeping the speed down to 60-65 [the posted limit, the curvy roads, the animals and the scenery] seems to be the ticket. Maybe it's the good gas up here, EH? [Heard our first EH today in a parking lot.]
We took a side trip along the Peace River from Chetwynd to the Alaska Highway. Even though we won't be "legally" starting in Dawson Creek where the official "0" milepost is, we like our choices. Animal sightings include bears, elk--right in the parking lot at the Jasper campground. Made me think I was on the set of Northern Exposure and finally a MOOSE; no, make that two of them. YES, it was a moose!!!!
We are in oil and gas country now and will probably see a lot of evidence of oil rigs and exploration as we head north toward Fort Nelson.
After breakfast this AM we walked to the Info-Centre for internet access, post cards, free coffee and to kill time. Later we plan to visit the local museum where there is a yard sale and a Farmers Market today.
Love to all
Lake Louise and a big chill!
17 June 2010
Thursday
Lake Louise in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. We awoke to a very cold day: 37 degrees. After checking out of the campground we went into the village to find some Internet and get caught up with our online work: email, bills and blog. Then it was off to the Lake itself for a short hike around one incredibly turquoisely blue piece of water. The clouds were still low so the tops of the mountains are hidden. We couldn't believe the number of people from around the world. English was one of the least heard languages being spoken. We even met a couple from Bilbao, Spain.
From here we journey northward along the Icefield Parkway so named because of the numerous glaciers. Many times during the drive we stopped to take a better look, grab some pictures or even do a short hike. Probably the most beautiful and unique spot was Peyto Lake coming from the Peyto Glacier. It was so blue it looked fake.
At the Columbia Icefield Information Center we drove and then hiked to the toe [edge] of the Athabaskar Glacier. There were markers showing how the glacier has been receding since its discovery in the 1880s.
Getting short on time we boogied on to Jasper where we found ourselves in sunshine and temperatures in the 70s. Many of the campgrounds have not yet opened for the season so we found ourselves in a long line waiting to find a site for the night. We are located next to a babbling brook that should make sleeping a dream.
Today's animal sightings include black bears, big horn sheep, mountain goats, a marmot and ravens. Oh, and we did see a moose rack on the top of a car. This may be the only moose I will get to see until I go back to the MN zoo!
The John and Dana Lacey family in Whitefish, Montana
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